GitHub has officially disabled a controversial feature that inserted promotional messages into over 1.5 million pull requests (PRs). The advertisements appeared in code updates generated by GitHub Copilot when developers requested automated fixes or improvements.
These messages promoted various tools and integrations within the Microsoft ecosystem and its partners, including Microsoft Teams, Slack, VS Code, and JetBrains. Many users viewed the practice as intrusive, as it injected non-essential marketing text directly into their project workflows.
According to Tim Rogers, GitHub’s Product Manager, the initiative was originally intended to suggest different ways to utilize Copilot. Following the backlash, the functionality has been deactivated to maintain a cleaner developer experience.
