Copilot Monthly Digest - March Edition

[Akash1134]

🧭 March 2026 Copilot Check-in

March was one of Copilot's busiest months yet - GPT-5.4 and 5.4 mini went GA, code review switched to an agentic architecture, the coding agent got 50% faster, and Copilot expanded into Jira, Slack, and Figma. We also dealt with a rate-limit incident that disrupted a lot of your workflows. We're not going to bury that, and it's first on the list.

Rate Limits Update

Let's talk about availability. A March 16 bug fix to rate-limiting inadvertently impacted users across all models usage. We increased limits that same week and we expect things are back to normal. Going forward we're rolling out model-specific limits, Auto model bypass, usage UI improvements, and higher ceilings for paid plans. Full details: Copilot update: rate limits + fixes. Please share your feedback as we work through providing you with the best in class services. 💚

This Month in Copilot

Like I mentioned, March was one of the busiest month we had with more than 35 new ships. Let

• 🧠 GPT-5.4 + 5.4 mini are GA — Latest OpenAI models generally available; 5.4 mini is lighter and faster for cost-sensitive workflows. GPT-5.4 · 5.4 mini
• 🔒 GPT-5.3-Codex enters long-term support — Pinned for stability if you don't want to chase the latest. Changelog
• 🌐 Gemini 3.1 Pro + Grok Code Fast 1 — Gemini 3.1 Pro in JetBrains/Xcode/Eclipse; Grok Code Fast 1 added to Copilot Free auto selection. Gemini · Grok
• 🔄 Auto model selection GA in JetBrains — No more manual picking unless you want to. Changelog
• 🤖 Agentic code review — Code review now runs on an agentic architecture—deeper analysis, better context. Changelog
• ⚡ Coding agent: 50% faster + semantic search — Cold-start time cut in half and agents now find code faster via semantic indexing. Speed · Search
• 🔧 Configure agent validation tools — Choose which tools agents use for validation steps. Changelog
• 👁️ Agent session improvements — Trace commits to session logs, richer details, new filters, and image attachments. Commits · Visibility · Filters · Images
• ⏭️ Skip approval + API repo access — Optionally let agents run without manual workflow approval; manage repo access programmatically. Skip approval · API
• 🟣 Coding agent for Jira (public preview) — Trigger agent tasks directly from Jira issues. Changelog
• 📊 Monitor agent logs in Raycast — Live session log streaming. Changelog
• 🔀 @copilot on PRs: merge conflicts, changes, model picker — Copilot can now resolve merge conflicts, implement changes on any PR, and you pick which model handles it. Conflicts · Changes · Model picker
• 🖥️ Request code review from CLI — Trigger Copilot code review straight from your terminal. Changelog
• 🌐 Explore repos with Copilot on the web — Navigate and understand repos on github.com. Changelog
• 🎨 Figma MCP server generates design layers — Bridge design and code from VS Code. Changelog
• �� Major JetBrains agentic improvements — Significant agentic upgrades across JetBrains IDEs. Changelog
• 💬 Jira + Slack integrations — Refined Jira integration in public preview; create GitHub issues directly from Slack conversations. Jira · Slack
• 🧠 Memory on by default for Pro/Pro+ — Copilot memory enabled by default in public preview. Changelog
• 📊 Metrics upgrades — Auto model now resolves to actual model used; active coding agent user tracking; org + user-level CLI activity; plan mode tracking; consistent EMU usernames. Auto→actual · Agent users · CLI (Org) · CLI (User) · Plan mode · EMU
• 🌐 Network config changes for coding agent — Updated networking requirements now in effect. Changelog
• 🎓 Updates for students — Changes to Copilot for students. Changelog
• 📜 Privacy & ToS updates — Updated privacy statement and terms of service on data usage. Changelog
• 🗑️ Model deprecations — Gemini 3 Pro deprecated; Claude Sonnet 4 and GPT-5.1 upcoming. Gemini 3 Pro · Sonnet 4 · Gemini 3 Pro + GPT-5.1

📅 Events & Guides

• 🌍 Copilot Dev Days — A global series of hands-on, community-led events for AI-assisted coding. Find one near you or host your own. Sign up
• 🏗️ Copilot Hackathon Playbook for Enterprise Admins — A full playbook to plan and run internal Copilot hackathons—logistics, mentoring, templates, and success metrics included.
• 📢 Community Discussions: Category Restructure Complete — Categories are now theme-based, consolidated, and easier to navigate. New spaces include "Welcome to GitHub" and "GitHub Learn," plus upcoming agentic workflows for auto-labelling and spam detection.

That's not all, there are so many other events we host that might be of your interest. See Events & Webinars

📚 Noteworthy Reads

• 🔖 The GitHub Copilot Handbook — A comprehensive field guide covering setup, prompting, power user tools, customization, troubleshooting, and enterprise features. Bookmark this one ⭐
• 60 million Copilot code reviews and counting — How agentic code review helps teams keep pace with AI-accelerated changes.
• Agent-driven development in Copilot Applied Science — Using coding agents to build agents—lessons from real-world agentic dev.
• How Squad runs coordinated AI agents inside your repository — Multi-agent orchestration patterns that stay inspectable and predictable.
• Building AI-powered issue triage with the Copilot SDK — SDK integration into a React Native app with production patterns.
• The era of "AI as text" is over — Execution is the new interface—how the Copilot SDK enables agentic workflows.
• Continuous AI for accessibility — How GitHub uses AI to transform accessibility feedback into rapid fixes.

🤩 March shipped a lot and we're going to keep the momentum going. If you have feedback or questions, post them in the community. Catch every release in the GitHub Changelog. See you next month. 🚀