GitHub relies on multi-model for its Copilot code completion and programming tool. Developers will soon be able to choose models from Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI for GitHub Copilot. GitHub is also announcing Spark, an AI tool for building web apps, as well as updates to GitHub Copilot in VS Code, Copilot for Xcode, and more at its GitHub Universe conference today.
GitHub Copilot users on the web or VS Code will be able to select Claude 3.5 and Gemini 1.5 Pro in the coming weeks. OpenAI's GPT-4o, o1-preview and o1-mini models will soon also be available in GitHub Copilot. Developers can switch between models during a conversation with Copilot Chat to find the model that is best suited for a specific task.
“There is no one model that fits every scenario, and developers expect the agency to build with the models that work best for them,” says Thomas Dohmke, CEO of GitHub. “It is clear that the next phase of AI code generation will be defined not only by multi-model functionality, but also by multi-model selection.”
GitHub, a Microsoft-owned company, was the first to launch its AI tool called Copilot in 2021, even before Microsoft's push to make Copilot the center of its AI efforts. It was the first big result of Microsoft's initial $1 billion investment in OpenAI, and GitHub announced last week that Copilot now has more than 1 million paid subscribers. It will be interesting to see if Microsoft adopts GitHub's multi-model approach and opens its own Copilot AI assistant to models from competitors like Google and Anthropic.
GitHub today also announces Spark, an AI tool that makes it easier to build natural language web apps. An initial prompt uses OpenAI and Anthropic models to create live previews of what the web app will look like, and GitHub Spark users can compare versions as they make changes. GitHub Spark allows experienced developers to manipulate code directly, while beginners can build a web app entirely in natural language.
Once the app is built, you can run it on a desktop, tablet or mobile device and also share the app with others so others can remix and build on Spark apps. GitHub Spark is part of GitHub's vision to reach 1 billion developers. “For too long there has been an insurmountable barrier to entry that separated a large majority of the world’s population from software development,” says Dohmke. “With Spark, we will enable over a billion PC and mobile users to build and share their own micro-apps directly on GitHub.”
GitHub is also announcing additional updates to Copilot in its GitHub Universe today. Multi-file editing for GitHub Copilot in VS Code launches November 1st, allowing users to edit multiple files at once with Copilot Chat. Copilot extensions will also be available in early 2025, GitHub Copilot for Xcode is entering public preview, and Copilot now has a new code review feature.