GitHub’s Copilot Chat Breaks Ground: AI Coding Assistant Now Available to All Users

GitHub’s officially launched Copilot Chat, a programming-centric chatbot powered by GPT-4, OpenAI‘s flagship generative AI model. Initially available to organizations on Copilot for Business, it is now accessible to all users within Microsoft’s IDEs, Visual Studio Code and Visual Studio. Copilot Chat is included in GitHub Copilot’s paid tiers and is free for verified teachers, students, and open-source project maintainers.

Developers can leverage Copilot Chat in real-time, seeking guidance on coding concepts, vulnerability detection, or even requesting unit tests. Despite concerns about AI-induced security issues, GitHub emphasizes GPT-4’s improved performance and features like filters for insecure code patterns.

However, GitHub faces challenges in making Copilot profitable, with reports suggesting an average monthly loss of $20 per user. Amazon’s CodeWhisperer, a strong rival, made strategic moves like offering a free version, launching professional and enterprise tiers, and optimizing for specific platforms.

GitHub’s Copilot competes not only with CodeWhisperer but also with startups like Magic, Tabnine, Codegen, and open-source models like Meta‘s Code Llama and Hugging Face’s StarCoder. As GitHub strives to enhance Copilot’s appeal, the battle in the AI-powered coding assistance landscape continues.