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Understanding Microsoft 365 Apps — What Each App Does and When to Use It
Applies to: Microsoft 365 (All Plans)
Article Type: Informational
Last Updated: 2026-05-18
Summary
Microsoft 365 includes dozens of apps beyond Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Many users do not know what apps like Planner, Lists, Forms, Bookings, or Power Automate do — or when to use them instead of a spreadsheet or email. This article is a quick-reference guide to the most useful M365 apps, organized by purpose, with a decision guide to help you pick the right tool for the task.
Prerequisites
- A Microsoft 365 work or school account.
- App availability depends on your organization's license. If an app is not visible, contact IT to confirm whether it is included in your plan.
Instructions
1. The Core Productivity Apps (You Probably Already Use These)
| App | What It Does | When to Use It |
|---|---|---|
| Outlook | Email, calendar, contacts, and tasks | Send and receive email, schedule meetings, manage your calendar |
| Word | Document creation and editing | Reports, proposals, letters, any document requiring rich formatting |
| Excel | Spreadsheets and data analysis | Budgets, data tracking, calculations, PivotTables, charts |
| PowerPoint | Presentations and slide decks | Meetings, training, pitches, any visual presentation |
| Teams | Chat, video calls, and collaboration hub | Real-time communication, meetings, group collaboration, file sharing |
| OneDrive | Personal cloud file storage | Storing, syncing, and sharing your own files across devices |
| SharePoint | Team and departmental file storage, intranet sites | Shared document libraries, team sites, company intranet pages |
Note: For details on where files are stored across OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams, see Understanding Where Your Files Live.
2. Task and Project Management Apps
| App | What It Does | Best For | Not Ideal For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft To Do | Personal task list with My Day, reminders, and due dates | Your own to-do list, personal task tracking, flagged Outlook emails | Team project management — use Planner instead |
| Microsoft Planner | Visual team task boards with buckets, assignments, and progress tracking | Team project management, sprint boards, group task tracking | Personal to-do lists — use To Do instead |
| Microsoft Lists | Structured data tracking with custom columns, views, rules, and automation | Asset tracking, issue logs, event planning, onboarding checklists, any data that is more structured than tasks but does not need a database | Simple personal tasks — use To Do instead |
"Should I Use To Do, Planner, or Lists?"
| Scenario | Use This |
|---|---|
| I need a personal daily to-do list | To Do |
| My team needs to track project tasks and assign work | Planner |
| I need to track structured data with custom columns (e.g., inventory, issue log) | Lists |
| I need a Kanban board for a team project | Planner (Board view) |
| I want to automate notifications when items change | Lists (with built-in rules or Power Automate) |
| I want my flagged Outlook emails as tasks | To Do (syncs flagged emails automatically) |
3. Communication and Scheduling Apps
| App | What It Does | Best For | Not Ideal For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Bookings | Self-service appointment scheduling with a public booking page | Client/customer appointment scheduling, office hours, consultations | Internal team meetings — use Outlook calendar instead |
| Microsoft Forms | Surveys, quizzes, and feedback forms | Employee surveys, event RSVPs, knowledge checks, data collection from people outside your team | Complex data entry — use Lists or SharePoint for structured data |
4. Notes and Knowledge Apps
| App | What It Does | Best For | Not Ideal For |
|---|---|---|---|
| OneNote | Digital notebooks with freeform pages organized into sections and notebooks | Meeting notes, research, brainstorming, handwritten notes (with stylus), shared team notebooks | Task management — use To Do or Planner |
| Sticky Notes | Quick, lightweight notes that sync across devices | Jotting down a phone number, a quick reminder, or a thought | Structured notes or team collaboration — use OneNote |
| Loop | Collaborative components (tables, task lists, notes) that sync across Teams, Outlook, and the web | Real-time collaborative brainstorming, co-editing a table during a Teams chat, shared meeting agendas | Long-form documents — use Word instead |
5. Automation and Intelligence Apps
| App | What It Does | Best For | Not Ideal For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power Automate | No-code/low-code workflow automation (formerly Microsoft Flow) | Automating repetitive tasks: approval workflows, email notifications, file management, data sync between apps | One-time actions — do it manually |
| Copilot | AI assistant embedded across M365 apps | Summarizing emails, drafting documents, analyzing data in Excel, catching up on Teams meetings, generating presentation slides | Tasks requiring 100% accuracy without human review — always verify Copilot output |
| Power BI | Business intelligence dashboards and data visualization | Creating interactive reports from multiple data sources, sharing dashboards with stakeholders | Simple charts — use Excel for basic visualizations |
6. Other Useful Apps You May Not Know About
| App | What It Does | Typical Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Whiteboard | Digital whiteboard for brainstorming with drawing, sticky notes, and templates | Teams meetings — collaborative brainstorming, diagrams, and retrospectives |
| Sway | Create interactive, web-based presentations and newsletters | Internal newsletters, training materials, visual reports (alternative to PowerPoint for web-first content) |
| Stream | Enterprise video hosting and sharing | Storing and sharing meeting recordings, training videos, company announcements |
| Viva Insights | Personal productivity and wellbeing analytics | Understanding your work patterns — time in meetings, focus time, after-hours work |
| Clipchamp | Video editing built into Microsoft 365 | Creating and editing short videos for presentations, training, or social media |
7. Master Decision Guide — "What Tool Do I Use?"
| I Need To... | Use This App |
|---|---|
| Send a quick message to a colleague | Teams (chat) |
| Send a formal message or communicate externally | Outlook (email) |
| Track my personal tasks and to-do list | To Do |
| Manage team project tasks with assignments | Planner |
| Track structured data (inventory, issues, events) | Lists |
| Schedule meetings with my team | Outlook (calendar) |
| Let clients book appointments with me | Bookings |
| Collect feedback or survey responses | Forms |
| Take meeting notes | OneNote |
| Brainstorm with a team in real time | Whiteboard or Loop |
| Store and share my own files | OneDrive |
| Store and share team/department files | SharePoint |
| Create a report or document | Word |
| Analyze data or build a budget | Excel |
| Build a presentation | PowerPoint |
| Automate a repetitive workflow | Power Automate |
| Summarize a long email thread or document | Copilot |
| Create an interactive dashboard from data | Power BI |
| Edit a video | Clipchamp |
8. How to Find and Open M365 Apps
If you do not see an app listed above, here is how to find it:
- Go to https://www.office.com and sign in.
- Click the app launcher (grid icon ⬛) in the top-left corner.
- Click Explore all your apps to see every available app.
- Click any app to open it. You can also pin frequently used apps to the launcher for quick access.
Tip: You can also type the app name directly in your browser — for example,
planner.cloud.microsoftfor Planner,to-do.office.comfor To Do, orforms.office.comfor Forms.
Troubleshooting
INFO
If an app is missing from your app launcher, it may not be included in your Microsoft 365 license, or your organization may have disabled it. Contact IT to check your app availability.
| Symptom / Error | Potential Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| App not visible in the app launcher | Not included in your license or disabled by IT | Contact IT to verify your license includes the app and that it has not been restricted. |
| "You don't have access to this app" | License not assigned | Ask IT to assign the appropriate license to your account. |
| App opens but shows no data | First-time use — no content created yet | Create your first item (task, list, form, etc.) to get started. The app is working correctly. |
| Cannot find where a Teams file is stored | Files are stored in SharePoint, not Teams directly | See Understanding Where Your Files Live for details. |
| Planner vs. To Do — tasks showing in both | Planner tasks assigned to you sync to To Do | This is expected behavior. Tasks assigned to you in Planner appear in To Do's "Assigned to me" list for convenience. |
Related Articles
- How to Use Microsoft To Do for Personal Task Management
- How to Use Microsoft Planner for Task Management
- How to Create and Use a List in Microsoft Lists
- How to Create a Survey or Quiz in Microsoft Forms
- How to Book Appointments with Microsoft Bookings
- How to Use OneNote for Note-Taking and Organization
- How to Use Power Automate Basics in Microsoft 365
- How to Use Microsoft 365 Copilot Basics
- Understanding Where Your Files Live — OneDrive vs. SharePoint vs. Teams