GitHub Copilot Embraces Multi-Model Approach, Adding Support for Anthropic's Claude and Google's Gemini

GitHub Copilot goes 'multi-model' with support for four new LLMs

Developers, rejoice: You'll soon be able to use several new large language models (LLMs) in GitHub Copilot, the company's coding assistant. "From Copilot Workspace to multi-file editing to code review, security autofix, and the CLI, we will bring multi-model choice across many of GitHub Copilot's surface areas and functions soon," the company noted. GitHub first launched Copilot with Codex, a nascent version of OpenAI's GPT-3. Last year, GitHub released Copilot Chat, first with GPT-3.5 and then later GPT-4. The company says it has continually updated its base models depending on quality and latency needs with everything from GPT-3.5 Turbo to GPT-4o mini. GitHub says it's seen a "boom" in the ability of both small and large LMs to serve different programming needs. "The next phase of AI code generation will not only be defined by multi-model functionality, but by multi-model choice," GitHub said in the announcement. "GitHub is committed to its ethos as an open developer platform, and ensuring every developer has the agency to build with the models that work best for them." Also: OpenAI plans to offer its 250 million ChaptGPT users even more services The company also released GitHub Spark, an AI tool for building apps completely in natural language. With it, users can create Sparks, or "micro apps" that leverage AI and external data without eating up cloud space. Sign up for an early preview at GitHub Spark.

GitHub Copilot goes multi-model, adding support for Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude LLMs - SiliconANGLE

GitHub Copilot goes multi-model, adding support for Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude LLMs Microsoft Corp.'s GitHub sprung a surprise today as it revealed that its popular generative artificial intelligence coding assistant, GitHub Copilot, will no longer be powered exclusively by OpenAI's GPT models. Instead, the company said at its annual GitHub Universe event that it's adopting a multi-model approach, giving developers the opportunity to tap models from rival companies such as Anthropic PBC and Google LLC too. The revelation came alongside a host of other announcements, with GitHub launching a new AI tool called Spark that can automate much of the work that goes into building web applications, and more general updates to GitHub Copilot in VS Code and Xcode. However, it's the decision to make GitHub Copilot a multi-model tool that is by far the biggest announcement. In a blog post, GitHub Chief Executive Thomas Dohmke said users can now use Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet large language model in Copilot Chat's web and VS Code interfaces, with Google's Gemini 1.5 Pro to arrive as another option in the coming weeks. In addition, GitHub Copilot will also support an expanded range of OpenAI models, including more specialist ones such as GPT o1-preview and GPT o1-mini, which are said to be more focused on advanced reasoning than GPT-4o, which is the model it currently uses exclusively. The idea is that developers will be able to switch between various models based on whatever it is they're trying to achieve, and is an acknowledgement that, in the AI world, there are different horses for different courses, with some models better suited than others, depending on the task. The choice won't just be up to developers - organizations will also be able to select which models they're willing to make available to various team members using GitHub Copilot Enterprise. Dohmke said the approach makes sense because it has become clear that there is no one model to rule every scenario. "The next phase of AI code generation will not only be defined by multi-model functionality, but by multi-model choice," he wrote. Anthropic and Gemini will first become available in the GitHub Copilot web and VS Code chat interfaces, but the company eventually plans to bring them to every one of its surface areas and functions, Dohmke said, including the Copilot Workspace, GitHub's command line interface and various other tools. Given Microsoft's influence over GitHub, the move has led to speculation that the Redmond-based company itself may also decide to end its exclusivity arrangement with OpenAI and enable users to access other models in its own Copilot tools. While GitHub kicked off the copilot craze when it debuted its generative AI coding assistant in 2021, Microsoft has introduced a host of its own Copilots across platforms such as Windows and Office. As the biggest backer of OpenAI, Microsoft has taken full advantage of that relationship, using its GPT models as the engine behind its various Copilot tools, and has never given any indication that it's unhappy with their performance. But with GitHub's switch to a multi-model approach, it's likely that Microsoft has at least considered doing the same. Whether or not it will actually do so is far from certain. Microsoft acquired GitHub back in 2018, but unlike most other acquisitions it has allowed the company to operate more or less independently since then. So the same thinking prevalent at GitHub may not be present at Microsoft. For a long time, Microsoft sang the praises of OpenAI's GPT models, pitching them as the best of the best so that customers would think its exclusive access gives it an advantage over its competitors. However, it has become clear to most that OpenAI's models really aren't that superior at all, with Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude models both consistently demonstrating some impressive capabilities of their own. With that, the competition in the AI industry has shifted, and Microsoft is more concerned with providing enterprises with the tools and platforms they need to build generative AI applications. And one thing its customers want is flexibility around model choice, which is why the Azure AI service now offers multiple different LLMs from a variety of vendors. Then again, the choice of which model to use is less pronounced in some applications than others. The intricacies of writing code mean that GitHub Copilot can definitely benefit from having greater choice, as some models are more proficient at specific programming languages than others, but that may not be the case for Copilots tasked with writing newsletters or fixing user's grammar. So it's not entirely sure if Microsoft will curtail OpenAI's exclusivity advantage just yet. While the tech world watches with baited breath to see if Microsoft does follow GitHub's lead, there were plenty of other announcements at the GitHub Universe event. Perhaps the most significant is the launch of Spark, which is said to be an AI tool for building web apps using natural language. In a demonstration, GitHub showed how an initial prompt - essentially just a description of the app - generates a series of live previews of what that app could potentially look like. Users can compare the different previews, select the one they like, and then enter further prompts to change the app's look and feel. Of course, experienced developers will still be able to manipulate the code if they desire, while inexperienced users will just be able to continue prompting it with their natural language until they get the design they want. Once the user is happy with the app, GitHub Spark can then deploy it wherever the user wants it, on a desktop, tablet or smartphone, for example. They'll also be able to share their app with others, so their colleagues can tweak it if they desire. According to GitHub, Spark will help the company to fulfill its vision of creating one billion developers in the world. "For too long, there has been an unscalable barrier of entry separating a vast majority of the world's population from building software," Dohmke said. "With Spark, we will enable over one billion personal computer and mobile phone users to build and share their own micro apps directly on GitHub."

GitHub Copilot brings in AI models from OpenAI rivals

The Microsoft-owned platform is going multimodel for its Copilot code completion and programming tool. Developer platform GitHub announced yesterday (29 October) that its giving developers more choice with its Copilot tool by offering new AI models for users who want to switch from OpenAI. The Microsoft-owned platform will offer Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Google's Gemini 1.5 Pro, and OpenAI's o1-preview and o1-mini for those using Copilot Chat. Until now, Copilot Chat was powered by OpenAI's GPT-4. In a blogpost, GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke said: "GitHub is committed to its ethos as an open developer platform, and ensuring every developer has the agency to build with the models that work best for them. Today at GitHub Universe, we delivered just that." Speaking to TechCrunch, Dohmke said the company believes the era of a single model is over. "We, at GitHub, believe in developer choice and that developers - for reasons of company policy, benchmarks that they have seen, different programming languages and, of course, personal preference, or because they're using that model for other scenarios already - prefer one of the competing models, and so we're officially partnering with both Anthropic and Google." The developer platform owned by Microsoft first launched its AI tool Copilot in 2021. Since then, Copilot has received numerous updates and upgrades, such as being infused with OpenAI's ChatGPT-4 Turbo model and the Dall-E 3 image generator, as well as the reveal of a premium version of the chatbot. Additionally, its parent company Microsoft has been investing heavily in its AI offerings, boosted by its partnership with AI powerhouse OpenAI. While the latest announcement has been heralded as a way to give developers more choice, Microsoft is still facing regulatory scrutiny. Earlier this year, the US announced plans to launch antitrust investigations into Microsoft, OpenAI and Nvidia to determine the extent of their dominance in the AI sector. Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

GitHub Copilot Will Now Let You Choose Your Favourite AI Model

The announcements were made during the GitHub Universe 2024 event GitHub announced a major update to Copilot, the artificial intelligence (AI) coding assistant service, on Tuesday. The announcement was made at the GitHub Universe 2024 event, which is being held in San Francisco. The update introduces multi-model support for Copilot, allowing developers to pick between various AI models by Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI. The company said the flexibility in choice will empower developers to freely use their preferred models for various projects. Alongside, a new AI tool dubbed GitHub Spark was also introduced. Launched in 2021, GitHub Copilot was the first AI-powered platform with the Copilot branding. The AI assistant was introduced just months after Microsoft invested in OpenAI, forming a partnership with the AI firm. GitHub Copilot allows developers to use AI models in writing codes, assisting with finding bugs, running debug and security remediation, and more. At the event, the Microsoft-owned coding and file hosting platform introduced the GitHub Copilot will now offer developers a wider choice in the AI models they want to use. Those using the AI assistant in Visual Studio Code and on the official website will now get to pick Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Google's Gemini 1.5 Pro, and OpenAI's GPT-4o, o1-preview, and o1-mini models. While Claude 3.5 Sonnet is currently available, Gemini 1.5 Pro will be added in the coming weeks. Developers will be able to switch between models during a conversation with Copilot Chat to test and check which is a better fit. Users can also set a preferred AI model and start their project on it from the get-go. GitHub Spark is an AI-native tool that can be used to by all developers, regardless of their skill range, to generate micro apps called a "spark". These micro apps are fully functional and can integrate AI capabilities and external data sources into larger apps, reducing the reliance on cloud servers. Generating a micro app is also easy as developers can simply type a natural language prompt detailing their requirements and see a preview of the app. Developers will have the freedom to either directly work on the app code to make desired changes or add follow-up prompts to make the AI do the work. The tool supports both Anthropic and OpenAI models. Once a spark is created, it can automatically be run on desktops, tablets, or smartphones. Users can also share the spark with others -- either with customised access control or to give them full control to remix the spark or build on top of it.

GitHub's Copilot goes multi-model and adds support for Anthropic's Claude and Google's Gemini | TechCrunch

GitHub today announced that it will now allow developers to switch between a number of large language models when they use Copilot Chat, its code-centric ChatGPT-like service. Until now, Copilot Chat was powered by OpenAI's GPT-4. Going forward, developers can choose between Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Google's Gemini 1.5 Pro, and OpenAI's GPT-4o, o1-preview, and o1-mini. Anthropic will launch first, with Gemini following in a few weeks. Some pundits may see this as yet another way for Microsoft to reduce its reliance on OpenAI, but GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke framed it in terms of giving developers a choice. Not every model, after all, excels at every development-related task, and some models are simply better at working with certain languages than others. "We truly believe that the era of a single model is over," GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke told me. "As you know, GitHub Copilot itself has always used multiple versions of the GPT-3 or -4 models for different tasks. Where low latency was required, we were using a faster, smaller model. Where we needed higher accuracy, we were using a bigger, more complex model. We, at GitHub, believe in developer choice and that developers -- for reasons of company policy, benchmarks that they have seen, different programming languages and of course, personal preference, or because they're using that model for other scenarios already -- prefer one of the competing models, and so we're officially partnering with both Anthropic and Google." The team had already done some of the prep work for this launch when it started offering developers the choice between GPT-4 and GPT-4 o1, which launched just over a month ago. For now, this choice applies only to Copilot Chat and the newly launched Spark, but Dohmke noted that the company wants to bring this choice to all of its tools. "Developers want a broad choice of models that are best-suited for development, including code generation, refactoring, and optimizing code," said Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian. "Gemini models excel at this and are accessible on widely used developer platforms and environments - including now with GitHub Copilot - so millions of developers globally can benefit from trusted, enterprise-grade AI through Google Cloud."

GitHub Copilot moves beyond OpenAI models to support Claude 3.5, Gemini

The large language model-based coding assistant GitHub Copilot will switch from using exclusively OpenAI's GPT models to a multi-model approach over the coming weeks, GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke announced in a post on GitHub's blog. First, Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet will roll out to Copilot Chat's web and VS Code interfaces over the next few weeks. Google's Gemini 1.5 Pro will come a bit later. Additionally, GitHub will soon add support for a wider range of OpenAI models, including GPT o1-preview and o1-mini, which are intended to be stronger at advanced reasoning than GPT-4, which Copilot has used until now. Developers will be able to switch between the models (even mid-conversation) to tailor the model to fit their needs -- and organizations will be able to choose which models will be usable by team members. The new approach makes sense for users, as certain models are better at certain languages or types of tasks. "There is no one model to rule every scenario," wrote Dohmke. "It is clear the next phase of AI code generation will not only be defined by multi-model functionality, but by multi-model choice." It starts with the web-based and VS Code Copilot Chat interfaces, but it won't stop there. "From Copilot Workspace to multi-file editing to code review, security autofix, and the CLI, we will bring multi-model choice across many of GitHub Copilot's surface areas and functions soon," Dohmke wrote. There are a handful of additional changes coming to GitHub Copilot, too, including extensions, the ability to manipulate multiple files at once from a chat with VS Code, and a preview of Xcode support. In addition to the Copilot changes, GitHub announced Spark, a natural language tool for developing apps. Non-coders will be able to use a series of natural language prompts to create simple apps, while coders will be able to tweak more precisely as they go. In either use case, you'll be able to take a conversational approach, requesting changes and iterating as you go, and comparing different iterations.

Microsoft's GitHub expands beyond OpenAI, lets developers use AI models from Anthropic, Google

GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke speaks at the Collision conference in Toronto on June 27, 2023. Microsoft has a very expensive and very public relationship with artificial intelligence startup OpenAI. But one of Microsoft's most successful AI products, GitHub Copilot, is now going beyond OpenAI to give developers more choice in what models they want to use. GitHub, which Microsoft acquired in 2018, said in a blog post on Tuesday that developers will be able to power the GitHub Copilot Chat feature with Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet model or Google's Gemini 1.5 Pro model, as alternatives to OpenAI's GPT-4o, if they choose. "There is no one model to rule every scenario, and developers expect the agency to build with the models that work best for them," GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke said in the post. "It is clear the next phase of AI code generation will not only be defined by multi-model functionality, but by multi-model choice. Today, we deliver just that." Microsoft introduced GitHub Copilot in 2021, offering source code suggestions to software developers. Copilot relies on models from OpenAI, which has received billions of dollars in funding from Microsoft and has exploded in popularity since releasing ChatGPT in late 2022. OpenAI's o1-preview and o1-mini, which are meant to reason over difficult problems, will also be available in the Copilot Chat on GitHub's website and in the open-source Visual Studio Code text editor. They're currently available in a public preview. Google's model will be released in public preview in the next few weeks, a spokesperson said. The arrival of the o1 models from OpenAI in September led GitHub to look at adding a dropdown menu for Copilot to provide more options, Dohmke said in an interview with CNBC last week. At that point, it felt like "the right time" to add models from Anthropic and Google, Dohmke said. Developers will be able to see which model works best for a given programming language or employ the one that adheres to corporate requirements, he added.

GitHub Copilot will support models from Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI

Microsoft-owned GitHub was the first to launch its AI tool called Copilot in 2021, ahead of Microsoft's push to make Copilot the center of its AI efforts. It was the first major result of Microsoft's initial $1 billion investment into OpenAI, and GitHub announced last week that Copilot now has more than 1 million paid subscribers. It will be interesting to see if Microsoft adopts GitHub's multi-model approach and opens up its own Copilot AI assistant to models from rivals like Google and Anthropic.

Microsoft Strikes Deals With OpenAI's Top Rivals For AI Coding Assistant

GitHub Copilot will be able to toggle between Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Google's Gemini 1.5 Pro, and OpenAI's GPT-4o, o1-preview, and o1-mini, the company said. The new development is striking given Microsoft's long record of relying primarily on OpenAI models for its AI products. Microsoft's investments in OpenAI grant it the rights to reuse the startup's models in its own software, and GitHub Copilot became the earliest Microsoft product built on OpenAI models when it first launched widely in June 2022, months before OpenAI shipped ChatGPT. That partnership helped OpenAI grab early mindshare with software developers, and was also a boon to Microsoft, which consistently pointed to GitHub Copilot as an early example of revenue coming from a generative AI product (the company implied in July that GitHub Copilot is on track to generate $300 million annually from subscriptions). And because Microsoft already had the rights to use OpenAI's models, it didn't have to pay sticker price for the AI underlying the tool, which theoretically helped GitHub's margins on selling the $10-per-seat software.

Microsoft Sidesteps OpenAI Again; Integrates Claude and Gemini to GitHub Copilot

The development suggests that Microsoft can shake hands with competitors, overlooking its close partner OpenAI, to maintain the lead in the AI race. We recently reported that the Microsoft - OpenAI relationship is facing tension over the delayed sharing of AI advancements with the Redmond giant. And now, Microsoft has announced that GitHub Copilot, which used OpenAI's GPT-4o model earlier, will have access to models from rival firms such as Anthropic and Google. Microsoft is bringing Anthropic's state-of-the-art Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Google's Gemini 1.5 Pro models to GitHub Copilot in VS Code. In addition, Microsoft says OpenAI's new o1-preview and 01-mini models are available now. The company calls it, "bringing developer choice to GitHub Copilot..." The move is widely viewed as Microsoft's effort to reduce its reliance on OpenAI for future AI advancements. By partnering with Anthropic and Google, Microsoft has made it clear that it's ready to shake hands with rival AI startups if the need arises. Earlier this year, Microsoft invested in Mistral AI and signed a multi-year deal. By the way, Claude 3.5 Sonnet is hailed as the best AI model for coding, and even Cursor, the VS Code competitor uses Claude 3.5 Sonnet by default. It means that OpenAI is lagging behind Anthropic in offering the best AI coding assistance. In fact, The Information recently reported that OpenAI's internal benchmarks found that its models were behind Anthropic's models for coding tasks. OpenAI is reportedly under pressure to come up with a better model for AI coding assistance. Besides that, Microsoft has introduced a new feature called GitHub Spark in VS Code to build entire applications in natural language. It can develop apps and you can see live preview as it's built. Microsoft is also under immense pressure to deliver the best AI coding experience in VS Code. Cursor has quickly become quite popular among developers for delivering the best AI coding experience. So VS Code is also getting multi-file editing, tab completion, code review, autofix, rules configuration, and more. Interestingly, Microsoft is releasing GitHub Copilot code completion for Xcode too.

Did GitHub Copilot Just Kill Cursor?

At GitHub Universe, GitHub unveiled a new era of multi-model choice for Copilot, introducing Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Google's Gemini 1.5 Pro, and OpenAI's o1-preview and o1-mini, empowering developers and enterprises to select models tailored to specific coding needs across tools like VS Code and GitHub.com. "The next phase of AI code generation will not only be defined by multi-model functionality but by multi-model choice," said GitHub, underscoring its commitment to open developer choice. Alongside this, GitHub previewed "Spark," a natural language tool to create AI-integrated applications, supporting GitHub's vision to reach 1 billion developers. "In 2024, we experienced a boom in high-quality large and small language models that each individually excel at different programming tasks. There is no one model to rule every scenario, And developers expect the agency to build with the models that work best for them," said GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke at the GitHub Universe event. "Our mission has always been to get the most frontier model capabilities in as many people's hands as quickly as possible. If we can't deploy them now, they'll be obsolete in six months to a year," said Anthropic's chief science officer Jared Kaplan, sharing insights on Claude 3.5's exceptional appeal. Further broadening their multi-model strategy, GitHub revealed another major integration with Google's Gemini 1.5 Pro, a model known for its "two-million-token context window and native multimodality," designed to process "code, images, video, and text simultaneously," as GitHub demonstrated live. In an innovative Copilot update for VS Code, GitHub's senior director of developer advocacy Cassidy Williams, showcased Copilot's expanded capabilities, including custom instructions, multi-file editing, and integration with GitHub's search and intent detection tools, giving users control over how they code. "This is your brand-new experience for VS Code," said Cassidy, emphasising that the latest features -- model selection, repo indexing, and GitHub Copilot extensions -- are "available to every single Copilot user, from individuals to enterprises," starting from this week. For the first time, GitHub Copilot will also extend beyond VS Code, with support announced for Apple's Xcode, enhancing accessibility for mobile and desktop developers alike, regardless of their preferred platform or workspace. Moving on from Codex. Earlier this month, Microsoft's GitHub introduced OpenAI's o1-preview and o1-mini models on Azure. These models are available through GitHub Copilot and Models, and developers can sign up to access OpenAI o1 in GitHub Copilot Chat via VS Code and the GitHub Models playground. Now, the integration of Claude 3.5 Sonnet with Github is live. "Claude 3.5 Sonnet excels at coding tasks and is broadly used by developers for its exceptional grasp of software engineering principles and ability to tackle complex programming challenges," said Anthropic's Kaplan. Meanwhile, in a recent announcement, AWS introduced a new capability for developers: inline chats with Q Developer, its GenAI assistant for software development. This feature, powered by the upgraded Claude 3.5 Sonnet and optimised custom models, eliminates the need for a chat panel, enhancing productivity for development teams. Google's Gemini 1.5 Pro's integration with GitHub will be available in a few weeks. Developers are seeking different models for tasks like code generation, refactoring, and optimisation, enabling flexible, efficient, and high-quality coding across programming environments. "Gemini models excel at this and are accessible on widely used developer platforms and environments - including now with GitHub Copilot - so millions of developers globally can benefit from trusted, enterprise-grade AI through Google Cloud," said Thomas Kurian, CEO at Google Cloud. In a recent podcast with Lex Fridman, Cursor's co-founders highlighted how Microsoft-backed GitHub Copilot is falling behind startups in terms of innovation. They emphasised how the tech giant lacked the research and experimentation necessary to really push the ceiling. The sentiment also remains that Copilot did not have any 'alpha features' for a very long time. Even Y Combinator funded several open-source AI code editors like Continue, Pearl, Void, Type, and Melty, among others. The Copilot experience is finally improving with substantial updates to GitHub Copilot in VS Code, Copilot Workspace, GitHub Models, and Copilot Autofix. We have written extensively about whether it is too late for Microsoft's VS Code or GitHub Copilot to catch up with the market. Now the tables have turned. The days may be numbered for Cursor and other AI coding assistants, as GitHub Copilot advances toward becoming the go-to cross-platform solution for developers. "It is clear the next phase of AI code generation will not only be defined by multi-model functionality, but by multi-model choice. Today, we deliver just that," said Dohmke. With this, developers can choose the right model for the right use case or continue to let Copilot use its powerful default. GitHub is allowing developers to build with an array of leading models in the workflows they're accustomed to. Aman Sanger, co-founder of Anysphere (the creator of Cursor), said, "I think the Cursor a year from now will need to make the Cursor of today look obsolete." This indicates if Cursor is to stay relevant in the competition, it has to pull its socks up. "You can wax poetic about moats and brand that and this is our advantage, but I think in the end, just if you stop innovating on the product, you will lose," said Micheal T, a co-founder of Anysphere. It'll be interesting to see how Cursor responds, and how the competition will evolve.

Microsoft's GitHub Unit Cuts AI Deals With Google, Anthropic

Microsoft Corp.'s GitHub has agreed to bake artificial intelligence models from Anthropic and Alphabet Inc.'s Google into a coding assistant used by millions of software developers. At first, customers will be able to use Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet to chat and ask questions, GitHub said Tuesday at its Universe conference in San Francisco. Eventually, the models will be incorporated into the main part of the GitHub Copilot assistant, which can spit out code with a few simple prompts.