GitHub Copilot code review just got a meaningful upgrade: a Medium effort level is now in public preview, letting teams route pull requests to a more capable reasoning model when the stakes are high. It is a small setting change with a real impact on review quality for complex code.
One dial, two very different reviewers
Copilot code review now supports multiple review effort levels so you can match thoroughness to the criticality of your code. Low is the standard default, offering fast, targeted feedback on common issues like bugs, security vulnerabilities, and style inconsistencies. Medium routes pull requests to a higher-reasoning model for longer analysis of complex logic, security-sensitive code, and cross-service changes.
Think of it as a thinking budget. Lower levels give fast, shallow responses, while higher levels allow deeper analysis and more structured thinking. At higher settings, the model plans, evaluates, and reasons before responding rather than pattern-matching against common issues.
The practical difference matters most at the edges of what a quick scan can catch:
- Medium delivers more actionable comments with fewer false positives and catches subtle bugs that lighter reviews miss.
- Use Medium for security-sensitive code, multi-service pull requests, or repositories with strict quality standards.
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