Choose an effort level in Copilot Fusion

Copilot Fusion chooses models for each prompt. You select an effort level, and Copilot decides how to produce and review the response. GitHub made it generally available on October 28, 2026 ^[1].

Select Fusion in your client

Update VS Code, Copilot CLI, the Copilot app or your JetBrains client. Open the model picker, select Copilot Fusion, then choose Standard, High or Max ^[1].

Start with Standard for routine coding. High and Max are options for tasks that justify more reasoning and additional model calls. A useful first comparison is the same small bug fix at two effort levels: inspect the diff and run the same tests before comparing the credit use.

GitHub says Fusion is available on all Copilot plans, but organization policies still control which models it can use. If every eligible model is disabled, Fusion will not appear ^[2].

Understand what ran

Fusion can complete a request with one model, have a draft checked before escalating it, or have other models critique a draft before revision ^[1]. The pattern can change between prompts in the same conversation.

Hover over the effort label beneath the reply to see the models used ^[2]. That gives you something concrete to compare when two requests take different amounts of time.

Check credits and edits

GitHub bills the models Fusion uses, with no separate Fusion charge. High and Max can consume more credits than Standard because more than one model may run. The current documentation lists a 30% model-cost discount for paid plans through November 30, 2026 ^[2]. Check the linked billing section before estimating costs after that date.

One limitation deserves attention: discarding a draft does not automatically undo edits that draft made in your workspace ^[2]. Review the complete diff before committing, including files the final response does not mention.