GitHub Copilot goes multimodel, adding support for Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude LLMs
Microsoft Corp.’s GitHub sprung a surprise today as it revealed that its popular generative artificial intelligence coding assistant, GitHub Copilot, will no longer be powered exclusively by OpenAI’s GPT models. Instead, the company said at its annual GitHub Universe event that it’s adopting a multimodel approach, giving developers the opportunity to tap models from rival companies such as Anthropic PBC and Google LLC too.
GitHub's Multimodel Approach
The revelation came alongside a host of other announcements, with GitHub launching a new AI tool called Spark that can automate much of the work that goes into building web applications, and more general updates to GitHub Copilot in VS Code and Xcode. However, it’s the decision to make GitHub Copilot a multimodel tool that is by far the biggest announcement.
In a blog post, GitHub Chief Executive Thomas Dohmke said users can now use Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet large language model in Copilot Chat’s web and VS Code interfaces, with Google’s Gemini 1.5 Pro to arrive as another option in the coming weeks.
Developer and Organization Benefits
The idea is that developers will be able to switch between various models based on whatever it is they’re trying to achieve, and is an acknowledgment that, in the AI world, there are different horses for different courses, with some models better suited than others, depending on the task. Organizations will also be able to select which models they’re willing to make available to various team members using GitHub Copilot Enterprise.
Dohmke said the approach makes sense because it has become clear that there is no one model to rule every scenario. “The next phase of AI code generation will not only be defined by multimodel functionality, but by multimodel choice,” he wrote.
Future Integrations and Expansion
Anthropic and Gemini will first become available in the GitHub Copilot web and VS Code chat interfaces, but the company eventually plans to bring them to every one of its surface areas and functions, Dohmke said, including the Copilot Workspace, GitHub’s command line interface and various other tools.
Given Microsoft’s influence over GitHub, the move has led to speculation that the Redmond-based company itself may also decide to end its exclusivity arrangement with OpenAI and enable users to access other models in its own Copilot tools.
Final Thoughts
While the tech world watches with baited breath to see if Microsoft does follow GitHub’s lead, there were plenty of other announcements at the GitHub Universe event. The launch of Spark, an AI tool for building web apps using natural language, is set to revolutionize the app development process, making it accessible to a wider audience.
