BUSINESSDevelopments · · Source: The Next Web
GitHub: AI agents now start over 40% of code changes
AI agents are writing a fast-growing share of the world's software. According to GitHub's Octoverse 2026 report, presented on October 28 at GitHub Universe, over 40% of all pull requests in September began as an AI agent's draft – up from 17% in March.
Key numbers
- Over 40% of pull requests (proposed code changes) started as an agent draft in September – 110 million in that month alone. GitHub calls this a minimum, since not every agent can be detected.
- 17.9 billion code pushes in twelve months – more than 2024 and 2025 combined.
- Over 225 million developers on the platform.
- 61% of Copilot users who choose their own model used more than one in September.
Copilot Fusion
GitHub also introduced Copilot Fusion: a system that automatically routes each step of a coding task to the best-suited AI model – for planning, writing, debugging or using tools. Microsoft says it delivers frontier-level results up to 40% faster and up to 77% cheaper; these are vendor figures. Enterprise customers can now use every Copilot feature and pay for the AI credits they consume instead of per subscription.
What this means for you
- In software development, AI is no longer an add-on but the default. Other knowledge jobs are following the same pattern, with some delay.
- The trend is toward several models instead of one: the right model for the right task saves time and money.
- Usage-based billing instead of per-seat licences makes AI costs more variable – budgets need to be planned differently.
Luigi's take
For me, these numbers are the best gauge of where AI has truly arrived. Developers are early, but what happens there shows up two or three years later in marketing, sales and administration: AI writes the first draft, a human reviews and decides.
For leaders, that means the most important skill on a team becomes telling good drafts from bad ones – not writing everything yourself. If you train your people now to review AI output critically, you'll be ready when the agent share in their area climbs to 40% too.
Source
The Next Web: GitHub Universe: Copilot Fusion, Octoverse and the rise of coding agents
This article was researched and written with AI assistance. Responsible: Luigi Lugmayr.
