◀ Playbook index
NO.02

GitHub Copilot

Updated: 2026-07-22

At a Glance

GitHub Copilot is the world's most widely adopted AI developer tool.

It accelerates your flow across every surface — IDE, terminal, and GitHub.com.

The History of GitHub Copilot

The "Copilot" (Co-pilot) Era
Rise of Agents
Beyond the IDE
LLM Code
Completion
Copilot Chat
Ask Mode
Copilot Chat
Edit Mode
GitHub Copilot
Agent Mode
GitHub Copilot
Beyond the IDE
Code completion only
Responds to what you ask
Acts autonomously
Usable outside the IDE

AI Models & Surfaces

Available AI models: OpenAI / Anthropic / Google Gemini / xAI Grok / Microsoft (MAI) / Moonshot AI (Kimi), plus support for custom models and BYOK (Bring Your Own Key).

Available surfaces:

  • IDE: VS Code / Visual Studio / JetBrains / Xcode / Eclipse / Neovim
  • Terminal: Interact from the shell with Copilot CLI
  • SDK: Embed Copilot directly into your own applications
  • Cloud: Autonomous execution from the browser via Cloud Agent · Automatic PR review with Copilot Code Review
  • Automation: Codify workflows with Agentic Workflow
  • Web / Mobile: Chat from GitHub.com and GitHub Mobile · Remote CLI control · Launch Cloud Agents

Developer Impact

The impact GitHub Copilot has on developers
Results from a 6-month study of 450 Accenture developers (2025)

ActivityProductivityEfficiencySatisfaction
94%
reported maintaining a “flow state” at work
90%
feel they write better code
50%
increase in number of builds
96%
felt successful from day one
90%
spend less time searching for information
88%
of Copilot-suggested code was accepted as-is
84%
improvement in build success rate
90%
improvement in job satisfaction

Use Codex & Claude with a Single Subscription

With a GitHub Copilot subscription, you can use the Codex and Claude agents (harness) — both in the IDE and as a Cloud Agent. Usage is paid directly through Copilot AI credits, so no extra contract is needed.

flowchart LR
  Sub["💎 GitHub Copilot<br/>One Subscription"]

  subgraph IDE["💻 IDE Agents"]
    direction TB
    VSC["Copilot"]
    JB["Codex"]
    CL["Claude"]
  end

  subgraph Cloud["☁️ Cloud Agents (Async Coding)"]
    direction TB
    CA["Copilot Cloud Agent"]
    GH["Claude Coding Agent"]
    GO["Codex Coding Agent"]
  end

  Sub --> IDE
  Sub --> Cloud

  classDef sub fill:#1a0a2e,stroke:#ff2e88,color:#ff2e88,stroke-width:2px
  classDef ide fill:#0a0e27,stroke:#00f0ff,color:#00f0ff,stroke-width:2px
  classDef cloud fill:#0a1a14,stroke:#9bbc0f,color:#9bbc0f,stroke-width:2px
  class Sub sub
  class VSC,JB,CL ide
  class CA,GH,GO cloud

Why Enterprises Choose Copilot

  • Orchestration
     AI that spans the entire SDLC, not just coding
  • Freedom of choice across models, agents, and surfaces
     The best model and interface for every workflow. No vendor lock-in
  • Enterprise controls
     Centralized governance, visibility, and security
  • Compliance
     Copilot Proxy, policy controls, public-code filtering, and Microsoft IP protection for eligible use
  • Best cost-performance
     Pooled usage, rich built-in entitlements, and maximum price advantage via ACD

Secure & Compliant Architecture

Prompts and generated code pass through Copilot Proxy — designed for safe enterprise use.
🔗 See the Copilot Trust Center for full details.

---
config:
  flowchart:
    htmlLabels: true
  themeCSS: |
    .nodeLabel { text-align: center !important; }
    .nodeLabel .llm-row { display: flex !important; flex-direction: row !important; justify-content: center !important; align-items: center !important; gap: 6px !important; margin-top: 4px !important; }
    .nodeLabel .llm-row img { width: 22px !important; height: 22px !important; object-fit: contain !important; }
    .nodeLabel .llm-row img.ms-ico { width: 17px !important; height: 17px !important; }
    .nodeLabel img.proxy-ico { width: 18px !important; height: 18px !important; display: inline-block !important; margin: 0 6px 0 0 !important; vertical-align: middle !important; }
---
flowchart LR
  Dev["👤 Developer"]
  Proxy["<img class='proxy-ico' src='/theomonfort/github-copilot-white-icon.png' alt=''/><b>Copilot Proxy</b>"]
  LLM["<b>LLM Providers</b><div class='llm-row'><img src='/theomonfort/llm-openai.png' alt=''/><img src='/theomonfort/llm-anthropic.svg' alt=''/><img src='/theomonfort/llm-gemini.png' alt=''/><img src='/theomonfort/llm-grok.png' alt=''/><img class='ms-ico' src='/theomonfort/llm-microsoft.svg' alt=''/></div>"]

  Dev -->|"Context"| Proxy
  Proxy -->|"Suggestions"| Dev
  Proxy <-->|" "| LLM

  classDef llm fill:#0a1a14,stroke:#9bbc0f,color:#9bbc0f,stroke-width:2px
  classDef proxy fill:#0a0e27,stroke:#00f0ff,color:#00f0ff,stroke-width:2px
  classDef dev fill:#1a0a2e,stroke:#ff2e88,color:#ff2e88,stroke-width:2px
  class LLM llm
  class Proxy proxy
  class Dev dev

What Copilot Proxy does:

  • 🔒 Removes PII (Personally Identifiable Information) from context
  • 🚫 Filters inappropriate content from context
  • 🛡️ Checks context for common security vulnerabilities
  • ⚖️ Passes suggestions through an IP (Intellectual Property) filter
  • 🔐 All data is encrypted in transit