GitHub Copilot Automations: Self-Improving Automations That Learn from Outcomes
GitHub CopilotGitHub made Copilot Automations able to learn from their outcomes on GitHub and propose improvements to their own prompts, tools or triggers. Copilot can set up a review automation plus a weekly improvement automation that analyzes how developers responded. Every proposed change comes to the user for review before it is applied.
Key Takeaways
- Automations now propose edits to their own prompts, tools and triggers based on real outcomes.
- Signals include label changes, accepted review comments and merged pull requests.
- Copilot can build a paired set: a working automation and a weekly improvement automation.
- Every proposed change needs human approval before it is applied.
- GitHub notifies the owner when a change is proposed, keeping the process auditable.
- Available on Pro, Pro+, Max, Business and Enterprise plans.
Automations that get better over time
Creating an automation is easy, but building one that consistently produces good results is harder, and reviewing output and rewriting the prompt by hand takes time. Copilot Automations can now learn from their own outcomes and propose improvements to themselves.
Signals from real outcomes
Automations leave a trail of signals on GitHub. An issue triage automation can learn from whether people change the labels it applied. A code review automation can learn from whether developers accept its comments. A performance optimization automation can learn from whether maintainers merge the pull requests it opens. Self-improving automations use these signals to propose better prompts.
How the loop is created
When Copilot is asked to set up a self-improving automation, it can create a group of automations that work together. For a custom code reviewer, that could be one automation that runs when a pull request is opened, reviews the changes and posts comments, and a weekly improvement automation that analyzes how developers responded and proposes refinements.
Humans stay in control
When the improvement automation proposes a change to the original automation's prompt, tools or triggers, GitHub notifies the owner, who can accept or reject it before anything is applied. Copilot Automations are available with Copilot Pro, Pro+, Max, Business and Enterprise.