GitHub Copilot surpasses 15 million users as AI tools expand
Microsoft has reported continued growth across its cloud and AI services in its third-quarter results for FY25, with its developer platform GitHub showing rapid adoption of AI-based tools. GitHub Copilot, the company's flagship AI coding assistant, has now surpassed 15 million users, growing more than fourfold over the past year.
Announced alongside Microsoft's latest financial results, the milestone highlights the increasing reliance of developers on AI assistance in software development. GitHub, a Microsoft subsidiary since 2018, described Copilot's evolution as moving beyond simple code suggestions into a broader ecosystem of intelligent development agents.
CEO of GitHub, Thomas Dohmke, said the company's progress reflects the dedication of its teams: "This momentum was made possible by the dedication of our employees, VS Code and GitHub teams being committed to rapidly evolving our product with sustained velocity."
"Year to date, we've posted 85 changelogs for GitHub Copilot, from MCP support to bring your own key or next edit suggestions – and we're not stopping there," Dohmke added.
Copilot, which initially launched as an AI pair programmer, now includes features such as Agent Mode in Visual Studio Code. This enables the tool to iterate on code, identify errors and correct them autonomously. According to GitHub, Copilot's code review agent has already reviewed more than 8 million pull requests. Other components include Autofix, designed to help developers remediate security vulnerabilities.
"What started as the first AI pair programmer is soon evolving into a SWE [software engineering] agent, embedded right where your code lives," Dohmke said. "And with it, GitHub itself will become not only the home of your repos, but also for your agents."
GitHub also reported it has released 85 updates to Copilot so far this year. These updates introduced support for MCP (Microsoft Cloud Partner) configurations, compatibility with additional models, the option for enterprise users to bring their own encryption keys, and a feature offering next-edit suggestions based on code context.
A number of enterprise customers, including Twilio, Cisco, HPE, Skyscanner, and Target, are adopting Copilot for use throughout the software development lifecycle, GitHub said. The tool is increasingly positioned as a core part of Microsoft's broader AI strategy for developers.
The Copilot announcement accompanied Microsoft's broader Q3 FY25 earnings report, which showed continued strength in cloud and AI-related business segments. For the quarter ending 31 March 2025, Microsoft reported revenue of USD $70.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13% (15% in constant currency). Operating income rose by 16% to USD $32.0 billion, and net income reached USD $25.8 billion, up 18% from the same period last year.
Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella highlighted the central role of AI in the company's growth strategy: "Cloud and AI are the essential inputs for every business to expand output, reduce costs, and accelerate growth. From AI infra and platforms to apps, we are innovating across the stack to deliver for our customers."
Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood also pointed to the role of AI and cloud in boosting revenue. "We delivered a strong quarter with Microsoft Cloud revenue of USD $42.4 billion, up 20% (up 22% in constant currency) year-over-year driven by continued demand for our differentiated offerings," Hood said.
The 'Intelligent Cloud' segment, which includes Azure and GitHub, posted USD $26.8 billion in revenue, up 21% year-over-year. Azure and other cloud services were up 33% (35% in constant currency).
In terms of operating expenses, Microsoft's research and development spend totalled USD $8.2 billion in the quarter, reflecting its ongoing investment in AI and cloud technologies.
Further updates on GitHub Copilot and other AI offerings are expected to be shared at Microsoft Build, the company's annual developer conference, taking place from 19 to 22 May.
