GitHub Launches Copilot AI Coding Assistant as Paid Subscription
GitHub releases its Copilot AI programming tool as a paid service after a successful preview that attracted over a million developers. The AI acts as a digital pair programmer to help write code faster.
GitHub releases Copilot, an AI programming assistant, as a paid subscription service after a successful year-long preview that attracts over 1.2 million developers. The tool functions as a digital pair programmer by adapting to a developer's coding style to suggest lines of code, spot errors, and propose solutions.
The AI assistant currently writes up to 40% of the code in files where developers use the tool, significantly altering how programmers work. GitHub offers the service for $10 per month or $100 per year following a 60-day free trial, while verified students and select open-source maintainers receive free access.
Copilot traces its origins to the exclusive partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI, building upon the OpenAI Codex model derived from GPT-3. GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke compares the introduction of AI-assisted coding to historical shifts like the rise of compilers, predicting it fundamentally changes software development by making coding easier and faster.