# GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot suggestions are usable commercially; on Free/Pro/Pro+ your interactions may be used for training unless you opt out; Business/Enterprise never train on prompts and add IP indemnity.

GitHub Copilot is GitHub's AI pair programmer. Users own their code including suggestions. On the individual tiers (Free, Pro, Pro+), interactions may be used to train models unless the user opts out. Copilot Business and Enterprise never use prompts for training and include IP indemnity.

## Analysis & practical guidance

### You own the code — and the Business tier protects you

A recurring fear about AI coding assistants is "who owns the suggestion?" For Copilot the answer is clear: **you own and are responsible for the code Copilot produces.** The more meaningful distinction is between tiers. On the individual tiers — Copilot Free, Pro, and Pro+ — **your interactions may be used to train models unless you opt out** in settings. **Business and Enterprise never train on prompts and add IP indemnification** — Microsoft will defend you against certain copyright claims arising from suggestions.

### Practical implications

- For company use, **Business or Enterprise is the correct tier** — not just for privacy, but for the indemnity, and because training is off and cannot be enabled. Individual tiers lack the indemnity and are opt-out for training.
- A duplication-detection filter can be enabled to suppress suggestions that match public code verbatim; turn it on if license hygiene matters.
- Copilot has **no standalone API.** It is consumed inside IDEs, the CLI, and chat — you cannot call it programmatically like a model API.

### When to choose it

Copilot is the default in-editor assistant for teams already on GitHub. If you want raw programmatic model access for custom tooling, use the underlying model APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic) instead.

- slug: `github-copilot`
- type: AI / LLM service
- status: active
- official site: https://github.com/features/copilot
- official docs: https://docs.github.com/copilot

## Rights

| Key | Value | Condition | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| commercial_use_allowed | yes |  | https://docs.github.com/en/site-policy/github-terms/github-terms-for-additional-products-and-features#github-copilot | 2026-04-18 |
| output_ownership | yes |  | https://docs.github.com/en/site-policy/github-terms/github-terms-for-additional-products-and-features#github-copilot | 2026-04-18 |
| training_use_of_input | conditional | Free/Pro/Pro+: interactions may be used for training unless the user opts out. Business/Enterprise: never used for training. | https://resources.github.com/copilot-trust-center/ | 2026-04-23 |

## Constraints

| Key | Value | Condition | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| api_available | no | No standalone public API; use via IDE / CLI / chat integrations. | https://resources.github.com/copilot-trust-center/ | 2026-04-18 |

## Primary sources

- [GitHub Copilot Product Specific Terms](https://docs.github.com/en/site-policy/github-terms/github-terms-for-additional-products-and-features#github-copilot) — official_terms (primary), Checked: 2026-04-18
- [GitHub Copilot Trust Center](https://resources.github.com/copilot-trust-center/) — official_docs (primary), Checked: 2026-04-18

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