GitHub Copilot now lets a model approve the actions it judges safe

On October 26, 2026, GitHub announced that assisted permissions are now generally available. The feature puts a language model in front of Copilot's permission prompts. Before Copilot runs a command, accesses a file system path, or opens a URL, the model decides whether a person needs to be asked. Requests it classifies as clearly safe proceed automatically, and the rest go to the developer as before.

How the review works

Assisted permissions sits between approving every action by hand and allowing everything. According to GitHub's documentation, existing permission rules and earlier approvals are checked first. Only requests those rules leave open go to the review model, which judges whether the action is safe and within the authority the developer gave for the task.

GitHub chooses the review model, so it can differ from the model in the conversation. If that model is unavailable, the session's active model can be used instead. Developers who bring their own model provider always get their session's active model as the reviewer.

Some requests never reach the review. Enterprise deny rules still apply, tool calls that enterprise rules reserve for a person are left to that person, and requests to bypass local sandboxing keep their usual handling. In autopilot mode and in non-interactive runs, a request that needs approval is denied instead of prompted.

How to turn it on

The setting is in a different place in each of the three tools.

• In Copilot CLI, run /permissions and select assisted.
• In the GitHub Copilot app, open the mode picker, click Tool permissions, and select Assisted.
• In Visual Studio Code, open the permissions picker and select Assisted permissions.

Administrator controls and GitHub's warning

Enterprise administrators can block the Allow All mode while keeping Assisted available, or disable Assisted on its own with permissions.disableAssistedPermissionsMode: true. They can also set the default mode for new sessions. If that default is unavailable or prohibited, the session starts with manual approval. Cloud sessions do not offer tool permission controls.

GitHub's documentation says the model can make mistakes and approve dangerous or unintended actions, and that the feature is not a substitute for sandboxing or access restrictions. Neither the announcement nor the documentation says what data is sent to the review model or which Copilot plans include the feature.