Get automatic copilot code reviews happening in our orgs

[BigLep]

Done Criteria

When a PR targets the default branch, I want a copilot code review to happen automatically, regardless of who the author was.
I would like this to be the case for FOC-related repos in FilOzone and filecoin-project

Why Important

This is a good objective way for the author to get feedback before taking human reviewer time.
In addition, I think most people aren't using the copilot agent for their development, this copiliot serves as a different set of eyes.

Notes

We have various rulesets about this already in place. I think this used to work, but something has changed on the GitHub side. Now copilot reviews only happen for those who have a copilot plan.

Example ruleset that is configured properly: https://github.com/FilOzone/dealbot/settings/rules/10467327

• But see this:

It also looks like open source developers can no longer apply for a free individual plan: https://github.blog/news-insights/company-news/changes-to-github-copilot-individual-plans/

[BigLep]

When I attempted to open a support ticket I got the following.

It looks like we need copilot business?

Enable Copilot code review for all PRs without individual licenses
Automatic Copilot reviews for all PRs require organization or enterprise Copilot policies to be enabled, not an individual Copilot Pro plan.

What you’re seeing is expected behavior with the current Copilot model.

Why your existing rulesets no longer trigger Copilot
Automatic Copilot code review for all pull requests (including PRs opened by authors without a Copilot license) is not covered by Copilot Pro. Copilot Pro only enables features for the individual subscriber.

For organization-wide automatic reviews, GitHub requires a Copilot Business or Copilot Enterprise plan, plus specific policies enabled by an org or enterprise owner.

How “Premium request paid usage” actually works
The Premium request paid usage setting you found is:

Only visible to organization or enterprise owners
Only available on Copilot Business or Copilot Enterprise plans
Not available to individual Copilot Pro subscribers
Once an organization is on one of those plans, two policies must be enabled:

Premium request paid usage – allows the org or enterprise to pay for Copilot code review usage
Allow members without a Copilot license to use Copilot code review in GitHub.com – enables automatic reviews for PRs from unlicensed contributors
GitHub documentation confirms this behavior in About GitHub Copilot code review: https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-cloud@latest/copilot/concepts/agents/code-review (opens in a new tab)

What will work today
You have three supported options:

Option 1: Manual or licensed-only reviews (current state)
Automatic reviews only run when the PR author has a Copilot license, or
You manually request a Copilot review
This works with Copilot Pro, but does not scale org-wide.

Option 2: Upgrade the organization to Copilot Business or Enterprise
This is the only way to restore fully automatic reviews for all PRs targeting the default branch.

High-level steps (org owner required):

Enroll the organization in Copilot Business or Copilot Enterprise
Enable Premium request paid usage
Enable Allow members without a Copilot license to use Copilot code review in GitHub.com
Re-enable your existing rulesets with Automatically request Copilot code review
Once configured, Copilot will automatically review every PR targeting the default branch, regardless of the author’s license.

Option 3: Enterprise-managed setup (if applicable)
If FilOzone or filecoin-project are owned by a GitHub Enterprise account, the policies must be enabled at the enterprise level first. Organization-level admins can’t override this.

Documentation: https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-cloud@latest/copilot/how-tos/administer/organizations/managing-policies-for-copilot-in-your-organization (opens in a new tab)

Bottom line
✅ Your rulesets are correct
✅ Your understanding of premium paid usage is correct
❌ Copilot Pro cannot enable this behavior
✅ You do need an organizational Copilot plan (Business or Enterprise)
If you want GitHub to confirm eligibility, pricing, or help enable this on your orgs, proceed with submitting this ticket so Support can review your organization setup directly.

[BigLep]

I submitted a sales request in case that helps:

[BigLep]

Nothing additional here, but these were the most useful docs pages:
https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/concepts/agents/code-review
https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/how-tos/copilot-on-github/set-up-copilot/configure-automatic-review