GitHub Copilot

What is GitHub Copilot?

GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered coding assistant built directly into the world’s largest development platform. Originally launched as a code completion tool in 2021, it has evolved into a full AI development environment with autonomous agents, multi-model support, conversational chat, and deep integration with the entire GitHub ecosystem.

Copilot now supports models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google — letting developers choose the best AI for each task. With features like the coding agent (which autonomously implements GitHub issues) and agent mode (which handles complex multi-file tasks in your IDE), Copilot has moved well beyond simple autocomplete.

Key Features in Detail

Agent Mode. The flagship feature for daily development. Agent mode analyzes your codebase, reads relevant files, proposes multi-file edits, runs terminal commands and tests, and iterates on its own output. It can build apps from scratch, perform complex refactoring, write and run tests, and migrate legacy code — all from a single prompt in your IDE. When something breaks, it detects the error and attempts to fix it automatically.

Coding Agent. A fully autonomous AI developer that runs in the background on GitHub’s infrastructure. Assign a GitHub issue to Copilot, and it opens a draft pull request, implements the changes in an isolated environment, and requests your review when done. It builds repository-specific memory over time, learning your project’s structure and conventions. Available on all paid plans.

Multi-Model Support. Choose from GPT-5 series (including GPT-5.2-Codex), Claude Sonnet 4.6, Claude Opus 4.6, Gemini 3 Pro, and more. Different models excel at different tasks — use Claude for nuanced code review, GPT-5.2-Codex for raw coding speed, or Gemini for Google-ecosystem projects. Switch models mid-conversation with the /model command.

Next Edit Suggestions. Beyond simple completions, Copilot predicts your next edit based on the changes you’ve already made. It understands the pattern of your work and suggests the logical next modification — press Tab to accept.

Code Review. AI-powered pull request review that analyzes your changes from multiple angles to identify bugs, security issues, performance problems, and style inconsistencies. It suggests specific fixes you can apply directly.

Copilot CLI. A terminal-based coding agent with interactive and plan modes. It can execute multi-step tasks, modify files, debug issues, and refactor code directly from the command line. Autopilot mode (Shift+Tab) handles tasks end-to-end without interruption.

Copilot Spaces. Curated context workspaces that can include repositories, code snippets, pull requests, issues, notes, and file uploads from multiple sources. Create a Space for a project and Copilot’s responses are grounded in that specific context. Available on all plans including Free.

MCP Integration. Connect external tools and data sources through the Model Context Protocol. Discover and install MCP servers from VS Code’s gallery or the GitHub MCP Registry. This makes Copilot extensible beyond coding — connecting it to databases, APIs, documentation systems, and more.

Pricing Plans

Free — 2,000 code completions and 50 chat/edit messages per month. Limited model access. A solid way to experience Copilot’s core features.

Pro ($10/month) — Unlimited code completions, 300 premium requests for advanced models and features. Access to the base model (GPT-4.1) with premium requests for GPT-5, Claude, and Gemini. The sweet spot for individual developers.

Pro+ ($39/month) — 1,500 premium requests and full access to every model including Claude Opus 4.6 and o3. For power users who need the best models available.

Business ($19/user/month) — Everything in Pro with centralized management, policy controls, coding agent access, and organization-wide billing. Designed for development teams.

Enterprise ($39/user/month) — All Business features with enterprise-grade security, compliance controls, and advanced administration. For large organizations with strict governance requirements.

Annual billing saves approximately 17% on individual plans.

Who is GitHub Copilot Best For?

Individual developers get extraordinary value from the Pro plan at $10/month. Unlimited completions and 300 premium requests cover most workflows. The coding agent alone saves hours per week on routine implementation tasks.

Development teams benefit from the Business plan’s shared context, policy controls, and unified billing. Copilot Spaces enables team-wide knowledge sharing, and the coding agent can handle backlog items autonomously.

Open-source maintainers can leverage the Free tier’s generous completions and the coding agent to manage contributions more efficiently.

Enterprise organizations get compliance controls, audit logging, and the ability to restrict which models and features are available across the organization.

Full-stack developers appreciate multi-IDE support — use VS Code for frontend, JetBrains for backend, and Copilot’s context carries across your entire workflow.

GitHub Copilot vs Alternatives

vs Cursor — Cursor offers a more opinionated, tightly integrated AI-first editor experience. Copilot has broader IDE support (VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, Neovim, Xcode) and deeper GitHub integration. Choose Cursor for a dedicated AI editor, Copilot for the best GitHub workflow.

vs Claude Code — Claude Code is a terminal-first coding agent with exceptional reasoning depth. Copilot offers more IDE integration points and the visual coding agent that works from GitHub issues. Choose Claude Code for complex analysis, Copilot for a complete IDE experience.

vs Amazon CodeWhisperer — CodeWhisperer integrates deeply with AWS services. Copilot has a larger model selection and broader ecosystem. Choose CodeWhisperer for AWS-heavy projects, Copilot for general development.

For developers who work with GitHub — which is most developers — Copilot is the most natural and complete AI coding assistant available.