Identify every affected workflow
Search team documentation, editor settings, reusable instructions, agent profiles and automation scripts for the six retiring model names. GitHub says the change covers Copilot Chat, inline edits, ask and agent modes, and code completions.
Record whether a workflow uses an explicit model or an automatic selector. An automatic route may continue working, while a named model in a repeatable agent process can fail or silently require a new choice.
Enable supported replacements
GitHub recommends Gemini 3.6 Flash for Gemini 3.1 Pro; Claude Opus 4.7, 4.8 or 5 for older Opus models; Claude Sonnet 5 for older Sonnet models; and MAI-Code-1-Flash for Raptor Mini.
Enterprise administrators should review Copilot model policies and enable the intended replacement before users migrate. Confirm that it appears in the model selector on both VS Code and github.com for the accounts and repositories in scope.
Run a controlled comparison
Choose representative tasks from recent work: repository search, a narrow bug fix, a multi-file change, test generation and review. Freeze the starting commit, instructions and validation commands, then score correctness, unnecessary edits, tests, latency, cost and reviewer time.
Do not widen permissions during the model switch. Keeping tool access and approval gates constant makes it possible to attribute a change in behavior to the model rather than to a different execution environment.
Complete the cutover
Update shared instructions and screenshots, remove obsolete model references and notify users which alternative is the default. Keep the evaluation results and a fallback model for critical repositories until the new workflow has survived real production tasks.
Follow the AINewsInu homepage and How-to hub for practical migration guidance. GitHub notes an exception for Claude Sonnet 4.6 on qualifying individual annual plans, so verify the account's actual selector rather than assuming one universal cutoff.
Sources & further reading
Social-media activity is treated as a signal of attention, not proof. Product claims are attributed to the linked publisher or announcement.