GitHub Copilot for business is here, using OpenAI to solve your programming worries
>
GitHub has announced that its Copilot platform is now available to all businesses, hopefully simplifying coding for businesses of all sizes.
Among the various improvements over previous iterations is a significant AI boost – GitHub claims that the OpenAI model used in the software now performs better, with a 44% improvement in the coding suggestions it makes, and it prevents suggestions that can cause security vulnerabilities.
Since June last year, GitHub claims its code adoption rate has increased by 8%, from 27% to 35% with the last codex upgrade in December 2022.
AI improvements
GitHub also claims that software developers are now Create programs 55% faster with Copilot then without. The company hopes that with the availability of Copilot for businesses, this acceleration can now benefit entire companies, rather than just individuals.
Companies can buy and use GitHub Copilot right away, assigning seats to their various employees – they don’t have to be existing GitHub users.
The AI model used comes from OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. Microsoft owns GitHub, and it does investing heavily in OpenAIso is eager to integrate its technology with just about any product it can.
The AI can make multiple coding suggestions in real time, understand developer prompts in code form or natural language, and the resulting suggestions it makes can be easily accepted or rejected. It also learns and adapts to the individual’s coding styles and preferences.
GitHub Copilot works with a wide variety of IDE options, including Visual Studio, Neovim, VS Code, and JetBrains.
GitHub not only speeds up the coding process, but also makes some other impressive claims about Copilot. For example, it claims that 46% of code in all programming languages is written using Copilot, rising to 61% in the case of Java alone.
Research conducted by the company (opens in new tab) also found that 90% of developers said they completed tasks faster with the help, and 73% claimed it helped save their mental energy. 75% also said they were more satisfied and were able to give more satisfaction at work thanks to the time saved.
Despite the trust, AI tools that aid code writing, including Copilot, have recently come under fire for their error rates and, more worryingly, their security flaws.