How to disable Copilot code review in GitHub?

Copilot reviews a pull request only when someone asks, unless automatic review is switched on, so the first step is to find out which switch asked. GitHub documents four sources: your own "Automatic Copilot code review" setting, a repository ruleset, an organization or enterprise ruleset with the rule "Automatically request Copilot code review", and a person or a bot requesting Copilot as a reviewer. Turn off the one that applies. The automatic ones are independent: "These configurations are not hierarchical; neither inherits from or overrides the other." To stop people who bring their own Copilot license from requesting reviews in your repository, a repository admin or organization owner enables "Only allow Copilot code review to be triggered by authorized users". An organization owner can turn off the Copilot code review option for members who get Copilot from the organization, and an enterprise can block it in all its repositories.

Every step below is from GitHub's own documentation as I read it on 9 October 2026, and GitHub did not see this text before publication.

Where the review comes from and who can turn it off

Where the review comes from	Who can turn it off	Where	What it does not stop
Your own automatic setting	you	profile picture > Copilot settings > Code review: turn off "Automatic Copilot code review"	rulesets and other people's requests
A repository ruleset	repository admins, or a custom role with "edit repository rules"	Settings > Rulesets: clear "Automatically request Copilot code review", set the ruleset to Disabled, or delete it	the author's own setting
An organization ruleset	organization owners and users with "Manage organization ref update rules and rulesets"	organization Settings > Repository > Rulesets	the same
An enterprise ruleset	enterprise owners	the enterprise-level branch ruleset	the same
A Copilot license from outside your organization or enterprise	repository admins, or organization owners for all repositories	Settings > Copilot > Code review: enable "Only allow Copilot code review to be triggered by authorized users"	ruleset reviews
Copilot from your organization	organization owners	organization Settings > Copilot > Policies: the Copilot code review option	an enterprise policy; a second organization that enables it
Members without a license	enterprise administrators or organization owners	keep "Allow members without a Copilot license to use Copilot code review in GitHub.com" disabled, its default	members with a license
Every user in an enterprise's repositories	enterprise owners and AI managers	AI controls > Agents > Copilot code review: "Block Copilot code review in all enterprise repositories"	nothing named; it covers personal plans too
One pull request	anyone who can request reviews	the Reviewers sidebar, or gh pr edit	not said for a review already running or posted

How to tell which switch asked

If no setting of yours asked, look at the author: their own automatic review covers their pull requests "in any repository where Copilot code review is available to you". An author on Copilot Free has no such setting, because the Free plan "does not include Copilot code review".

Then the rulesets. Anyone with read access can view the active ones, and the shortcut is "adding the /rules slug to the repository's URL". Or, from a terminal:

gh ruleset check main

Last, the requester. GitHub's general rule for review requests is that "you need write access to the repository", and that page does not say whether it covers Copilot. Requests also come through the REST API as "copilot-pull-request-reviewer[bot]", and through GraphQL since 2 October 2026, so a workflow or a bot can ask. By default, AI credits go to the pull request author when a repository requests the review automatically and to the requester for a manual one; the organization pays "when a bot requests the review", and the organization or enterprise pays for people without a Copilot license or on Copilot Free. For members with a paid Copilot license, an enterprise or organization owner "can instead choose to bill the organization".

What each switch leaves running

Your own setting exists on the Copilot Pro, Copilot Pro+ and Copilot Max plans and with a Copilot Business or Copilot Enterprise license, not for managed user accounts. Turning it off does not touch rulesets: "Your user settings cannot disable push or draft reviews that a ruleset has enabled." Your review effort stays as set. A repository's automatic review lives in its ruleset, under "Branch rules", not in Settings > Copilot > Code review.

A license is external when it is "not provided by the organization or enterprise that owns the repository", and by default people can use one to request a review. With the authorized-users setting on, "Copilot is not offered as a reviewer to people who are not authorized, and API review requests from those people do not start a review." In a personal repository only the owner or a direct collaborator can then request one. Automatic reviews from personal settings of people who are not authorized stop. "Automatic reviews configured by repository or organization rulesets still run." Set at the organization, it cannot be turned off per repository. GitHub documented it on 7 October 2026.

The organization option governs reviews "on GitHub.com or in GitHub Mobile" for members who get Copilot from that organization: "Generally, policies only apply to users on your Copilot plan." An enterprise choice wins: "you cannot override that setting at the organization level." For a person with Copilot from several organizations in one enterprise the policy is "Least restrictive": "if any of the organizations has enabled a feature, this feature is enabled for the user everywhere."

The enterprise block reaches further, "including for users who get access to Copilot from a personal plan or another enterprise." Turning the enterprise's Copilot code review policy off instead covers its licensed users and also removes pull request summaries: the policy "allows your licensed users to request reviews from Copilot and use Copilot to generate pull request summaries."

For one pull request:

gh pr edit 123 --remove-reviewer "@copilot"

The @copilot value is "not supported on GitHub Enterprise Server", where Copilot is not available. The pages I read do not say what removing the request does to a review already running or posted, and a review "usually takes less than 30 seconds". Resolving a Copilot comment does not keep it away: "Copilot may repeat the same comments again, even if they have been dismissed".

Before 22 October 2026, for enterprises

GitHub's default availability page says the "Default policy for new features" policy "will start applying to new and existing GA features from October 22, 2026." The covered features include the Copilot code review policy on the Agents page. The default policy itself starts enabled, and "unconfigured features will be enabled on October 22". It covers enterprises with Copilot Business or Copilot Enterprise, and organizations that were left to decide and have not configured the feature. To keep Copilot code review off, set its policy explicitly before 22 October 2026 or disable the default policy. The date will change availability, not automatic review, which will still need a ruleset or a person's own setting.

If you want review only on request

Tool	By default	Request-only switch	How to ask
GitHub Copilot	"By default, Copilot only reviews a pull request if you assign it to the pull request."	leave automatic review off everywhere	Reviewers sidebar, or gh pr edit 123 --add-reviewer "@copilot"
CodeRabbit	"CodeRabbit reviews every eligible PR automatically"	enabled: false under reviews.auto_review	@coderabbitai review (incremental) or @coderabbitai full review, "Regardless of any auto-review configuration"
Cursor Bugbot	"Runs automatic reviews on every PR update"	personal setting "only when mentioned"; per repository, manualTriggerOnly in the Bugbot Admin API	cursor review or bugbot run
Greptile	config default "autoReview": ["open"], which starts a review "unasked" when a pull request is opened	"autoReview": []	@greptileai
Qodo	"Automatic is the default."	Code review trigger set to Manual only	/agentic_review
Sigma (Mnemoverse, the author's company)	closed beta on GitHub for invited accounts; documented modes Automatic, On request and Off, invited accounts start with On request	On request: "Explicit requests only. A push alone does not start this reviewer."; Off: "No new review or recheck work."	/sigma review; documented: invited accounts need GitHub-confirmed admin, maintain or write access

Sources, read on 9 October 2026. GitHub Docs: Configuring code review by GitHub Copilot, About GitHub Copilot code review, Using GitHub Copilot code review, organization policies, policy conflicts, enterprise and organization policies, enterprise code review policy, blocking agentic features, default availability, repository rulesets, organization rulesets, enterprise rulesets, requesting a review, plans. GitHub CLI manual: gh pr edit, gh ruleset check. GitHub changelog, 2 October 2026. The docs change of 7 October 2026. CodeRabbit automatic review controls, Cursor Bugbot docs, Greptile trigger configuration, Greptile config reference, Qodo, trigger a code review. Sigma: its public home page and documentation.