Copilot CLI auto model selection routes based on task
Editor’s note (July 1, 2026): Updated the premium request costs to reference AI credits.
GitHub Copilot auto model selection now routes to the best model for your task in Copilot CLI, using utilization and model health metrics for a high quality, reliable, and token-efficient experience.
How it works
Auto weighs real-time model availability and reliability signals, then evaluates your task across several dimensions like reasoning, code generation complexity, bug diagnosis difficulty, and tool orchestration needs to select the optimal model.
- Stay in control: Switch between Auto and any specific model at any time with the
/modelcommand. - Respects your policies: Auto honors all model policies set by admins.
- Diverse model access: Auto leverages models from multiple model families, depending on subscription type and policies. Models will change over time.
AI credits use
Auto is billed based on the model it selects, drawing down AI credits at each model’s published rate. Paid subscribers get a 10% discount on model costs when using auto, so you consume 10% fewer AI credits than direectly running the same model.
On a legacy annual plan? Copilot Pro and Pro+ subscribers on an existing annual plan remain on premium request-based billing until their plan expires. For these subscribers, auto is billed in premium requests and the 10% discount applies to the model multiplier. For example, a model with a 1x multiplier draws down 0.9 premium requests instead of 1.
Getting more out of Copilot
Auto routes along natural cache boundaries to avoid unnecessary cache related costs. Our evaluations show gains in token efficiencies with no quality regression, as not all tasks require a high reasoning or token-intensive model.
No setup is required. Update to the latest version of Copilot CLI and choose Auto to get started. For more information, see our documentation about auto model selection. Join the discussion within GitHub Community.