GitHub expands Copilot Chat access to individual users

GitHub is expanding its generative AI-powered coding chatbot to more users with the launch of Copilot Chat, which remains in beta, to individual customers.

Previously, the beta version was only available to GitHub Copilot for Business customers, but from September 20, the chatbot is available to all customers across Visual Studio and VS Code.

The Microsoft-owned platform hopes that its GenAI tool will bridge the gap between complex programming languages and natural language input, making coding more accessible.

GitHub Copilot Chat available to more users now

While Copilot Chat has become available to even more users, it remains in beta, and developers will need to have signed up to the beta program to be able to access the chatbot.

GitHub says that developers can use it to “learn new languages or frameworks, troubleshoot bugs, or get answers to coding questions in simple, natural language outputs” within the interface of the IDE.

It also promises to give developers a security boost by being able to suggest security patches.

The company said: “By enabling the rise of natural language as a new universal programming language, we will democratize software development as we know it, enabling every developer to build the innovation of tomorrow and accelerate human progress, today.”

Copilot Chat is part of GitHub’s Copilot X AI tool, which is built using OpenAI’s GPT-4 multimodal model. Copilot X also uses a GPT-3 descendant known as Codex.

Over the past few months, artificial intelligence has found its home in the world of coding, where it is able to process huge amounts of data extremely quickly. However, it has not been without hitch, with GitHub’s parent company Microsoft last year facing legal action over failure to properly attribute sources.

More from TechRadar Pro

Check out the best laptops for programmingThere’s no way to escape AI coding – it’s already hereLike the sound of an AI chatbot but you’re not a developer? Here are the best AI writers you can try today