Windows Terminal is getting smart AI features thanks to GitHub Copilot

Microsoft is building a natural language AI chatbot into its Windows Terminal application. The upcoming GitHub Copilot Chat experience will be available to Windows Terminal users as Microsoft experiments further with adding AI-powered features to Windows features.

“Users of GitHub Copilot will be able to take advantage of natural language AI both inline and in an experimental chat experience to recommend commands, explain errors, and take actions within the Terminal application,” explains Windows chief Panos Panay in a developer blog post today. The expansion of GitHub Copilot to Windows Terminal comes just months after GitHub announced a new ChatGPT-like assistant to help developers write and fix code.

Microsoft first announced Windows Terminal at Build in 2019 to much surprise from developers. It became a popular tool on Windows 10, and Microsoft eventually made it the default Windows 11 command line experience last year. Developers now see Windows Terminal if they attempt to launch the Command Prompt, and Microsoft has been gradually adding new features to Windows Terminal over the past few years. The Windows Terminal app includes multiple tab support, colorful themes, customization options, and support for full GPU-based text rendering and emoji.

Microsoft says it’s now experimenting with GitHub Copilot AI in other developer tools like its own WinDbg debugger. WinDbg is often used by developers to debug user mode applications, device drivers, and even Windows itself. It’s a popular tool for IT admins to troubleshoot blue screen of death (BSOD) errors through its ability to analyze the memory dumps that Windows produces.

If you’re interested in trying the Windows Terminal or future WinDbg experiments with AI, you’ll need to be on the GitHub Copilot Chat list to get access. Microsoft is also adding a Windows Copilot to Windows 11 as part of a number of AI-related announcements at its annual Build developers conference this week.