GitHub Copilot can now approve PRs, counting toward merge rules
Off by default, but once enabled its approval counts toward branch protection. Plus: Fable 5.1 reaches Copilot, and GitHub and Vercel add AI spend caps.
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Copilot approvals now count toward branch protection
GitHub's AI reviewer can now submit a formal pull-request approval that satisfies a repo's required-approvals rule — the last gate before a merge. It's off by default and toggled at the enterprise, org, or repo level; admins can restrict which file paths Copilot may approve, and any approval is dismissed once new commits land. Public preview on Copilot Pro, Pro+, Max, Business, and Enterprise.
gh finally embeds screenshots, GIFs, and video
The GitHub CLI now accepts media in issues, pull requests, and comments, so you can attach an image, GIF, or clip straight from the terminal instead of switching to the web UI to paste a screenshot. A small change that removes a daily context-switch for anyone living in gh.
Copilot and Vercel both add per-seat AI spend caps
On the same day, GitHub added expiration dates to individual Copilot user budgets while Vercel's AI Gateway shipped per-user budgets that cap what each team member can spend through the gateway. If you own a team's AI bill, you can now scope and time-box spend per person instead of watching one shared pool. Vercel also priced Sandbox snapshot storage at $0.08 per GB-month.
Elsewhere: Fable 5.1 reaches Copilot and Vercel's gateway
Anthropic's newest coder, Claude Fable 5.1, is now a generally available model pick in GitHub Copilot and callable through Vercel's AI Gateway with a single key — no Anthropic account, with automatic fallbacks and per-request spend tracking. Two more places to reach it without wiring up the API yourself.