GitHub Launches Tiered Copilot Code Reviews

GitHub Copilot code review analyzes pull requests, flags bugs and security weaknesses, and suggests fixes developers can apply. GitHub made the feature generally available on April 4, 2025, as AI-assisted coding increased the volume and pace of software changes. The new effort tiers matter because they let engineering teams trade off speed, scrutiny and computing cost instead of applying the same review depth to routine documentation edits and security-sensitive code.

On Aug. 7, 2026, GitHub made Lite and Balanced generally available, renaming the Low and Medium tiers used during public preview. Lite is the default for routine changes, while Balanced sends pull requests to a higher-reasoning model for longer analysis of complex logic, security-sensitive code and cross-service changes. Balanced consumes more AI credits and GitHub Actions minutes. The tiers are available on Copilot Pro, Pro+, Max, Business and Enterprise, while administrators can set organization-wide defaults.