Definition
Plain language
An AI assistant built into code editors that suggests code as you type.
As stated in the literature
GitHub's LLM-based code-completion assistant; cited as the earlier autocomplete-style generation of AI coding tools, contrasted with later stateful agentic systems like Cursor and Claude Code that run in an action loop over a repository.
Also called: Copilot
Why it matters: It marks the autocomplete style of AI coding help, a useful contrast to later agents that can act across a whole codebase on their own.
For example, as you start typing a function to sort a list, it pops up a complete suggestion you can accept with a keystroke.
Heard on the show
“" The setting is SpreadsheetBench, with Excel Copilot as the agent — and worth noting, this is a Microsoft team, this is home turf for them.”Episode 132 — The Agent Failed — But Did the Instructions Deserve to Be Followed?