Brandwave

How popular isGitHub Copilot?

In September 2026, people searched for GitHub Copilot by name about 583,000 times worldwide, a 29.9% decrease from the previous year. These searches made up 8.2% of all global AI coding assistant searches, placing GitHub Copilot fifth out of eight assistants. When we asked both ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews about AI coding assistants, GitHub Copilot appeared in all answers and was the third most recommended of the eight.

Search and AI answers in September 2026

GitHub Copilot is the fifth most searched of 8 competitors and the third most recommended in AI answers.

  1. Claude CodeShare of searches 43.7%Mentioned in 5 of 5 AI answersPlace in AI recommendations 2nd
  2. ReplitShare of searches 21.4%Mentioned in 1 of 5 AI answersPlace in AI recommendations 5th
  3. OpenAI CodexShare of searches 13.9%Mentioned in 3 of 5 AI answersPlace in AI recommendations 4th
  4. CursorShare of searches 8.6%Mentioned in 5 of 5 AI answersPlace in AI recommendations 1st
  5. GitHub CopilotShare of searches 8.2%Mentioned in 5 of 5 AI answersPlace in AI recommendations 3rd

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Top AI coding assistants in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, GitHub Copilot appeared in all five answers. GitHub Copilot is the third most recommended of the eight.

Most recommended by AI

Brands get a higher ranking if they are mentioned earlier in the answers.

  1. Cursor1st
  2. Claude Code2nd
  3. GitHub Copilot3rd
  4. OpenAI Codex4th
  5. Replit5th
  6. Windsurf6th
  7. Lovable7th
  8. Bolt8th

Mentioned by AI

Each dot is one answer, filled in when that answer mentions the brand.

  • Claude Code5 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
  • Cursor5 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
  • GitHub Copilot5 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
  • OpenAI Codex3 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Windsurf2 of 5Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
  • Replit1 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
  • Bolt1 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
  • Lovable1 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers

See every answer about AI coding assistants

5 answers

Brands are shown in the order each answer named them. The survey took place in the United States on October 20, 2026.

Which AI coding assistants compete with GitHub Copilot?

GitHub Copilot against AI coding assistants worldwide, by month

Share of searches by month for Claude Code, Replit, OpenAI Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of searches table
MonthClaude CodeReplitOpenAI CodexCursorGitHub CopilotBoltLovableWindsurf
Oct 202524.9%25.2%7.9%17.7%17.1%2.3%1.9%3.1%
Nov 202528%22.9%6.5%19.5%15.6%2%2%3.4%
Dec 202531.4%26.8%5.3%15.6%14.7%1.6%2%2.7%
Jan 202650.9%19.9%4.1%11.7%9.3%0.97%1.4%1.6%
Feb 202650.2%16.2%11.5%9.6%9.1%0.79%1.2%1.5%
Mar 202656.8%14.8%7%8.7%10%0.59%0.88%1.3%
Apr 202655%14.3%8%8.1%11.6%0.57%1.3%1.2%
May 202648.7%15.6%14.5%7.6%10.2%0.76%1.4%1.2%
Jun 202649.2%15.7%11%10.9%9.1%1.1%1.4%1.6%
Jul 202646.2%18.3%14.6%9%7.1%1.6%2%1.3%
Aug 202643.2%20.9%13.1%10.1%7.9%1.8%1.8%1.1%
Sep 202643.7%21.4%13.9%8.6%8.2%1.5%1.5%1.2%

  1. 1.Claude Code

    43.7%

    Held 1st. 3.1M estimated branded searches, -0.96% vs prior month. Share +0.5 points.

  2. 2.Replit

    21.4%

    Held 2nd. 1.5M estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share +0.5 points.

  3. 3.OpenAI Codex

    13.9%

    Held 3rd. 992K estimated branded searches, +3.3% vs prior month. Share +0.7 points.

  4. 4.Cursor

    8.6%

    Held 4th. 616K estimated branded searches, -16.8% vs prior month. Share -1.5 points.

  5. 5.GitHub Copilot

    8.2%

    Held 5th. 583K estimated branded searches, +1.4% vs prior month. Share +0.3 points.

  6. 6.Bolt

    1.5%

    Held 6th. 110K estimated branded searches, -18.5% vs prior month. Share -0.3 points.

  7. 7.Lovable

    1.5%

    Held 7th. 110K estimated branded searches, -18.5% vs prior month. Share -0.3 points.

  8. 8.Windsurf

    1.2%

    Held 8th. 87.4K estimated branded searches, +6.5% vs prior month. Share +0.1 points.

Compare popularity between GitHub Copilot and its closest rivals

Every comparison with GitHub Copilot

10 comparisons

How has branded search demand for GitHub Copilot changed worldwide over the last 12 months?

4 findings
  • Across the 12 months ending September 2026, estimated monthly branded searches for GitHub Copilot worldwide fell from 832K to 583K.
  • Across the 12 months ending September 2026, GitHub Copilot’s share of searches among AI coding assistants worldwide decreased from 17.1% to 8.2%.
  • Across the 12 months ending September 2026, GitHub Copilot’s share of searches among AI coding assistants worldwide peaked at 17.1% in October 2025 and was lowest at 7.1% in July 2026.
  • Across the 12 months ending September 2026, GitHub Copilot fell from 4th to 5th among AI coding assistants worldwide.

How did search popularity change for AI coding assistants worldwide in September 2026?

6 changes

  1. In September 2026, OpenAI Codex gained share of searches among AI coding assistants worldwide, from 13.1% to 13.9%.

  2. In September 2026, Claude Code gained share of searches among AI coding assistants worldwide, from 43.2% to 43.7%.

  3. In September 2026, Cursor lost share of searches among AI coding assistants worldwide, from 10.1% to 8.6%.

  4. Replit’s share of searches among AI coding assistants worldwide has gained ground for 3 months in a row, from 15.7% to 21.4% in September 2026.

  5. Estimated monthly branded searches for Lovable worldwide rose 21.5% over 12 measured months, from 90.5K to 110K in September 2026.

  6. Estimated monthly branded searches for Windsurf worldwide fell 42.4% over 12 measured months, from 152K to 87.4K in September 2026.

How are GitHub Copilot’s branded searches counted?

19 search terms

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using GitHub Copilot’s name. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brand is growing, holding steady, or fading.

  • copilot github
  • copilot vscode
  • git copilot
  • GitHub Copilot
  • github copilot agent
  • github copilot ai
  • github copilot app
  • github copilot business
  • github copilot certification
  • github copilot cli
  • github copilot enterprise
  • github copilot extension
  • github copilot intellij
  • github copilot pro
  • github copilot vscode
  • github copilots
  • microsoft github copilot
  • vscode copilot
  • vscode github copilot

How the Brand Demand Index is measured

Who owns GitHub Copilot?

GitHub Copilot is owned by Microsoft. Brandwave also tracks Microsoft Copilot, Azure AI Document Intelligence, Azure AI Search, Azure Bicep, Azure Blob Storage, Azure Container Apps, Azure Container Registry, Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Data Factory, Azure DevOps, Azure Machine Learning, Azure Service Bus, Azure Stream Analytics, Bing, Clipchamp, GitHub Actions, LinkedIn, LinkedIn Ads, LinkedIn Recruiter, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Advertising, Microsoft Authenticator, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Bookings, Microsoft Clarity, Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, Microsoft Designer, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Entra, Microsoft Forms, Microsoft Learn, Microsoft OneNote, Microsoft Planner, Microsoft Power Automate Process Mining, Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Purview, Microsoft Surface, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft To Do, Microsoft Translator, Microsoft Visio, Microsoft Whiteboard, Minecraft, OneDrive, OneNote, Outlook, Power Automate, Power BI, SharePoint, Xbox and Xbox Game Pass, owned by the same company, worldwide.

Do you work for GitHub Copilot? To request corrections or removal please contact us via our support page and we will be happy to assist.

Where does GitHub Copilot compete?

GitHub Copilot is ranked in three competitor sets. Each share is worked out among that set's brands, so it differs from set to set.
Competitor setRankShare of searchesRanking
AI coding agents5th of 78.1%Show ranking
AI coding assistants5th of 88.2%Shown above
AI coding tools4th of 710.3%Show ranking
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Is GitHub Copilot your brand?

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