Microsoft cancels Claude Code licenses, shifting developers to GitHub Copilot CLI — a move likely driven by financial motives | Windows Central

YOUR NEXT READ:

Microsoft Chief Executicve (CEO) Satya Nadella takes part in the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment Event during the G7 Summit at the Borgo Egnazia resort in Savelletri, Italy, on June 13, 2024. 1 Mystery firm mistakenly blew $500 million on Claude AI in a month A phone displaying Copilot in front of a screen that say Microsoft. 2 Ex-Microsoft exec says it missed "the AI wave" after fumbling mobile A screenshot of the new Microsoft Intelligent Terminal app showcasing AI agent usage. 3 Microsoft continues to push AI into everything it can with a new terminal app

Windows Central

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful Join the club

Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.

Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in.

Trending

Microsoft cancels Claude Code licenses, shifting developers to GitHub Copilot CLI — a move likely driven by financial motives

News

By Kevin Okemwa published 15 May 2026

Claude Code was popular among Microsoft engineers, but the company now wants them to shift to GitHub Copilot CLI.

Click for next article

An image of a woman holding a cell phone in front of the Claude AI logo displayed on a computer screen, on April 29, 2024, in Edmonton, Canada. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images) (Image credit: Getty Images)

Share this article

Join the conversation

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter

Last year, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed that the company writes up to 30% of its code using generative AI. As it now happens, Microsoft is reportedly planning to reduce the use of Anthropic's Claude Code — a move designed to push its employees toward GitHub Copilot CLI.

For context, The Verge's Tom Warren reported that Microsoft started opening access to Claude Code for its employees in December, including developers, project managers, and designers, allowing them to interact and experiment with the AI-coding assistant directly in their workflows.

Warren reports that Claude Code gained vast popularity among Microsoft employees over the past six months, which has seemingly led to a pullback on its Claude Code push in favor of its own GitHub Copilot CLI. "While Claude Code has been a popular addition, it has also undermined Microsoft’s new GitHub Copilot CLI coding tool," Warren explained.

According to Warren's sources, Microsoft’s Experiences + Devices division, which includes teams working on Windows, Microsoft 365, Outlook, Teams, and Surface, is supposed to stop using Claude Code by the end of June. These teams are expected to transition their workflows to GitHub Copilot CLI over the next few weeks.

The report reveals that the decision isn't centered on Microsoft pushing its staffers towards its own offering — there are some financial implications at play, too. Microsoft's financial year is expected to end on June 30, which means canceling Claude Code licenses for its employees could cut its operational costs as it transitions into a new financial year.

You may like

While speaking to The Verge, Microsoft's VP of experiences and devices group, Rajesh Jha, indicated:

“When we began offering both Copilot CLI and Claude Code, our goal was to learn quickly, benchmark the tools in real engineering workflows, and understand what best supported our teams. Claude Code was an important part of that learning… at the same time, Copilot CLI has given us something especially important: a product we can help shape directly with GitHub for Microsoft’s repos, workflows, security expectations, and engineering needs.”

It'll be interesting to see how the transition from Claude Code to GitHub Copilot CLI is received, especially since the vast majority seems to favor the former. The company's initial plan was to have its engineers use both offerings concurrently, to compare their capabilities, and to provide feedback.

Interestingly, Microsoft staffers have seemingly preferred Claude Cove over GitHub Copilot over the past few months, primarily because of the feature disparity between the two products.

In the interim, I reported that Microsoft is actively looking into AI startup acquisitions to cement its position in the AI landscape, including Cursor AI. However, that deal might not see the light of day as it could trigger regulatory scrutiny for Microsoft. This is because GitHub Copilot and Cursor are curiously similar in the AI coding space.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more. TOPICS

Artificial Intelligence

Kevin Okemwa

Contributor

Kevin Okemwa is a seasoned tech journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya with lots of experience covering the latest trends and developments in the industry at Windows Central. With a passion for innovation and a keen eye for detail, he has written for leading publications such as OnMSFT, MakeUseOf, and Windows Report, providing insightful analysis and breaking news on everything revolving around the Microsoft ecosystem. While AFK and not busy following the ever-emerging trends in tech, you can find him exploring the world or listening to music.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Logout

In this photo illustration, the GitHub Copilot logo is seen displayed on a smartphone screen. OpenAI and ChatGPT GitHub Copilot adds OpenAI's GPT-5.4 for even more complex vibe coding

The Microsoft Copilot logo appears on a smartphone screen Software Apps VS Code update added Copilot as a co‑author by default even with AI disabled

Microsoft Copilot Cowork screenshot displayed on a Lenovo ThinkPad laptop Microsoft Copilot Microsoft’s new "Copilot Cowork" just landed in the Frontier program