How Copilot helps build the GitHub platform

GitHub engineers have deeply integrated GitHub Copilot into their development process, transforming it from a tool for autocomplete suggestions into a comprehensive AI assistant that contributes significantly to their workflow. Copilot actively participates in the development lifecycle by being assigned issues, opening pull requests, and handling tasks such as fixing UI bugs, documentation cleanup, and code maintenance. It excels in performing tedious and time-intensive tasks like removing deprecated feature flags, refactoring code, and optimizing performance, freeing human engineers to focus on more complex problems. Copilot is also involved in building new features, managing database migrations, and enhancing security by adding security gates to internal integrations. While its merged pull request rate is lower than human contributors, its value lies in providing a concrete starting point, allowing engineers to refine and build upon its suggestions. This collaboration allows engineers to concentrate on solving critical problems and enhancing security and user experience, rather than getting bogged down with routine tasks.