GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio — July update
Summary
July 2026 brought a new agent based on the Copilot SDK, built-in expertise from the .NET and Azure teams, and more ways to tailor GitHub Copilot to how you and… The post GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio — July update appeared first on The GitHub Blog .
Original Text
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> July 2026 brought a new agent based on the Copilot SDK, built-in expertise from the .NET and Azure teams, and more ways to tailor GitHub Copilot to how you and your team work.
Highlights
Here’s what’s new with GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio 2026. Check the Insiders channel for the latest:
Try the new agent, now in public preview: Copilot Chat has a new Agent (Preview) option in the agent picker, built on the same GitHub Copilot SDK that powers the GitHub Copilot CLI. It gets more tasks right the first time with less back-and-forth. Responses are shorter and easier to scan. Select it from the agent picker at the bottom of the Copilot Chat window.
Built-in .NET and Azure skills: Visual Studio now includes built-in skills authored by experts from the .NET and Azure teams to help you customize your agentic workflow. Find them in the “Built-in” category of the tool picker when the corresponding workloads are installed. They’re off by default, so you can review and enable only the ones that fit your tasks.
Review selected code with Copilot: Sometimes you just want a second opinion on a specific block of code. Select code in the editor, right-click, and select Copilot Actions > Review Selection to get inline comments you can act on. Use the sparkle icon on any comment to apply a suggestion or have Copilot generate one, powered by GitHub Copilot code review.
Organization-level custom instructions: GitHub organization owners can now add custom instructions that tailor Copilot’s responses across the entire organization, so shared preferences don’t have to be configured per developer. They automatically apply in repositories that belong to your organization and appear in the reference list, and you can disable them under Tools > Options > GitHub > Copilot > Copilot Chat.
Availability varies by feature. Organization-level custom instructions require GitHub Copilot Business or GitHub Copilot Enterprise. The new agent, built-in skills, and selected-code review features are available in all plans. See GitHub Copilot plans for details.
To learn more about what’s new, check out the Visual Studio blog and release notes.
What’s next for Copilot in Visual Studio
Stay up to date on the latest Copilot features by following the Visual Studio blog, where you’ll find roadmap updates and opportunities to share feedback.
The post GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio — July update appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
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