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Azure AD Is Now Microsoft Entra ID: What Changed and What Did Not
Azure AD was renamed Microsoft Entra ID in 2023. What changed (names, licence labels), what did not (URLs, APIs, features), and old names to retire.
Azure AD Is Now Microsoft Entra ID: What Changed and What Did Not
Originally published 2 November 2023 · Reviewed 5 November 2026
If a tutorial, licence quote or portal screen still says Azure AD, it is describing what Microsoft now calls Microsoft Entra ID. This article explains what changed, what did not, and which old names you should retire from your own documentation. It is a naming change, not a migration.
The timeline
Microsoft published the new name on 11 July 2023, started updating names across its experiences from 15 August 2023, and changed the display names of service plans and product SKUs on 1 October 2023. Most text changes in Microsoft and partner experiences were expected to be complete by the end of 2023. If you see "Azure Active Directory" in a screen or document now, it is probably out of date.
Microsoft gave several reasons: the new name reflects multicloud and multiplatform use, it reduces confusion with Windows Server Active Directory, and it fits the wider Microsoft Entra family of identity and network access products.
What stayed the same
Microsoft states that existing deployments continue to work without action. Specifically:
- Features and capabilities are unchanged.
- Licensing, terms, service-level agreements and pricing are unchanged.
- Sign-in URLs, APIs, PowerShell cmdlets and the Microsoft Authentication Library (MSAL) stay the same, as do developer tools.
- You can still manage the service from the Azure portal and the Microsoft 365 admin center, and from the Microsoft Entra admin center at entra.microsoft.com.
That last point is why existing scripts keep working. Many cmdlets in the older Azure AD PowerShell module still have AzureAD in their names, and Microsoft did not rename them.
What changed
| Old name | Current name |
|---|---|
| Azure Active Directory, Azure AD, AAD | Microsoft Entra ID |
| Azure AD Free | Microsoft Entra ID Free |
| Azure AD Premium P1 | Microsoft Entra ID P1 |
| Azure AD Premium P2 | Microsoft Entra ID P2 |
| Azure AD Conditional Access | Microsoft Entra Conditional Access |
| Azure AD Connect | Microsoft Entra Connect |
| Azure AD Domain Services | Microsoft Entra Domain Services |
| Hybrid Azure AD join | Microsoft Entra hybrid join |
| Azure AD multifactor authentication | Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication |
Microsoft asks writers not to use the acronym AAD. Where space forces an abbreviation, it suggests ME-ID, and notes that this is not an official product abbreviation.
What did not get renamed
Some names were deliberately left alone, either because they refer to something other than Entra ID or because they are deprecated:
- Windows Server Active Directory, AD DS and Active Directory Federation Services keep their names.
- The Azure AD Authentication Library (ADAL) is deprecated; applications should move to MSAL.
- Azure AD Graph is deprecated; new work belongs on Microsoft Graph.
- The Azure AD PowerShell module was announced for deprecation; Microsoft recommends Microsoft Graph PowerShell.
- Azure AD B2C kept its name. Microsoft stopped selling it to new customers from 1 May 2025 and points new work at Microsoft Entra External ID.
- DirSync and Azure AD Sync no longer work. If anything still uses them, upgrade to Microsoft Entra Connect.
The wider Microsoft Entra family
Microsoft Entra is the family name, and Microsoft Entra ID is one product in it. The family also includes Microsoft Entra ID Governance, External ID, Verified ID, Workload ID, and the network access products Internet Access and Private Access. You do not need any of them just because the name changed.
What you should do
- Update your documentation and runbooks. Replace Azure AD with Microsoft Entra ID, and Azure AD Premium P1 or P2 with Entra ID P1 or P2, so staff can match what they see in the portals and on invoices.
- Check licence names in your tooling. Reports and scripts that match on old display names may need updating, because service plan names changed on 1 October 2023.
- Review old code. Search for ADAL, the Azure AD Graph endpoint and the Azure AD PowerShell module. These are the items with real deadlines, unlike the rename itself.
- Leave working scripts alone for now. Cmdlet and URL names did not change, so there is no urgency to rewrite them just for naming.
- Tell your users only when they see it. End users sign in with a work or school account, and Microsoft's guidance does not ask you to rebrand that.
Why older articles still say Azure AD
Search results are full of posts, forum answers and error messages from before the rename. They are not wrong about how the service works, but their product names are out of date and some of the tooling they mention is deprecated. When you follow one, translate the names first, then check the current Microsoft documentation for the steps, because portals and menus have been reorganised.
Where you will still see the old name
Expect Azure AD to linger in a few places for some time: PowerShell cmdlet names, application registration screens, third-party documentation, audit tools and older exam material. That is normal. When you write your own procedures, use the new product name on first mention and, if your readers search for the old one, add "formerly Azure AD" once so the page can still be found.
Microsoft references
- New name for Azure Active Directory, including the timeline, glossary and list of names that did not change, reviewed 5 November 2026.
This article was first published on 2 November 2023. It was rewritten on 5 November 2026 to match Microsoft's published guidance. Microsoft's live documentation takes precedence if it has changed.