GitHub Copilot will integrate models from Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI.

GitHub has decided to adopt a multi-model approach for its code completion and programming tool, Copilot. Developers will soon have the option to choose from models from companies such as Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI to optimize their experience with GitHub Copilot. During the GitHub Universe conference, Spark was also introduced, an artificial intelligence tool designed to simplify the creation of web applications, along with several updates for Copilot in Visual Studio Code, Copilot for Xcode, among others.

GitHub Copilot users on the web or in VS Code will be able to select the Claude 3.5 model, while the Gemini 1.5 Pro model will be available in the coming weeks. Models from OpenAI, such as GPT-4o, o1-preview, and o1-mini, will also be incorporated into GitHub Copilot. This flexibility will allow developers to switch between models during interactions with Copilot Chat, thus finding the most suitable option for each task. According to Thomas Dohmke, CEO of GitHub, "there is no single model that works for all scenarios, and developers expect to have the freedom to choose the models that are most effective for them." He also noted that the next phase of AI-powered code generation will not only be marked by multi-model functionality but also by the diversity of available options.

Since its launch in 2021, Microsoft-owned GitHub has been at the forefront of AI tool development with Copilot, being the first major consequence of Microsoft's initial $1 billion investment in OpenAI. Recently, GitHub announced that Copilot has over a million paid subscribers, sparking speculation about whether Microsoft will adopt this multi-model approach and open its own AI assistant to competitors' models like Google and Anthropic.

The new tool Spark that was introduced will facilitate the creation of web applications using natural language. Users will start with a prompt that will utilize models from OpenAI and Anthropic to provide real-time previews of what the web application will look like. More experienced developers will be able to manipulate the code directly, while beginners will have the option to create entire applications by simply using natural language. Once the application is complete, it can be run on different devices, from desktops to mobile phones, and it can also be shared with others, allowing more people to remix and develop the applications created in Spark. GitHub aims to reach a billion developers, indicating that "for too long, there has been an unsustainable barrier that has separated the majority of the world's population from the possibility of developing software," says Dohmke.

Additionally, improvements for Copilot were announced at the GitHub Universe conference. Starting November 1, multi-file editing in GitHub Copilot for VS Code will be available, allowing simultaneous changes to multiple files through Copilot Chat. Extensions for Copilot will also be launched in early 2025, and public preview of Copilot for Xcode will begin, along with a new code review capability.