Licensing Changes for Copilot in Planner

Until now, access to Copilot in Planner was included for users with Project Plan 3 or 5 as part of the preview rollout. This is now being brought in line with Microsoft’s broader licensing model for Copilot across Microsoft 365. 

From early August 2025, Copilot in Planner will require a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. The Project Plans alone will no longer grant access. 

For clarity – there are no other changes to announce at this time for Planner and Project licenses or capabilities. 

If you have users who rely on Copilot in Planner, here’s what we recommend: 

• Review current usage: Identify users who are using Copilot features in Planner via Project Plan 3 or 5. 

• Check current licensing: Determine whether those users also have Microsoft 365 Copilot assigned, and if still needed assign a Microsoft 365 Copilot license ahead of the August change. 

Copilot in Planner brings useful AI features to task planning and execution – from summarising plans and status, to supporting planning with task creation, or suggesting next steps. Losing access could impact productivity for teams that have started to rely on these capabilities. 

Aligning Planner with the rest of the Microsoft 365 Copilot experience (Teams, Outlook, Word, etc.) is a logical step, but it does mean that license planning will need to be updated accordingly. 

If you’d like help reviewing your current licensing position or to talk further about Copilot capabilities get in touch with us at CPS – we’re happy to help!