Make GitHub Copilot usage last longer
GitHub says usage is charged based on the model used. Auto model selection routes simple tasks to lower-cost models and is discounted on paid plans. Each tip below cites the official doc it comes from (read 2026-10-21). We don't estimate how much each one saves; vendors don't publish that.
Use Auto model selection
On paid Copilot plans, Auto gets a 10% discount on model costs in Copilot Chat, Copilot CLI, the GitHub Copilot app and Copilot cloud agent. Copilot Max gets 30% through October 28, 2026.
Model picker → Auto
docs.github.com checked 2026-10-21
Pick the Efficiency tier for simple work
Auto has three tiers: Efficiency (cost), Balance, and Intelligence (quality). Efficiency routes every prompt to the most cost-efficient capable model. Tiers are available in VS Code, Copilot CLI and the GitHub Copilot app.
Auto → Efficiency
docs.github.com checked 2026-10-21
Check which model answered
Usage is charged by the model Auto picks. Hover over a response in Copilot Chat or the app; Copilot CLI prints the model for each response.
# Copilot Chat: hover the response # Copilot CLI: model shown in the terminal
docs.github.com checked 2026-10-21