GitHub Copilot changed what developers expect from their IDE. Before Copilot, autocomplete meant basic syntax completion. After Copilot, it means generating entire functions, test suites, and documentation from natural language comments. It remains the most widely used AI coding assistant and the benchmark against which all competitors are measured.

This review covers Copilot's current capabilities after two years of continuous improvement since its initial launch.

How Copilot Works

Copilot runs as an extension in your IDE — primarily VS Code, but also JetBrains, Neovim, and Visual Studio. As you type, it analyzes your current file, open files, and project context to generate inline suggestions. These appear as grayed-out text that you accept with Tab or dismiss by continuing to type.

The suggestions range from single-line completions to entire multi-line functions. Copilot is particularly good at recognizing patterns. Write two similar functions and it will predict the third. Write a function signature with a descriptive name and it will generate a plausible implementation.

Copilot Chat

The chat interface within your IDE is where Copilot becomes more than an autocomplete tool. You can ask questions about your code, request explanations, generate tests, debug errors, and even ask for architectural advice.

The chat understands your workspace context. It can reference specific files, functions, and symbols across your project. Ask it to explain a complex function and it will walk through the logic step by step. Ask it to generate tests and it will produce test cases that reflect your actual code structure and naming conventions.

Agent Mode

Copilot's agent mode represents the newest evolution of AI-assisted development. Instead of suggesting code for you to review and accept, the agent can take actions: editing files, running terminal commands, and iterating based on test results. You describe a task in natural language, and the agent executes it across your workspace.

This is particularly powerful for multi-file refactoring, adding new features, and fixing bugs that span multiple components. The agent reads your codebase, proposes changes, and can verify its work by running your test suite.

Code Quality Assessment

Copilot's suggestions are correct and useful roughly 70-80% of the time for common patterns. For standard operations — API handlers, database queries, UI components, utility functions — the suggestions are typically solid and save real time.

Where quality drops is in highly specialized or novel code. Domain-specific logic, complex algorithms, and unconventional architectures produce less reliable suggestions. The tool is smart enough to attempt a solution, but the output needs more careful review in these situations.

The quality of suggestions improves dramatically when your codebase is well-organized with clear naming conventions and documentation. Copilot learns from your code style and produces suggestions that match your patterns.

Language and Framework Support

Copilot supports virtually every programming language but performs best with popular languages that have extensive training data: Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Java, Go, C++, Rust, and Ruby.

Framework-specific suggestions are generally strong for major frameworks: React, Next.js, Express, Django, Spring Boot, and others. The suggestions include framework-specific patterns and best practices.

Pricing

Individual plans start at $10/month, which is remarkably affordable given the productivity impact. The Business tier at $19/month adds organization-wide management, policy controls, and proxy support. Enterprise pricing adds SAML SSO, fine-grained policy management, and compliance features.

For students, teachers, and maintainers of popular open-source projects, Copilot is free. This is a genuinely generous policy that has made Copilot the default coding assistant for a generation of new developers.

Privacy and Security

The Individual plan uses your code snippets to improve the model. The Business and Enterprise plans do not — your code stays private and is not used for training. For organizations with proprietary codebases, the Business plan's privacy guarantees are essential.

Copilot includes a filter that blocks suggestions matching public code, reducing the risk of inadvertently including copyrighted code in your projects.

Comparison with Alternatives

Compared to Cursor, Copilot offers tighter IDE integration (since you stay in your existing editor) but less powerful multi-file editing capabilities. Compared to Claude Code, Copilot excels at inline suggestions but is less capable for autonomous multi-file tasks. See our [INTERNAL:/blog/best-ai-coding-assistants] for a complete comparison.

Pros and Cons Summary

Pros:

Seamless IDE integration across multiple editors
Fast, contextually aware inline suggestions
Agent mode for autonomous task execution
Copilot Chat for conversational coding help
Generous free access for students and OSS maintainers
Strong privacy options on Business/Enterprise tiers

Cons:

Quality drops for specialized or novel code patterns
Occasional irrelevant or verbose suggestions
Workspace indexing can lag on very large repositories
Individual plan uses code for model training
Requires stable internet connection

The Verdict

GitHub Copilot earns a 4.5/5 as the most polished and accessible AI coding assistant available. Its strength is in making the day-to-day coding experience faster and less tedious without requiring you to change your tools or workflow. The $10/month price point makes it an obvious investment for any professional developer.

For developers who want more powerful AI capabilities and do not mind a different workflow, Cursor and Claude Code are worth evaluating. But for most developers, Copilot is the right starting point.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is GitHub Copilot worth it for a beginner?

Yes, with a caveat. Copilot helps beginners learn patterns and syntax faster, but relying on it too heavily can prevent you from building deep understanding. Use it as a learning aid rather than a crutch.

Does Copilot work offline?

No. Copilot requires an internet connection to generate suggestions. The code is processed on GitHub's servers.

Can Copilot write entire applications?

Agent mode can scaffold significant portions of an application, but it works best when building on existing code and patterns. It is an assistant, not a replacement for architectural thinking and design decisions.

Is my code used to train the model?

On the Individual plan, code snippets may be used for model improvement. On Business and Enterprise plans, your code is never used for training and is not stored beyond what is needed to process the suggestion.

GitHub Copilot Review