GitHub begins enforcing global default policy for generally available Copilot features

GitHub said on October 22, 2026 that the global default policy for generally available Copilot features, announced in September for Copilot Business and Copilot Enterprise, is now being enforced.

Details

• Rollout: Enforcement is gradual and runs through October 26, so enterprises and organizations will see it take effect at different times.
• Scope: Eligible features and client capabilities that admins left unconfigured follow the global default, which can be set to Enabled, Disabled or “Let organizations decide”. It covers settings under “Features & clients” and “MCP servers in Copilot”.
• One-time application: Later changes to the default do not alter policies that were already applied.
• Explicit choices kept: Any feature an admin already enabled or disabled keeps that setting.
• Preview features: These remain opt-in. If you opted into a preview that later became generally available, your choice stays; otherwise the default applies once the feature is eligible.
• Where to review: AI Controls, then Copilot, then “Default policy for new features”. GitHub’s documentation on default availability covers eligibility and exceptions.

What happened next

For admins the practical step is to check the default now, since any feature left unconfigured will pick it up during the rollout window. Because the default is applied once and not retroactively changed, a review before October 26 is the safest point to confirm that “Enabled” or “Let organizations decide” matches your intent. Explicit per-feature choices can still be made at any time.