Can Copilot code review approve pull requests now?

Can Copilot code review approve pull requests now

Yes. GitHub Copilot code review can now submit approving reviews in supported repositories, but only when a repository or organization owner enables auto-approval. GitHub also lets owners decide whether those approvals count toward merge requirements.

The part people get wrong is the default behavior. If you request a normal Copilot review, Copilot leaves a Comment review, not an Approve review and not a Request changes review. Those reviews do not count toward required approvals and do not block merging.

Approval is controlled in settings, not in the review request itself. GitHub’s configuration page for Copilot code review includes an Auto-approval section with a toggle to allow Copilot to approve pull requests, plus a separate toggle to let Copilot approvals count toward merge requirements.

The inconvenient part is that approval and merge eligibility are two different switches. A repository can allow Copilot to approve a pull request and still keep that approval from satisfying branch protection or required review rules. If that second setting is off, the review exists, but the merge gate still waits for a human or another required reviewer.

GitHub also says Copilot approvals are in public preview and subject to change. That matters if you are wiring this into a release process, because preview features can change behavior, limits, or availability without the stability people expect from a long-term policy.

If you want Copilot to approve pull requests, the owner has to enable it in the repository or organization settings first. The review then happens on GitHub.com through the normal pull request flow, and GitHub describes the approvals as part of the same Copilot code review system that also leaves comments and suggestions.

A practical example helps. Suppose your repo requires one approval before merge. If Copilot approval is enabled and allowed to count, Copilot can satisfy that requirement. If Copilot approval is enabled but not allowed to count, the pull request still waits for a qualifying human approval.

The older mental model still shows up in documentation and habits, where Copilot was treated as a reviewer that only comments. That model is no longer complete. The current GitHub docs separate the basic review behavior from the newer auto-approval behavior, so the right answer is yes, but only in the configured mode.

For teams that want the feature on, the decision point is policy, not capability. You need to decide whether you want AI review comments only, AI approvals only in some paths, or AI approvals allowed to count in merge rules. GitHub’s configuration includes file path scoping, so owners can limit where Copilot approvals apply.

If you are checking this in a live repo, the fastest test is to open the repository settings for Copilot code review and look for Auto-approval. Then create or open a pull request and see whether Copilot’s review appears as an approval and whether your branch protection accepts it. If merge still waits, the count-toward-merge switch is the first place to look.

If you are building workflows around this, keep one rule in mind: a Copilot approval is only useful if your repository policy explicitly allows it to do the job you want. Otherwise it is just another review signal. For other builder-facing rules and workflows, DevConnect keeps the basics in one place at https://devconnectplatform.com.

FAQ

Does a normal Copilot review approve a pull request No. The standard Copilot review is a Comment review. GitHub says it is not an Approve review and not a Request changes review, so it does not satisfy approval requirements by itself.

Can Copilot approvals count toward required reviews Yes, if the repository owner turns on the setting that lets Copilot approvals count toward merge requirements. GitHub separates that from the setting that simply allows Copilot to approve.

Is Copilot approval available everywhere GitHub documents it as available through Copilot code review settings, but the approval feature is in public preview and subject to change. Availability therefore depends on the feature rollout and the settings in your repo or organization.

Will Copilot re-review a pull request after new commits Not automatically by default. GitHub says you can request a re-review manually, and automatic reviews can be configured to include new pushes.