The new Microsoft Planner Preview, now available in Public Preview for Microsoft 365 users and in Microsoft Teams, aims to enhance productivity through advanced task management, project planning, and the integration of AI technologies such as Copilot and Project for the Web (Premium Plans). This Preview offers a unique opportunity to explore the app's new features within Teams and provides tools for effective planning and collaboration.
Introduced at Microsoft Ignite last November, the Planner app in Teams merges productivity tools including To Do, Planner, and Project for the web, with the intelligence of Microsoft Copilot, creating a unified and efficient work management solution within Microsoft Teams. This integration facilitates individual and team project management, making it easier to tackle tasks and achieve objectives quickly.
Transitioning from "Tasks by Planner and To Do" to the new Planner in Teams, users will experience a simplified and faster interface. The app is organized into three main sections: My Day, My Tasks, and My Plans, enabling streamlined navigation and management of tasks. This setup helps users prioritize their work effectively, with features for pinning favorite plans and accessing tasks from various sources all in one place.
Additionally, the Planner now offers enhanced flexibility with options to create basic or premium plans. Premium plans come with advanced features suitable for comprehensive project management, including sprint planning, goals view, and timeline view with dependencies. The introduction of Copilot in Planner further aids in breaking down tasks into subtasks and providing insights into project statuses.
To utilize the new Planner, users are encouraged to explore various applications such as tracking team ideas, managing career goals, planning team sprints, and coordinating product releases. These features underscore the Planner's versatility in supporting a wide range of project management and planning activities, aimed at boosting efficiency and collaboration.
Copilot distinguishes itself by concentrating on aiding software developers through AI-driven suggestions for code snippets and troubleshooting programming dilemmas. On the other hand, ChatGPT has a broader application scope with its conversational abilities that extend beyond software development to cover a diverse range of topics.
Subscribers of Copilot Pro are granted access to utilize Copilot across the free online versions of major Microsoft applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook, provided they have a Microsoft email address. Moreover, individuals holding a separate subscription to Microsoft 365 Personal or Family are granted the privilege of employing Copilot within the desktop applications, which offer an expanded range of features.
Users have shown a particular fondness for Microsoft 365 Copilot's capacity to succinctly summarize the content of extensive or intricate documents, including PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, and email threads. This feature is especially valued by users who frequently find themselves managing a high volume of cc emails, indicating that Copilot may be a particularly advantageous tool for those looking to streamline their workflow.
For those looking to integrate Copilot into their Microsoft 365 suite, the licensing fee stands at $30 per user, monthly. Meanwhile, Copilot Pro is available at a lower cost of $20 per user, monthly. It is important to acknowledge that the overall expenditure extends beyond these licensing fees, encompassing additional costs that may arise.
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