GitHub Copilot Chat Now Available in Preview for Individual Users

Hero Approved GitHub – 2

Key takeaways:

  • GitHub is expanding its AI-powered Copilot Chat tool to all GitHub Copilot individual subscribers in Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code.
  • Copilot Chat aims to streamline the development process, allowing users get answers to coding questions and troubleshoot bugs without leaving the IDE.
  • The chatbot is available for free to existing GitHub Copilot subscribers, with a subscription priced at $10 per month or $100 per year.

Microsoft-owned GitHub has just unveiled an expansion of its AI-powered Copilot Chat service that promises to enhance developers’ productivity. The company announced that a public beta of the coding chatbot is now available for all GitHub Copilot individual subscribers in Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code.

GitHub first started testing Copilot Chat with business customers back in July 2023. It’s designed to provide context-specific and real-time coding assistance for software developers. GitHub Copilot Chat leverages advanced natural language processing (NLP) to provide answers to questions within the integrated development environment (IDE).

Additionally, the Copilot Chat tool provides real-time guidance such as best coding practices, useful tips, as well as solutions for specific coding challenges. The service also performs code analysis and suggests remediations for security fixes in the code. and makes debugging easier for developers.

“Now, teams of developers and individuals alike can use GitHub Copilot Chat to learn new languages or frameworks, troubleshoot bugs, or get answers to coding questions in simple, natural language outputs—all without leaving the IDE. By reducing the need for context switching, it streamlines the development process, which helps developers maintain their focus and momentum,” said Shuyin Zhao, VP of Product Management, GitHub.

GitHub Copilot Chat Now Available in Preview for Individual Users

Getting started with GitHub Copilot Chat

GitHub’s Copilot Chat tool is available for free for all existing GitHub Copilot subscribers. The GitHub Copilot individual subscription is priced at $10 per month or $100 per year. Currently, GitHub Copilot Chat is supported in both Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can learn more about how to sign up for the public beta of GitHub Copilot Chat on this support page.

Since its launch, GitHub Copilot has been under criticism regarding the legality of its use of publicly available code. Earlier this month, Microsoft promised to defend Copilot customers against copyright lawsuits. However, the Copilot Copyright Commitment is only applicable to customers who use the built-in guardrails and contents in its products.