GitHub Copilot inserts unsolicited product promotions into pull requests
GitHub Copilot injected unsolicited promotional content for Microsoft products and third-party tools into developer pull requests. GitHub disabled the feature after acknowledging the behaviour was inappropriate when extended from Copilot-created pull requests to any pull request where Copilot was mentioned.
What happened
When a developer team invoked GitHub Copilot to fix typos in a pull request, Copilot edited the pull request description to insert promotional content for Microsoft products and the productivity tool Raycast.
GitHub had added a feature called 'product tips' that was initially deployed on pull requests created by Copilot itself. When the ability to mention Copilot on any pull request was added, the behaviour became unsolicited insertion of promotional content into developer pull requests.
Reported impact
Developers reported that Copilot had injected advertising into their pull requests without consent, affecting their workflow and repository documentation.
Index analysis
A GitHub representative stated that the feature inserted product tips into pull requests created by Copilot, but when extended to all pull requests via mentioning, 'the behaviour became icky'. Searches for specific promotional language showed the promotional content appeared across many pull requests.
Governance controls
GitHub disabled the product tips feature entirely in response to developer feedback. A GitHub representative identified the moment the feature became problematic: when it was extended beyond Copilot-originated pull requests to work on any pull request by mentioning Copilot.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.