Release
Copilot in Visual Studio Just Got a Major Upgrade
Visual Studio Blog · By Dalia Abo Sheasha ·
The Brief
- Starting with Visual Studio 2026 version 18.12, Copilot Chat in Visual Studio runs on the Microsoft Copilot SDK developed by GitHub.
- The SDK is the same technology used by GitHub Copilot CLI, the GitHub Copilot app, and VS Code.
- The new engine is on by default.
Why it matters
Visual Studio users get Copilot Chat running on the same SDK as other GitHub Copilot tools, and the change is enabled by default in version 18.12.
Who’s affected
- Visual Studio 2026 users on version 18.12 or later
- Visual Studio 2026 18.12
- #visual-studio
- #copilot
- #github
- #developer-tools
- #sdk
Copilot Chat in Visual Studio just got a new engine. Starting with Visual Studio 2026 version 18.12, it runs on the Microsoft Copilot SDK developed by GitHub, the same technology powering GitHub Copilot CLI, the GitHub Copilot app, and VS Code. It’s on by default, and it’s a…
Timeline
Microsoft Visual Studio Blog announces Copilot Chat moves to the Microsoft Copilot SDK
Visual Studio Blog
Copilot in Visual Studio Just Got a Major Upgrade