- More than 11,000 GitHub pull requests have seen ads inserted by Copilot
- Developers were unhappy with how they were implemented
- GitHub has confirmed that this was an error and has no plans to advertise like this.
GitHub has reversed its decision to insert ads for its AI tools into pull requests generated and edited by Copilot after backlash from developers.
Australian developer Zach Manson explained how, after a colleague used Copilot to fix a typo in a pull request, the Microsoft-owned platform also inserted promotional messages not only for its own tools, but also for third parties like Recast.
Manson was just one of many developers who complained about this perceived advertising: more than 11,000 pull requests contained similar ads inserted into Copilot without the user’s knowledge or consent.
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GitHub stopped inserting ads in pull requests
Besides unwanted ads, developers were also unhappy with GitHub’s execution: ads appeared as if they were written by developers and not inserted by AI.
One of GitHub’s later edits included these so-called “hints” on any pull request in which Copilot was mentioned, but previously they were simply inserted when Copilot created the pull requests.
Manson cited a separate comment from Cory Doctorow on TikTok’s demise: “Here’s how platforms die: first, they’re good to their users;
GitHub has since admitted to making a “poor judgment” and subsequently disabled these tips in pull requests.
“GitHub does not and does not plan to include advertising on the platform,” Martin Woodward, vice president of developer relations, has since explained.
“We recently identified a programming logic issue in the GitHub Copilot Copilot agent that caused a “product tip,” including a third-party suggestion, to incorrectly appear in a pull request comment.
“Our goal was to share new ways to use the Copilot Coding Agent, and in this case, we highlighted our integration with Raycast as part of a broader set of product guidance… We’ve removed Copilot Agent guidance from all pull requests moving forward.”
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