GitHub Copilot will support models from Anthropic, Google and OpenAI

GitHub will employ multiple models of the Copilot code completion and development tool. Developers will soon be able to choose models from Anthropic, Google and OpenAI for GitHub Copilot. GitHub is also announcing Spark, an AI tool for building web applications, and updates to GitHub Copilot in VS Code, Copilot for Xcode, and more at today’s GitHub Universe conference.

Users of GitHub Copilot on the web or VS Code will be able to choose Claude 3.5, and in the coming weeks Gemini 1.5 Pro. The GPT-4o, o1-preview, and o1-mini OpenAI models will also be available on GitHub Copilot soon. Developers will be able to switch between models while chatting using Copilot chat to find the best model for a specific task.

“There is no single model that governs every scenario, and developers expect the agency to create models that work best for them,” says GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke. “It is clear that the next phase of AI code generation will be defined not only by multi-model functionality, but also by multi-model selection.”

Microsoft-owned GitHub was the first to launch an artificial intelligence tool called Copilot in 2021, ahead of Microsoft’s push to make Copilot the center of its artificial intelligence efforts. This was the first major result of Microsoft’s initial $1 billion investment in OpenAI, and GitHub announced last week that Copilot now has more than 1 million paid subscribers. It will be engaging to see if Microsoft adopts GitHub’s multi-model approach and makes its own Copilot AI assistant available for models from rivals like Google and Anthropic.

GitHub today also announces Spark, an AI tool that makes it effortless to build web applications using natural language. The initial prompt uses OpenAI and Anthropic models to create live previews of what the web app will look like, and GitHub Spark users can compare versions as they make changes. GitHub Spark allows experienced developers to manipulate code directly, while novices can create a web app entirely using natural language.

Once you’ve created your app, you can run it on your desktop, tablet, or mobile device, and share it with others to let others remix and build Spark apps. GitHub Spark is part of GitHub’s vision to reach 1 billion developers. “For too long, there has been an immaculate barrier to entry separating the vast majority of the world’s population from software development,” Dohmke says. “With Spark, we will enable over one billion PC and mobile users to build and share their own micro-applications directly on GitHub.”

GitHub is also announcing more Copilot updates to its GitHub Universe today. Editing Multiple Files in GitHub Copilot in VS Code is coming on November 1, allowing users to edit multiple files at once using Copilot Chat. Copilot extensions will also be available in early 2025, GitHub Copilot for Xcode will enter public preview, and Copilot now has a recent code review feature.