Microsoft Planner 2026: Tasks in Outlook and Copilot

You create a task in Planner, get a reminder in the Teams chat ten minutes later and still end up hunting for that task in your mailbox? The problem is rarely the tools themselves. It is that tasks in Microsoft 365 like to appear in several places at once, in Planner, in Microsoft To Do, out of a flagged email or out of a Teams message. By the end of the day you have three half-truths about what is really still open, but not a single reliable list.

In July 2026, Microsoft rolled out four updates that address exactly this point. Your Planner tasks now show up directly in the new Outlook, can be edited faster in a new side pane, reused as a template for recurring projects and even queried in Copilot Chat. I will show you step by step how to use all four of them from today.

For the first three new features, your existing access via microsoft365.com is entirely enough. Only the last step with the PlannerAgent in Copilot Chat requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence.

Step 1: Planner in the new Outlook, tasks next to email and calendar

Microsoft has brought Planner to the new Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web in several waves. As soon as the update reaches you it is switched on automatically, you do not have to enable anything manually. A new Planner icon then appears in the left side bar of Outlook, right next to Mail, Calendar and Microsoft To Do.

Here is how you use the integration:

1. Open the new Planner icon in the left side bar of Outlook, all your plans appear right next to your mailbox and calendar.
2. Work on your personal tasks and your team’s shared plans without leaving your mailbox.
3. Carry on with the same task in Teams later, the data is identical everywhere.

Microsoft explains the move with fewer context switches between email, calendar and tasks. Planner is now also available in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app, provided it is licensed and enabled in your organisation. From my own experience I know that exactly this kind of integration saves time, once it has become a habit. 📥

Step 2: Edit tasks faster with the new side pane

From the end of July 2026, Planner is getting a new detail view for tasks that is being rolled out to everyone step by step. Until now, task details opened in a large dialog window that covered your entire board. Now they open, if you want, in a narrow side pane next to it, so your board or grid stays visible the whole time.

Here is how the new view works:

1. In Planner on the web or in Teams, click a task card in the Board or Grid view.
2. Edit assignees, due date, status, notes, checklists and attachments directly in the side pane.
3. Switch back to the classic dialog window if you prefer, Planner then remembers your choice for all future tasks.

On smaller screens Planner automatically switches back to the dialog window, there simply would not be room for a side pane. You do not have to look for a setting anywhere, the behaviour is active from the start.

Step 3: Start recurring projects from your own template

Do you regularly create similar plans, for new client projects, campaigns or the onboarding of new team members? Since July 2026, every existing plan in Planner can be turned into a reusable template in a few clicks.

Here is how you create and use your own templates:

1. Open the plan that works as a template, click Share and choose Publish as template.
2. Give the template a clear name that your team recognises straight away.
3. The next time you create a plan, you will find it under Shared or Created by me in the template gallery.
4. Tasks, buckets, labels, goals, notes, checklists and attachment links are carried over, progress and status start back at zero in every new plan.

One point to watch: templates are shared at the level of the Microsoft 365 group and every member of the group can delete a shared template, not just the person who created it. To change a template, you update the underlying plan and publish the template again. Agree in the team who is allowed to publish templates, before several slightly different versions of the «same» template end up in circulation. Changes to a template also do not affect plans that were created from it earlier. According to Microsoft, custom templates are open to everyone who uses Planner, regardless of licence tier. The plan does have to belong to a Microsoft 365 group, though.

Step 4: Query and complete tasks in Copilot Chat

The PlannerAgent (Planner Agent) has been generally available since June 2026 for everyone with a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence. It brings a capability many people have been waiting for: Copilot Chat can now also find and edit tasks from Microsoft To Do, not just from Planner.

Here is how you work with the PlannerAgent:

1. Open Copilot Chat and mention @PlannerAgent in your message.
2. Ask something like «@PlannerAgent show me all my open tasks from Planner and To Do» or have your overdue tasks summarised.
3. Edit tasks directly in the chat or open them in Planner with one click when you need more context.

Two limitations you should know about: tasks that you created in To Do by flagging an email are only included by the PlannerAgent if you mention that explicitly in your question. And in early feedback the agent sometimes showed due dates a day too early. For important deadlines, rely on the display in Planner or To Do itself to be on the safe side. 🤖

The agent shows you the changes it suggests as a task card. They only take effect once you confirm them.

Step 5: Pick your main place of work

Now your tasks suddenly appear in four places: in the new Outlook, in Planner on the web, in the Teams channel and in Copilot Chat. That sounds like more effort, but it is meant exactly the other way round. The data behind them is exactly the same everywhere, so switching your entry point does not create duplicate tasks or orphaned entries.

Decide for yourself which of the four places becomes your main place of work and look there first thing every morning. If you spend most of your time in your mailbox anyway, the new Planner area in Outlook is the obvious choice. If you are more at home in your team's Teams channel, simply stay there. The other three places step in when you need them, they do not replace your main place of work. The only thing that matters is that you decide, instead of keeping an eye on all four in parallel.

My practical tip from everyday work

One detail from the July updates is easy to miss: the start date and the due date of a task are no longer firmly coupled in Planner. If you move only the start date from now on, the due date stays exactly where it is. The same applies the other way round. Until now, Planner automatically moved both dates along at the same interval. The next time you replan something, check both fields briefly before you tick a task off as done, otherwise you fall behind faster than you would like.

Conclusion & CTA

Four updates with one common denominator: your Planner tasks now follow you to where you are already working, into the new Outlook, into the reworked side pane or into Copilot Chat. Take ten minutes today and try out at least one of the four new features, the quickest one is the PlannerAgent in Copilot Chat. Give it a go now. ✅