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VS Code Copilot Previews New GPT-4o AI Code Completion Model
GitHub upgraded its Copilot AI coding assistant with a new GPT-4o code completion model, which is now available in Visual Studio Code as a preview.
Based on the GPT-4o mini model, the 4o upgrade includes additional training on more than 275,000 high-quality public repositories in over 30 popular programming languages, said Microsoft-owned GitHub, which created the original "AI pair programmer" years ago.
ChatGPT creator OpenAI actually introduced GTP-4o back in May 2024, and yesterday, Feb. 18, GitHub announced the new GPT-4o Copilot code completion model available now in public preview for Copilot in VS Code.
Note that Copilot Business or Enterprise users will first need an administrator to enable this model for an organization by opting in to Editor preview features in the Copilot policy settings on github.com. This reporter's choices now include the new GPT-4o model (gpt-4o-copilot) and GPT-3.5 Turbo (copilot-codex).
Things are changing fast and furiously in the GenAI space these days and OpenAI recently changed directions (see last week's "OpenAI Scraps o3 Model, Streamlines AI Roadmap with GPT-5 Launch" on sister publication Pure AI).
"Initially set for launch in early 2025, o3 was expected to be OpenAI's next major release," explained John K. Waters in that article. "As recently as a few weeks ago, OpenAI’s Chief Product Officer Kevin Weil stated that o3 was on track for a February-March launch. However, OpenAI now confirms that GPT-5 will encompass the capabilities of o3 and other proprietary AI technologies, eliminating the need for a separate release."
For Copilot Free users, using the 4o model will count toward your 2,000 free monthly completions.
Microsoft and GitHub have been busy expanding the reach of Copilot AI to various IDEs and editors -- including the open-source Eclipse and Apple's Xcode, and GitHub said the model will also be available soon to Copilot users in all JetBrains IDEs.
About the Author
David Ramel is an editor and writer at Converge 360.