Claude Opus 4.8 (fast mode) in preview for GitHub Copilot

What's new

• Fast-mode Opus 4.8: same model intelligence with significantly faster output token throughput
• Preview rollout: available to Copilot users across supported IDEs
• Agentic coding: well-suited for long, multi-step Copilot Chat and agent runs
• Drop-in selection: pick the Opus 4.8 (fast) entry in Copilot's model picker

Why it matters

Faster output dramatically improves the user experience of agentic coding sessions where Opus is the model of choice. Teams already standardising on Opus 4.8 get speed gains without sacrificing reasoning quality or switching providers.

How to try

Open Copilot's model picker in VS Code, JetBrains, or copilot.github.com and select the Claude Opus 4.8 (fast) preview entry.