GitHub Copilot Now Available in Slack
GitHub CopilotGitHub introduced a public preview of the new GitHub Copilot experience in Slack, bringing the agentic capabilities of the Copilot CLI and Copilot app directly into team channels and threads. Developers can mention @GitHub in any conversation to launch an agent session that answers questions, triages issues, investigates failures, and opens pull requests without leaving Slack. Copilot organizes its work in dedicated Slack Code channels, keeping diffs and outputs visible to the whole team, while sessions stay shared so teammates can observe and steer the agent together. The feature is available to organizations on Copilot Business and Copilot Enterprise plans, with usage counted against existing Copilot entitlements.
Key Takeaways
- Public preview launch brings GitHub Copilot's agentic CLI and app capabilities directly into Slack via a simple
@GitHubmention. - Slack Code channels let Copilot isolate diffs, outputs, and iteration for a task without cluttering the original team conversation.
- Shared agent sessions mean teammates can watch, add context, and learn from how colleagues direct Copilot instead of working with it privately.
- Human oversight is preserved, with existing GitHub permissions and an optional admin-approval step before agent-authored PRs merge.
- GitHub is a launch partner in Slack's new "Slack Code" initiative, alongside other coding agents, positioning group chat as a new default surface for AI-assisted development.
- The feature is gated to paid plans — Copilot Business and Copilot Enterprise — with usage drawn from existing Copilot entitlements rather than new spend.
Sources & Mentions
4 external resources covering this update
Copilot Moves Into Slack Conversations
GitHub has launched a public preview of a reimagined GitHub Copilot experience inside Slack, extending the agentic capabilities already available in the Copilot CLI and the Copilot app into the channels and threads where teams already coordinate work. Rather than switching tools to hand off a coding task, developers can now mention @GitHub directly in a direct message, channel, or thread to start a full agent session.
Starting and Steering an Agent Session
Once invoked, Copilot can read the surrounding conversation and any permitted GitHub context to act on the request. That includes answering questions about code and GitHub activity, triaging bug reports, updating or creating labeled issues, investigating failing builds, implementing changes, and validating the result inside a secure cloud sandbox. When the work is ready, Copilot opens a pull request and drops a link back into the Slack conversation so the team can review it in context.
Dedicated Code Channels
For more involved tasks, Copilot can spin up a dedicated Slack Code channel scoped to that specific piece of work. This keeps diffs, generated outputs, and iteration happening in a focused space rather than cluttering the original conversation, while still keeping the work visible and searchable for the team.
Built for Shared, Not Solo, Work
A key design choice in this release is that agent sessions are shared rather than private. Any team member in the conversation can watch how a colleague is directing Copilot, jump in with additional context, or learn new prompting patterns just by observing. GitHub preserved existing permission boundaries throughout: repository access controls still apply, and organizations can optionally require administrator approval before an agent-authored pull request is merged.
Availability
The Slack experience is in public preview for organizations on GitHub Copilot Business and GitHub Copilot Enterprise plans. Usage is metered against the organization's existing Copilot entitlements rather than requiring a separate purchase.