6 Best AI Automation Tools for Microsoft Planner
Planner is where Microsoft shops put the work that is too small for Project and too shared for a personal task list. It has almost no automation of its own. Recurring tasks and a few board behaviors, and past that you are into the Power Platform or you are typing.
The gap is the same one every task tool has. The task exists in an email or a Teams message ten minutes before anybody creates it, and creating it is manual work that nobody enjoys and everybody skips.
Below are six tools that automate Planner with AI, ranked by how much of that gap they close.
TL;DR: The best AI automation tool for Microsoft Planner for most people is Carly. You forward the message or describe the work and it creates, assigns, and updates Planner tasks, and it reaches Outlook and the rest of your stack in the same instruction. For rule-based flows inside Microsoft 365, Power Automate is included with your subscription.
1. Carly
Carly is an AI agent with its own real email address, connected to Microsoft Planner and to Outlook. Forward it a thread and it creates the task in the right plan and bucket, assigned to the right person, with a due date it inferred from the message. Ask “what is unassigned in the launch plan” and it answers from the board.
CC it on a client thread and the commitments in that thread become tasks without anyone deciding to make them.
What makes it different: Power Automate reacts to events with rules you build. Carly starts from the email or the conversation, which is where tasks are actually born, and exercises judgment about which messages deserve a task at all. You describe what you want in plain language instead of configuring a flow, and the same agent reaches your mailbox, calendar, and everything else.
Best for: Teams whose Planner tasks arrive as email or Teams messages first.
Pricing: Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month
Connect it at carlyassistant.com/integrations.
2. Power Automate
Microsoft’s own automation platform, with Planner triggers and actions, and it is the intended answer. Included at a basic level with a Microsoft 365 subscription; the Premium tier with connectors and richer capabilities runs about $15 per user per month.
What makes it different from Carly: it is the deepest option inside Microsoft 365 and every flow is a thing you design, test, and maintain. A flow that creates a task from a flagged email creates one from every flagged email. Note also that seeded AI Builder credits on Premium and Process licences are being removed on 1 November 2026, so any flow leaning on those needs a look.
Best for: Microsoft shops that want rule-based automation and have someone to own the flows.
Pricing: Basic with Microsoft 365; Premium from about $15/user/month
3. Copilot in Planner
Copilot can draft a plan, generate a schedule, summarize status, and flag risks in Planner Premium, in plain language.
What makes it different from Carly: it needs a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence, and Planner Premium for the richer pieces. Users without the licence can work on plans but cannot use the Planner agent. It also works while you are in Planner, rather than acting on the inbox that produced the work.
Best for: Organizations already licensed for Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Pricing: Requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence
4. Zapier
Connects Planner to thousands of apps with trigger-action Zaps and AI steps, typically creating tasks from forms, another tracker, or a chat message.
What makes it different from Carly: enormous reach, and every Zap is plumbing you define and maintain, firing on every match. See Zapier alternatives.
Best for: Syncing Planner with systems outside Microsoft 365.
Pricing: Free plan; paid from ~$19.99/month
5. Make
A visual automation canvas with branching, loops, and data transforms across Planner and thousands of apps, usually cheaper than Zapier for complex scenarios.
What makes it different from Carly: more power, more canvas to build and debug. Carly trades the canvas for instructions in plain words. See Make alternatives.
Best for: Technical teams wiring Planner into multi-step processes.
Pricing: Free plan; paid from ~$9/month
6. Microsoft Graph API
Planner sits behind Graph, and a small script can create tasks, move them between buckets, and post updates on a schedule.
What makes it different from Carly: exact, and yours to maintain, including auth, hosting, and the parsing of whatever the email actually said. Carly gives you the same outcomes from a plain-language message with nothing to run.
Best for: Developer teams that want precise control and own the upkeep.
Pricing: Free with your Microsoft 365 plan (your build time)
Planner Automation Tools Compared
| Tool | Plain-language (no builder) | Starts from email | Judges what deserves a task | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carly | Yes | Yes | Yes | From $35/mo |
| Power Automate | No (builder) | Yes (fixed trigger) | No | With M365; Premium ~$15/user/mo |
| Copilot in Planner | Yes | No | No | Needs M365 Copilot licence |
| Zapier | No (builder) | Yes (fixed trigger) | No | Free; from ~$19.99/mo |
| Make | No (builder) | Yes (fixed trigger) | No | Free; from ~$9/mo |
| Graph API | No (code) | Only if you build it | Only if you build it | Free (DIY) |
FAQ
Does Microsoft Planner have built-in automation? Very little. Recurring tasks and a few board behaviors. Anything conditional comes from Power Automate, a Copilot licence, or an external tool.
What is the best way to automate Planner with AI? Carly, because you forward the message or describe the work in plain language and it files a correctly assigned, correctly dated task. Keep Power Automate for the rule-based flows you already trust.
Can I create Planner tasks from email? Yes. Carly reads the message, decides whether it is real work, writes a usable title and description, and files it to the right plan and bucket rather than converting every email into a task.
Do I need Microsoft 365 Copilot for this? Not for Carly, which connects to Planner on its own. Copilot in Planner does require a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence.
More: Best AI assistants for Microsoft Planner · Microsoft Planner vs To Do · Best AI workflow automation tools
Automate other tools: Microsoft To Do · Microsoft Teams · Trello
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"Before Carly, I relied on a Calendly link, but the whole process felt impersonal and not very professional. Carly changed that by handling all the back-and-forth, so I'm no longer stuck in endless email threads trying to line up schedules.
Now Carly reaches out to candidates, shares my real-time availability, lets them pick a slot, then sends a Zoom link and drops it straight into my calendar. She sends reminders to both of us before each call, which has significantly reduced no-shows and last-minute confusion.
On top of scheduling, Carly acts like a full executive assistant, sending me my schedule the night before so I can prepare for each call. It reminds me of the old x.ai assistant, but Carly is noticeably smarter, faster, and better suited to my healthcare recruitment business."
