Recently, GPT-4o Copilot is introduced for Visual Studio Code (VS Code) users. This AI model is built upon the GPT-4o mini foundation and includes extensive training from over 275,000 high-quality public repositories across more than 30 widely used programming languages. The enhanced training is expected to provide more accurate and contextually relevant code suggestions, with improved performance, boosting developer productivity and aiding the coding process.
This announcement was made through a changelog post on the GitHub blog. The GPT-4o Copilot model differentiates itself through some key enhancements. Utilizing a vast dataset of high-quality code offers more precise and contextually relevant code completions. Its architecture and training also enable faster and more efficient code suggestion generation. The model can support various development projects with training across over 30 programming languages.
To integrate GPT-4o Copilot into VS Code, users can access the Copilot menu in the VS Code title bar, select Configure Code Completions, and then choose Change Completions Model. Alternatively, users can choose the Command Palette by opening it and selecting GitHub Copilot: Change Completions Model. Once in the model selection menu, users can choose the GPT-4o Copilot model from the available options.
For Copilot Business and Enterprise users, administrators must first enable Editor preview features within the Copilot policy settings on github.com to grant users access to the new model. Meanwhile, for Copilot Free users, using this model will count toward their 2,000 free monthly completions. The model will soon be available to Copilot users in all JetBrains Integrated Development Environments (IDEs), further expanding its reach across different platforms.
In JetBrains IDEs, users can click the icon in the status bar, navigate to the settings dialog box for Languages & Frameworks > GitHub Copilot, and select the preferred model from the dropdown menu.
Covering this announcement as a part of the Tech Insights 2025 Week 9 newsletter, Johan Sanneblad, CEO & Co-founder at ToeknTek, said,
GitHub Copilot is quickly catching up to Cursor IDE which is already packed with custom models. From what I can see there are just two main features missing in Copilot: Prompt caching for performance and a local model for code merging. Once it gets those two features I think I would feel equally at home in Visual Studio Code + Copilot as with Cursor. And for all you Java and C# users, this is the update you have been waiting for. We finally have a good code completion model with good support for C++, C# and Java.
GitHub Copilot was also in the news as it introduced Next Edit Suggestions, which can predict and suggest logical edits based on the context of ongoing changes in the code. It can identify potential modifications across an entire file, offering suggestions for insertions, deletions, and replacements. Developers can navigate through these suggestions using the Tab key, streamlining the editing process and potentially saving significant time
It’s important to note that switching the AI model does not affect the model used by Copilot Chat. The data collection and usage policy remains unchanged regardless of the chosen model, and the setting to enable or disable suggestions that match public code applies regardless of the chosen model.
User feedback is essential for refining and enhancing the GPT-4o Copilot model. Developers are encouraged to share their experiences to help improve the model’s performance and usability for all Copilot users.
