GitHub Copilot is the coding assistant from GitHub, Inc., the development platform owned by Microsoft. Originally launched as a code autocompleter, it has evolved into a suite that includes chat, agents, code review and automation, integrated with IDEs, the terminal, GitHub and desktop apps. Copilot is not a proprietary model: it provides access to multiple models (OpenAI’s GPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Google’s Gemini, xAI’s Grok, among others) with automatic or manual selection.
What it does
- Real-time code suggestions as you type (autocomplete)
- Chat for code questions, explanations and refactoring, with support for attaching images and PDFs
- Agents: complete tasks end to end (cloud agent, agent mode) and open pull requests
- Assisted code review on pull requests
- Automation of recurring tasks (GitHub Actions, Copilot app)
How it works
- Available in VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Neovim, Eclipse, Xcode, GitHub.com, GitHub Mobile and the terminal
- You pick the model (or use auto-selection) and Copilot acts in the repository context
- Individual and enterprise plans with monthly AI credits
- Agentic features require human approval for sensitive actions (running commands, merging PRs)
Models
Copilot is multi-model: it includes GPT (OpenAI), Claude (Anthropic), Gemini (Google), Grok (xAI), Kimi and others, with availability varying by plan. Open-weights models (such as DeepSeek and Kimi) may be disabled by default in enterprises. It also supports bring-your-own-key (BYOK) and third-party agents (Claude Code, Codex) on some plans.
Public pricing
- Free plan (US$ 0) with 2,000 completions per month and limited model access
- Paid individual plans from US$ 10/month: Pro (US$ 10/month), Pro+ (US$ 39/month), Max (US$ 100/month), with more credits and premium models
- Organizations/enterprises: Business (US$ 19/user/month) and Enterprise (US$ 39/user/month)
- Students, teachers and maintainers of popular open source projects may qualify for free access
Strengths
- Native integration with GitHub and the developer ecosystem
- Multi-model with freedom of choice
- Broad adoption and mature ecosystem (agents, code review, automation)
- Options for individuals and enterprises with governance
Points of attention
- Not a proprietary model: quality and cost depend on the chosen models
- Credit and feature limits per plan
- Dependence on the GitHub/Microsoft platform
- Data and code policies (training, retention) should be reviewed, especially in enterprises