Generate status reports in minutes with Project Manager agent in Planner

In today’s fast-paced project management landscape, clear and timely status reporting is more than a nicety—it’s a necessity. Yet, the process of compiling these reports often feels like a tedious chore, pulling valuable time away from the actual work that drives projects forward. Enter the new Status Reports feature within the Planner app for Microsoft Teams, powered by the innovative Project Manager agent. This game-changing addition promises to transform how teams and leaders stay informed by automating the creation of professional, comprehensive project updates in just minutes.

This video showcases how users can effortlessly generate detailed, tailored reports on project status, then seamlessly share these insights across teams. The power of automation here is not just about speed—it’s about clarity, consistency, and collaboration.

Why Status Reports Matter

Regular, transparent updates are the backbone of successful project management. They keep teams aligned, help track progress against goals, and ensure stakeholders—from team members to executives—have the information they need to make informed decisions and accelerate project momentum. Traditionally, crafting these reports has been a manual, time-intensive task involving data collection from multiple sources and painstaking formatting. This often distracts project managers and team members from focusing on high-value activities.

The new Status Reports feature in Planner, powered by the Project Manager agent, addresses these challenges head-on by offering:

• Time savings: Automatically synthesize plan progress, milestones, risks, and next steps with a single click, freeing up hours previously spent on manual reporting.
• Shared visibility: Highlight achievements, surface blockers, and deliver a consistent, data-driven snapshot of project health that keeps everyone—from teammates to leadership—in the loop.
• Customization: Tailor reports by selecting specific timeframes, defining reporting goals, and adjusting tone to suit any audience, whether it’s a detailed update for executives or a quick summary for team members.
• Flexible sharing: Share reports effortlessly by embedding Loop components in Teams chats, copying content to Outlook emails, or transforming updates into polished SharePoint newsletters for broader communication.
• Live collaboration: View, manage, and co-edit reports in real time within a Loop Canvas, enabling teams to refine updates together and maintain a living record of project progress.

All of these capabilities are accessible directly within your existing Planner plan, streamlining workflows and reducing the friction of status reporting.

How It Works: A Step-by-Step Guide

1. Open Microsoft Teams and launch the Planner app.
2. Access a Premium plan or a Project Manager-enabled plan containing at least ten tasks.
3. Ensure the plan is shared with a group; if not, use the Share button in the top-right corner to do so.
4. Navigate to the Reports tab within the Planner app.
5. Click Get Started on the banner to begin creating your status report.
   • Select the reporting period from the dropdown menu to define the timeframe your report will cover.
   • Optionally, provide additional details to customize the report’s focus, such as requesting a comprehensive update on high-priority items for leadership.
6. Hit Generate to let the Project Manager agent synthesize your plan’s data into a tailored report.
7. Your report will appear in a Loop Canvas, supporting real-time co-editing, and you’ll receive an in-app notification with a direct link.
8. Share your report with a single click—embed it in Teams or Outlook, or create a SharePoint newsletter for polished, regular updates.

Pro tip: Easily revisit your last ten reports via the Recent reports list or explore the full archive through the View all option in SharePoint.

Impact on Admins and Users

From an administrative perspective, this feature significantly reduces the overhead associated with monitoring project health across multiple teams. Admins can now rely on consistent, automatically generated reports that provide a clear, data-backed overview of progress and risks. This transparency facilitates better resource allocation, risk mitigation, and strategic decision-making without the need for manual data consolidation.

For users and project managers, the benefits are equally compelling. The automation of report generation means less time spent on administrative tasks and more time focused on driving project outcomes. The ability to customize reports ensures that communication is always relevant and audience-appropriate, enhancing engagement and clarity. Moreover, the collaborative editing environment fosters teamwork and continuous improvement of project updates.

Together, these advantages create a more agile, informed, and connected project environment, where everyone—from individual contributors to executives—can stay aligned effortlessly.

Availability and Access Requirements

The Status Reports feature is currently rolling out to English-US customers and will become broadly available in the coming weeks. To utilize this functionality, users must have access to the Project Manager agent.

Access to the public preview of Project Manager requires both a Microsoft 365 Copilot license and a Microsoft Loop license. While users without these licenses can collaborate on plans, they will not be able to interact with Project Manager features such as task assignment or status report generation.

This feature supports plans with more than ten tasks, specifically:

• Project Manager-enabled plans
• Shared premium plans

Additional Resources

• Explore the Planner adoption page for tips and best practices.
• Sign up to receive updates and news about Planner.
• Stay informed on upcoming features via the Microsoft 365 roadmap.
• Watch inspiring Planner demos to maximize your use of Planner in Teams.
• Visit the Planner help page for detailed guidance and support.