GitHub launches Copilot Fusion multi-model orchestrator across Copilot plans

GitHub launched Copilot Fusion at GitHub Universe on 28 October 2026, replacing static model pickers with a runtime orchestrator across all Copilot plans. For every prompt, Copilot Fusion inspects task signals across reasoning depth, code generation, debugging, and tool calls, then selects both the model family and one of three execution patterns:

• Single: Routes straightforward edits or explanations to one matched model.
• Cascade: Drafts a response with a lower-latency model, runs an automated judge pass, and escalates to a heavier reasoning model only when checks fail.
• Critique: Generates a candidate patch with a primary model while multiple models inspect the diff in parallel for bugs, edge cases, and regressions before synthesising the final revision.

Developers can choose four effort modes: Fusion Standard (which can also dispatch tasks to local models such as MAI Code 1.1 Flash or Qwen3.8 Flash Next in preview), Fusion High, Fusion Max, and Fusion Fast for inline chat in VS Code. On the Artificial Analysis Coding Agent Index, Copilot Fusion Max scored within two points of Claude Code running Opus 5.5 Max while cutting API spend by roughly half and wall-clock task time by 40%. GitHub is offering a 30% promotional discount on Fusion usage through 30 November 2026.