One Roadmap to Rule Them All: What the AI at Work Roadmap Means for Dynamics 365 and Power Platform Architects
#D365CliffsNotes | Solution Architect Perspective
This blog is my contribution to the Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply chain management & Power Platform community. Having worked with Axapta / Dynamics AX / D365 F&O for 18 years out of my 21 years of career in application development and ERP. I'm passionate about Dynamics 365 ERP, Power Platform & Azure integrations 💡. However, I tend to always look forward. So I mostly write about current subjects.
My aim is that my deep thought may inspire some of you and provoke some new thoughts in the interest of our community.
Please note, that the views expressed in this blog are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the view of my employer.
If you've ever bookmarked a Release Plan page on Learn, saved a filtered view in "My Release Plans," or built a client deck around Wave 1/Wave 2 timelines - Microsoft just changed the ground under your feet. On August 25, 2026, Richard Riley (GM, Agents and Low Code) announced that Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and Dataverse roadmap content is merging into the AI at Work roadmap, and the twice-yearly release wave model is being retired outright.
Here's the breakdown, architect-to-architect.
The Core Change
Starting September 2026, new capabilities for D365, Power Platform, and Dataverse will no longer wait for a Wave 1 (April) or Wave 2 (October) announcement. Instead, Microsoft moves to continuous, always-on publishing — features get disclosed as soon as they're committed, and each roadmap item is tracked live through three states:
In Development → Rolling Out → Launched.
Why this matters for us: most organizations don't run Dynamics 365 in isolation. It sits alongside Power Platform, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and custom agents built in Copilot Studio. A single, unified roadmap means you can finally plan across the whole estate in one view instead of stitching together separate release plan pages.
What You Can Actually Do With It
The AI at Work roadmap isn't just a browsing page - it's built for planning workflows:
Filter by product and cloud environment relevant to your tenant
Export filtered or full views to CSV for governance decks and steering committee reviews
Subscribe via RSS to track only what matters to you
Share direct links with stakeholders
Search by Feature ID and advanced filters
Query it programmatically via the Release Communications MCP Server - a nice touch for teams building internal AI tooling around release data
The Retirement Plan - Mark Your Calendars
| Milestone | What Happens |
|---|---|
| September 2026 | New D365, Power Platform, and Dataverse features begin publishing directly to the AI at Work roadmap |
| September – November 2026 | Existing roadmap content with a preview/GA date of June 1, 2026 or later migrates over. Message Center carries transition notifications |
| By November 15, 2026 | Release Planner officially retires. AI at Work roadmap becomes the sole primary destination |
A few critical fine-print points architects should flag to their teams:
Cutoff date matters: Only roadmap content with preview/GA ≥ June 1, 2026 moves over. Anything earlier stays archived on Learn for historical reference only — it won't appear on the new roadmap.
No more Release Wave 2 (Sept 2026) announcement — there will be no traditional Wave 2 release plan document this cycle.
New release plans stop publishing to Learn starting September 2026. Learn remains for documentation, not roadmap disclosure.
Saved views don't carry over. If you or your clients have personalized "My Release Plans" views, they will not migrate — the new roadmap doesn't support personalized saved views, only shareable filtered links.
Message Center and Learn remain unchanged for tenant-specific notifications and implementation documentation, respectively. This is purely a roadmap-communication change, not a product delivery or release-cadence change.
Architect's Take
For those of us who build governance calendars, client roadmap reviews, and MVP/community content around the Wave cycle, this is a genuine process shift, not just a rebrand. My recommendation to teams and clients:
Kill the twice-yearly ritual. Move to a recurring monthly or quarterly roadmap review built on a saved filter + RSS feed, since there's no longer a fixed "Wave day" to anchor around.
Re-point your bookmarks now. Update any internal wikis, governance docs, or client-facing roadmap trackers that reference old Release Plan URLs.
Start using the MCP Server if you're already building internal Copilot/agent tooling — it's a natural fit to pull roadmap data straight into planning dashboards.
Don't lose your saved views — export or document them before November 15, 2026, since they won't transfer.
Net-net: less ceremony, more continuous signal. For solution architects managing multi-product AI transformation roadmaps for clients, this should make governance easier - provided we adapt our own planning cadence to match Microsoft's new always-on model.
Explore it yourself: aka.ms/AIatWorkroadmap
Microsoft Official blog: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics-365/blog/business-leader/2026/08/25/one-always-on-roadmap-dynamics-365-power-platform-and-dataverse-join-the-ai-at-work-roadmap/
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