We’re excited to share some major improvements to the Copilot experience in Visual Studio, including smarter default models, more choices, and easier ways to manage your usage.

Smarter default model

Copilot in Visual Studio now uses GPT-4.1 as the default model (previously 4o). In our testing, it delivers significantly better performance—faster responses, higher quality suggestions, and greater efficiency overall.

More models to choose from

Want to try something else? You now have access to an ever-broader range of models:

• Claude Sonnet 4
• Claude Opus 4
• Claude Sonnet 3.5
• Claude 3.7 (non-thinking and thinking)
• OpenAI o3 mini
• Gemini 2.0 Flash
• Gemini 2.5 Pro

Model selections are now sticky, meaning your chosen model stays selected across threads for a smoother workflow. Not sure which model to use for your task? Check out this documentation to learn about each models’ strengths. Give them a try and let us know what you think! 

We’ve also made it easier to enable and switch between models. If a model is available under your plan but not yet enabled, you’ll now see a prompt right in the model picker—no need to navigate to GitHub settings.

Usage management and billing updates

With GitHub’s new billing model, we’ve made a few updates in Visual Studio to help you stay in control.

Track Your Usage Easily

We’ve added a new Copilot Consumptions panel to help you monitor your usage. Just click the Copilot badge in the top-right corner of Visual Studio, then select Copilot Consumptions to see how many premium requests you’ve used across chat, inline suggestions, and more.

From there, you can also access Manage Plan to update your subscription or adjust settings on GitHub.com.  If you run out of your premium requests, you’ll automatically switch to a standard model, GPT-4.1, at no extra cost.

Note: Some models may count more heavily toward your quota—for example, number of requests consumed vary depending on the model used. You’ll see this clearly indicated in the model picker before you make a selection.

We hope these updates make Copilot in Visual Studio more powerful and transparent for you. Have a favorite model? Tell us how you’re using it—we’d love to hear from you! 😊

Check out the new Visual Studio Hub

Stay connected with everything Visual Studio in one place! Visit the Visual Studio Hub for the latest release notes, YouTube videos, social updates, and community discussions.

We appreciate your feedback

Your feedback helps us improve Visual Studio, making it an even more powerful tool for developers. We are immensely grateful for your contributions and look forward to your continued support. By sharing your thoughts, ideas, and any issues you encounter through Developer Community, you help us improve and shape the future of Visual Studio.