GitHub Copilot: New Models Now Instantly Available for Individual Users Without Settings Changes
GitHub CopilotGitHub has simplified model access for individual Copilot users — new AI models are now immediately accessible within all Copilot features without requiring developers to navigate to settings or manage policies. The change applies to Copilot Free, Pro, and Pro+ subscribers, who can either manually select a model from the model picker or rely on Auto mode to have GitHub choose automatically. All existing data-usage policies remain unchanged.
Sources & Mentions
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Removing Friction from Model Discovery
GitHub has updated the model enablement experience for individual Copilot subscribers to make newly released AI models available instantly — without any settings navigation or policy management required. Previously, when GitHub introduced a new model to Copilot, individual users sometimes needed to visit settings pages or explicitly enable the model before it appeared as a selectable option. That friction is now eliminated.
The change applies across all individual Copilot tiers: Free, Pro, and Pro+. As of the rollout (which began February 3, 2026 and completed over the following day), any model that GitHub makes available to a given subscription tier will appear immediately in the model picker within Copilot Chat, inline completions, and other Copilot features — no additional action required.
Auto Mode and Manual Selection
Developers retain full control over which model is used. GitHub Copilot's existing Auto mode — which selects an appropriate model based on the task and current availability — continues to work as before, and will automatically include newly released models in its selection pool. Developers who prefer a specific model can still manually pick one from the model picker at any time.
Data Policies Remain Unchanged
GitHub was explicit that this change is purely a UX improvement to model discoverability. All existing data-usage policies, privacy protections, and trust center commitments continue to apply exactly as they did before. There is no change to how Copilot handles user data or prompts as a result of this update.