Approximately 70–95% of software developers have started using artificial intelligence (AI) in their workflows, according to surveys from GitHub and Stack Overflow. AI tools can make development faster and more enjoyable, especially when fully integrated into everyday work.
What is Copilot?
GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered coding assistant that provides contextual help across the software lifecycle: code completions and chat assistance in the IDE, code explanations, and answers in GitHub. It’s available for most major editors and integrates natively with GitHub. GitHub reports that Copilot users have higher job satisfaction and increased productivity—numbers that match many developers’ experiences.
Unique Features of Copilot
– Model selection: Copilot lets you choose between models such as Anthropic Claude and OpenAI GPT variants. Different models can excel at different tasks, so selection matters for niche projects.
– Slash commands: Use shortcuts in Copilot’s chat to speed up prompts and clarify intent.
– Chat participants and @ commands: Copilot supports focused context via @ commands, improving the relevance of responses by directing attention to specific files or areas.
Your Copilot Coworker
Treat Copilot like a new, smart but unproven teammate. Don’t trust it blindly; review and validate its suggestions. Copilot makes mistakes, so you should act as the gatekeeper for what enters your codebase.
A simple Copilot workflow:
1. Generate code with Copilot
2. Review the code
3. Accept or reject the suggestion
4. Repeat
What Copilot Can Help You Do
Copilot assists with many development tasks. Two especially valuable areas:
– Documentation: Generating READMEs, summaries, and documentation quickly. Point Copilot at a feature-heavy page and ask for documentation—you can get useful drafts in minutes.
– Testing: Copilot can draft unit and integration tests, often producing as many or more tests than you might write manually. Tests are usually well-formatted and conform to common style rules, saving substantial time.
Other helpful uses:
– Explaining other people’s code
– Writing simple components
– Working through difficult problems
– Getting context or help with a new language or framework
Where to Draw Boundaries with Your Copilot Coworker
Copilot is powerful but not infallible. Watch for these limits:
1. Writing code: Use Copilot to draft code, not to blindly supply final commits. Always review and test.
2. Non-code questions: Copilot is built for development tasks; for unrelated queries, use general language models like ChatGPT.
3. Personally identifiable information (PII): Don’t send account numbers or sensitive data through Copilot. Avoid logging PII in terminal contexts.
The Future of Copilot
New tools often face skepticism, then adoption, and eventually become indispensable—think linters, autocompleters, and formatters. AI tools like Copilot are following that path and will likely become standard in development toolchains.
At Grio, we’re integrating AI tools like Copilot into design and development. If you want to explore how these tools can help build an app, contact Grio for a free MVP consultation.
