{"id":253427,"date":"2025-06-25T16:24:03","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T23:24:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/?p=253427"},"modified":"2025-09-16T12:22:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T19:22:17","slug":"better-models-smarter-defaults-claude-sonnet-4-gpt-4-1-and-more-control-in-visual-studio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/better-models-smarter-defaults-claude-sonnet-4-gpt-4-1-and-more-control-in-visual-studio\/","title":{"rendered":"Better Models, Smarter Defaults: Claude Sonnet 4, GPT-4.1, and More Control in Visual Studio"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Smarter default model<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Copilot in Visual Studio now uses <strong>GPT-4.1<\/strong> as the default model (previously 4o). In our testing, it delivers significantly better performance\u2014faster responses, higher quality suggestions, and greater efficiency overall.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>More models to choose from<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Want to try something else? You now have access to an ever-broader range of models:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Claude Sonnet 4<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Claude Opus 4<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Claude Sonnet 3.5<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Claude 3.7 (non-thinking and thinking)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>OpenAI o3 mini<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Gemini 2.0 Flash<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Gemini 2.5 Pro<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Model selections are now sticky, meaning your chosen model stays selected across threads for a smoother workflow. <span class=\"TextRun SCXW245396793 BCX8\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun CommentStart SCXW245396793 BCX8\">Not sure which model to use for your task? Check out <\/span><\/span><a class=\"Hyperlink SCXW245396793 BCX8\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.github.com\/copilot\/using-github-copilot\/ai-models\/choosing-the-right-ai-model-for-your-task\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><span class=\"TextRun Underlined SCXW245396793 BCX8\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW245396793 BCX8\" data-ccp-charstyle=\"Hyperlink\">this documentation<\/span><\/span><\/a><span class=\"TextRun SCXW245396793 BCX8\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW245396793 BCX8\"> to learn about each <\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW245396793 BCX8\">models\u2019<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW245396793 BCX8\"> strengths<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW245396793 BCX8\">. <\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW245396793 BCX8\">Give them a try<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW245396793 BCX8\"> and let us know what you think!<\/span><\/span><span class=\"EOP Selected SCXW245396793 BCX8\" data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve also made it easier to enable and switch between models. If a model is available under your plan but not yet enabled, you\u2019ll now see a prompt right in the model picker\u2014no need to navigate to GitHub settings.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/06\/inline-approval.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-253576\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/06\/inline-approval.png\" alt=\"inline approval image\" width=\"1134\" height=\"656\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/06\/inline-approval.png 1134w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/06\/inline-approval-300x174.png 300w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/06\/inline-approval-1024x592.png 1024w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/06\/inline-approval-768x444.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1134px) 100vw, 1134px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Usage management and billing updates<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>With GitHub\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/github.blog\/changelog\/2025-06-18-update-to-github-copilot-consumptive-billing-experience\/\">new billing model<\/a>, we\u2019ve made a few updates in Visual Studio to help you stay in control.<\/p>\n<h2>Track Your Usage Easily<\/h2>\n<p>We\u2019ve added a new <strong>Copilot Consumptions<\/strong> panel to help you monitor your usage. Just click the Copilot badge in the top-right corner of Visual Studio, then select <strong>Copilot Consumptions<\/strong> to see how many premium requests you\u2019ve used across chat, inline suggestions, and more.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/06\/usage.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-253432\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/06\/usage.png\" alt=\"usage image\" width=\"787\" height=\"451\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/06\/usage.png 787w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/06\/usage-300x172.png 300w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/06\/usage-768x440.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 787px) 100vw, 787px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>From there, you can also access <strong>Manage Plan<\/strong> to update your subscription or adjust settings on GitHub.com.\u00a0 <span data-teams=\"true\">If you run out of your <a id=\"menur2v0d\" class=\"fui-Link ___1q1shib f2hkw1w f3rmtva f1ewtqcl fyind8e f1k6fduh f1w7gpdv fk6fouc fjoy568 figsok6 f1s184ao f1mk8lai fnbmjn9 f1o700av f13mvf36 f1cmlufx f9n3di6 f1ids18y f1tx3yz7 f1deo86v f1eh06m1 f1iescvh fhgqx19 f1olyrje f1p93eir f1nev41a f1h8hb77 f1lqvz6u f10aw75t fsle3fq f17ae5zn\" title=\"https:\/\/docs.github.com\/en\/copilot\/managing-copilot\/monitoring-usage-and-entitlements\/about-premium-requests\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.github.com\/en\/copilot\/managing-copilot\/monitoring-usage-and-entitlements\/about-premium-requests\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Link premium requests\">premium requests<\/a>, you\u2019ll automatically switch to a standard model, GPT-4.1, at no extra cost.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> Some models may count more heavily toward your quota\u2014for example, number of requests consumed vary depending on the model used. You\u2019ll see this clearly indicated in the model picker before you make a selection.<\/p>\n<p>We hope these updates make Copilot in Visual Studio more powerful and transparent for you.\nHave a favorite model? Tell us how you\u2019re using it\u2014we\u2019d love to hear from you! \ud83d\ude0a<\/p>\n<h2>Check out the new Visual Studio Hub<\/h2>\n<p>Stay connected with everything Visual Studio in one place! Visit the <a href=\"https:\/\/visualstudio.microsoft.com\/hub\/\">Visual Studio Hub<\/a> for the latest release notes, YouTube videos, social updates, and community discussions.<\/p>\n<h2>We appreciate your feedback<\/h2>\n<p>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/developercommunity.visualstudio.com\/VisualStudio\">Developer Community<\/a>, you help us improve and shape the future of Visual Studio.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019re 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\u2014faster responses, higher quality suggestions, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":142353,"featured_media":253575,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6888,6967,6963,155],"tags":[6883,6924,6975],"class_list":["post-253427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-copilot","category-github-copilot","category-productivity","category-visual-studio","tag-copilot","tag-github-copilot","tag-models"],"acf":[],"blog_post_summary":"<p>We\u2019re 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\u2014faster responses, higher quality suggestions, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/142353"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253427\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}