Table of Contents
Summary
- Retirement of the Designer bot and Designer banners in Microsoft Teams.
- Users will not be able to install or use Designer bot or create channel announcement banners.
- Image generation will be available through Copilot in Teams moving forward.
- No admin configuration changes are necessary; the change occurs automatically.
- Recommended actions include notifying users and updating internal documentation.
Admin Impact: Low
User Impact: Medium
Release Start: 15 Jan 2026
Release End: 27 Feb 2026
Services: Teams
Category: Plan for change
Tags: User Adoption, Retirement
History
12/15/2025 Item Added to Message Center
Microsoft Message
Introduction
We’re retiring the Designer bot and Designer banners in Microsoft Teams to streamline image generation capabilities. Moving forward, Copilot in Teams will provide enhanced image generation features, where we will continue to invest and improve functionality.
When this will happen
Retirement begins mid-January 2026 and completes by February 27, 2026.
How this affects your organization
Who is affected: All Microsoft Teams users who currently use Designer bot or Designer banners.
What will happen:
- Users will no longer be able to install or use the Designer bot in Teams chat.
- Users will no longer be able to create channel announcement banners using Designer.
- Users can generate images using Copilot in Teams instead.
- No admin configuration changes are required.
What you can do to prepare
No admin action is required; this change happens automatically.
Recommended steps:
- Notify your users about the retirement of Designer bot and banners.
- Update internal documentation to reflect this change.
- Share guidance on using Copilot in Teams for image generation.
Learn more: AI Image Generator in Copilot
Compliance considerations
No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.