GitHub Copilot Default Model Availability Policy Guide
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Quick answer
GitHub Copilot Business and Enterprise use Default availability for released models to decide whether an unconfigured, eligible GA model defaults to enabled or disabled. It is not a blanket switch for every model and it does not override an explicit model setting.
Read the live settings in this order: explicit model state, delegated default, exclusion eligibility, enterprise or organization scope, then the user’s plan, client, rollout, and account. A GA label alone does not prove access.
The policy decision tree
| Evidence in the live settings | Result to record | Next check |
|---|---|---|
| Explicitly Enabled | Enabled at the enforced scope | User plan, client, rollout, account, and feature support |
| Explicitly Disabled | Disabled at the enforced scope | Owner, reason, exception path, and review date |
| Delegate to Default Policy | Inherits the current default | Default setting and exclusion eligibility |
| Enterprise delegates to organizations | Organization decides or inherits its default | Organization setting, targeted rules, and test user |
| Enterprise teams mode | Team access is additive to the enterprise baseline | Preview state, team membership, migration, and rollback |
Do not copy a result from one organization, team, or user to another. Preserve the policy scope and evidence timestamp with every decision.
Which models can inherit the default?
GitHub says the policy applies to models that are both generally available and not explicitly configured. The model settings identify them with Delegate to Default Policy.
GitHub’s current exclusions include pre-GA models, specified open-weight models, models not covered by its data-retention agreement, and—where an enterprise restricts models—models that do not satisfy data-residency or FedRAMP requirements. Recheck the official list because model lifecycle and eligibility change.
Enterprise and organization scope
An enterprise owner can establish an enterprise-wide baseline, delegate a model to organizations, or use targeted model rules. When delegated, an organization owner can explicitly enable or disable the model; an unconfigured model follows that organization’s default policy.
GitHub also documents an opt-in enterprise-teams model-access preview. In that mode, organization model settings are deactivated and team access is additive to the enterprise baseline. Record preview state and rollback behavior before changing scope.
A safe administrator rollout
- Export or screenshot current settings with scope, owner, and timestamp.
- Inventory explicitly enabled, explicitly disabled, and delegated models.
- Match every delegated GA model against the current exclusion list.
- Define allowed plans, clients, repositories, tasks, data classes, and pilot users.
- Test one eligible account and one intentionally denied account on every required client.
- Measure task quality, AI-credit use, reviewer edits, security findings, and failed access.
- Document the explicit rollback setting and who may apply it.
Use the browser-local policy readiness tool to turn those checks into a reviewable gate. For a model-specific example, see the MAI-Code-1.1-Flash access guide.
What this policy does not authorize
Making a model selectable does not grant repository access, reveal excluded content, authorize tools, approve generated code, permit a merge or deployment, raise a budget, or replace human review. Treat each of those as a separate control with its own owner and evidence.
Frequently asked questions
Are new GitHub Copilot models automatically enabled?
Only eligible, generally available models that have not been explicitly configured can inherit the current Default availability for released models policy. Explicit settings and exclusions remain authoritative.
What does Delegate to Default Policy mean?
It means no explicit setting has been chosen for that model at the displayed scope, so the eligible model inherits the current default-availability setting until an administrator configures it.
Which models are excluded from default enablement?
GitHub currently excludes pre-GA models, specified open-weight models, models outside its data-retention agreement, and models that violate an enterprise’s data-residency or FedRAMP restriction.
Does model availability authorize repository or production actions?
No. Model availability is only one access layer. Repository, data, tool, merge, deployment, budget, and human-review authority must be controlled separately.
Official sources
- GitHub Docs: About default availability of Copilot models
- GitHub Docs: Managing availability of models in an enterprise
- GitHub Docs: Managing availability of models in an organization
- GitHub Docs: Supported AI models in Copilot
Source check: August 28, 2026. Recheck policy labels, exclusions, model status, access mode, plans, clients, and live account behavior before a change.