Last checked: October 3, 2026. To turn on personal automatic Copilot code reviews, open your profile picture menu and choose Copilot settings → Copilot → Code review, then enable Automatic Copilot code review. Optionally enable Review draft pull requests or Review new pushes if you want feedback on drafts or after new commits. GitHub’s setup guide lists these controls.
Since September 28, Default means Balanced, and GitHub says explicit Lite choices were respected. On October 2, GitHub also announced REST and GraphQL requests with an optional effort level for each request. Those requests are separate from saved automatic-review settings: an API request for one pull request does not turn on automatic reviews for later pull requests. See the October 2 announcement and August 28 default-change notice. Use the table below to choose the control for your workflow.
Which setting should you use?
| Your goal | Use this control | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Review pull requests you create or coauthor automatically | Personal Copilot code-review settings | Your pull requests, with optional reviews on drafts and new pushes |
| Review eligible pull requests across a repository or selected repositories | Repository, organization, or enterprise ruleset | Pull requests within the target repositories and branches |
| Choose a default effort level for future reviews | Personal or administrator effort setting | The effort used when no higher-priority request or pull-request choice applies |
| Request a review from a script or internal tool | REST or GraphQL API | A request for a particular pull request; does not create an automatic-review rule |
The review-effort setting is separate from the automatic-review switch. Changing the effort does not turn automatic review on, and turning automatic review off does not erase the effort preference used for manual requests. GitHub documents these as separate controls.
Turn on personal automatic reviews
Personal automatic review applies to pull requests you create or coauthor. To set it up:
- On GitHub.com, open your profile menu and choose Copilot settings.
- Under Copilot, open Code review.
- Turn on Automatic Copilot code review.
- Choose whether to enable Review draft pull requests and Review new pushes. The basic automatic review runs when a pull request opens as ready or when a draft becomes ready. The optional controls add reviews while a pull request is still a draft or after new commits are pushed.
- Choose the review effort level separately. It applies to automatic reviews and to reviews you request manually.
Personal automatic review settings are available with Copilot Pro, Pro+, and Max, and with a Copilot Business or Enterprise license. GitHub says this personal setup is not available for managed user accounts. The review feature itself is generally available on Pro, Pro+, Max, Business, and Enterprise plans; organization policy can still control access for organization users. See GitHub’s configuration guide and its September 23 settings announcement.
Choose a review effort
Since September 28, Default means Balanced for Copilot code review. GitHub said that explicit Lite choices would be kept. If you now prefer Lite, select it at the level you manage. There is no remaining September 28 deadline. GitHub describes enterprise, organization, repository, and personal settings, with narrower levels able to override settings above them. The October 2 update confirms the effective date and the current setting paths.
| Effort | What GitHub describes | When it may fit |
|---|---|---|
| Lite | Standard review with faster, targeted feedback on common issues such as bugs, security vulnerabilities, and style inconsistencies. | Routine changes where a quick pass is enough. |
| Balanced | Longer analysis of complex logic, security-sensitive code, and changes spanning services. It uses more AI credits and may use slightly more GitHub Actions minutes than Lite. | Higher-risk or cross-service changes. |
| Max | GitHub’s configuration guide labels this personal effort option Coming soon and says it is not available yet. | Do not plan a workflow around this option until GitHub makes it available. |
GitHub estimates about $0.05 to $1 in AI credits for a Lite review and $0.25 to $5 for a Balanced review. These are vendor estimates, can vary with pull-request size and repository instructions, and exclude GitHub Actions minutes. Treat them as ranges, not a per-review quote. GitHub’s code-review guide explains the effort levels and estimates.
Do not confuse the Copilot Max plan with the Max review-effort option. The former is a paid Copilot plan. The latter is labelled as coming soon in the personal effort menu and is not yet selectable according to the current configuration guide.
How GitHub chooses the effort
When more than one setting could apply, GitHub says it uses the first available choice in this order:
- An effort chosen when the review is requested.
- An effort previously used on that pull request.
- The requestor’s Copilot review-effort setting. For a new pull request, the author is the requestor; when someone marks a draft ready, that person is the requestor.
- The repository’s effort setting.
- The organization’s effort setting, or the repository owner’s setting for a user-owned repository.
- GitHub’s built-in default, which is Balanced.
For example, if a pull request previously used Balanced, changing your personal default to Lite does not by itself change that pull request’s next review: the previous pull-request effort is higher in the order. Select Lite explicitly in the Reviewers menu for the next request if you want Lite. This is an illustration of GitHub’s documented precedence, not a test of an account. After each review, GitHub shows the effort used in the pull-request overview comment. The current effort-precedence list explains the order.
Set automatic reviews for a team
Use a ruleset when reviews should cover pull requests beyond your own. In a repository, open Settings → Rulesets, create an active branch ruleset, select its branch targets, and add Automatically request Copilot code review. Enable draft reviews or reviews on new pushes only if those extra triggers fit the team’s workflow. An organization owner can apply rulesets to selected repositories. GitHub made the automatic Copilot review rule separate from the rule that requires pull requests before merging, so you do not need to add a merge gate just to request Copilot feedback. The configuration guide documents the repository, organization, and enterprise paths.
Personal settings, repository rulesets, and organization rulesets are evaluated independently. If more than one applies, GitHub still posts one Copilot review. Your personal setting cannot turn off draft or new-push reviews enabled by a ruleset. So if you switch off your personal toggle and reviews continue, ask a repository or organization owner to check applicable rulesets and their triggers. GitHub’s current configuration documentation explains this interaction.
For effort, enterprise administrators can set an enterprise default, organizations can set one for their repositories, and repository administrators can override the organization choice. Personal settings apply to reviews requested by that person. The current built-in Default is Balanced; an explicit lower-level choice can take precedence according to the order above. GitHub lists the setting locations and overrides in its October 2 announcement.
Request a review with REST or GraphQL
GitHub’s October 2 announcement says you can request a Copilot code review through supported REST and GraphQL APIs and optionally choose the effort for that request. It lists Copilot Pro, Pro+, Max, Business, and Enterprise as generally available plans. The request APIs are useful when a CI job or internal tool should ask for a review on a particular pull request, while personal settings and rulesets control recurring automatic reviews.
For a REST request, GitHub’s code-review guide identifies copilot-pull-request-reviewer[bot] as the reviewer. The review-request endpoint accepts reviewer logins in the reviewers field. Use a token with repository Pull requests: write permission, and make sure the requesting account has Copilot code-review entitlement and any required organization policy. Before running the example, replace OWNER, REPO, and 42 with the repository owner, repository name, and pull-request number. In Bash, set GH_TOKEN privately from your credential store or workflow secret. This documented request asks for one review and does not set the effort:
curl -L \
-X POST \
-H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $GH_TOKEN" \
-H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2026-03-10" \
https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/pulls/42/requested_reviewers \
-d '{"reviewers":["copilot-pull-request-reviewer[bot]"]}'The REST reference documents a 201 Created response. That means GitHub accepted the reviewer request; it does not mean the review has finished. Check the pull request’s activity and review before treating it as complete. The endpoint can also return 403, 422, or 503 for permission, validation, or service problems, and GitHub warns that requests sent too quickly can hit a secondary rate limit. The REST reference lists the endpoint, permission, fields, and responses.
The GraphQL Pull Requests reference documents the requestReviewsByLogin mutation. Its botLogins input accepts bot logins including the [bot] suffix. The pullRequestId value must be the pull request’s GraphQL node ID, not the integer pull number used in the REST URL. Use this shape after you have the node ID:
mutation {
requestReviewsByLogin(input: {
pullRequestId: "PULL_REQUEST_NODE_ID",
botLogins: ["copilot-pull-request-reviewer[bot]"]
}) {
pullRequest { id }
}
}These REST and GraphQL examples request Copilot as a reviewer; neither changes automatic-review settings or the saved effort default. There is also a documentation gap to account for: as checked on October 3, GitHub’s changelog says API requests can set effort, but the public REST request reference lists reviewers and team_reviewers, and the GraphQL request inputs list bot or user identities without an effort field. The pages do not yet show the exact API field or syntax for per-request effort. Recheck GitHub’s current API documentation before adding one; do not guess a field name. These examples were not executed against a GitHub account.
Availability and approval are separate
Copilot code review is available on paid Copilot plans; Copilot Free does not include it. Organization users may also need an administrator to enable the code-review policy. In Business or Enterprise, administrators can allow members without a Copilot license to use code review only after enabling both paid AI-credit usage and the relevant policy. A personal settings page does not override organization access controls. See GitHub’s plan and access documentation before assuming a user or repository can request a review.
A Copilot review is feedback, not automatically an approval for merging. Every review includes an approval assessment, but that assessment does not count toward required approvals. In repository settings, Allow Copilot to approve pull requests and Allow Copilot approvals to count toward merge requirements are separate controls. GitHub documents Copilot approvals as a public preview; keep the team’s human review and merge rules explicit. GitHub’s review guide explains the distinction.
Common setup questions
Will Copilot review every new push automatically?
Only if Review new pushes is enabled in the applicable personal setting or ruleset. Without that option, the automatic review runs once for the pull request. You can request another review manually; a personal toggle cannot cancel a new-push trigger set by a ruleset.
Does my personal setting cover every pull request in my team?
No. It applies to pull requests you create or coauthor. Use a repository or organization ruleset to request reviews across other contributors’ pull requests.
Does an API request turn on automatic reviews?
No. A REST or GraphQL request asks for a review on a particular pull request. Use personal settings for your own pull requests or a ruleset for recurring team coverage.
Can I use personal automatic review with Business or Enterprise?
Yes, with a Copilot Business or Enterprise license, subject to organization policy. GitHub says personal automatic-review setup is not available for managed user accounts.
Can I choose a different effort for one review?
In GitHub’s pull request UI, choose an effort before requesting the review. That choice applies to the current request and leaves your saved default unchanged. The Max effort option in personal settings is labelled Coming soon, so it is not available there yet.
For the wider September Copilot policy context, see the September Copilot admin guide. For IDE-specific features, see the August VS Code Copilot release guide.
Disclosure: AI assistance was used to prepare this update. Product claims link to GitHub documentation; no live Copilot setting or API request was tested.
