Microsoft Corp. is directing thousands of its software engineers to deploy Anthropic’s Claude Code alongside its flagship GitHub Copilot, tasking them with direct comparisons to determine superior performance. The initiative, rolled out last week across key divisions, underscores a pragmatic pivot amid intensifying competition in AI-assisted coding tools.

Sources familiar with the matter told The Verge that Microsoft’s CoreAI team and Experiences + Devices division—overseeing Windows, Office, Teams, Edge, and Surface—received instructions to install Claude Code. Even non-technical staff, including designers and project managers, were encouraged to experiment with the tool for rapid prototyping. Access to Claude Code was greenlit across all repositories for Business and Industry Copilot teams.

This internal pilot arrives as Microsoft sells GitHub Copilot to enterprise clients worldwide, a product that posted over 40% revenue growth in Q4 2024, according to Medium.

Engineers Test Dual AI Workflows

Software engineers at Microsoft now must use both tools daily and provide feedback on strengths and weaknesses, per The Verge. The company last year reported 91% of its engineering teams rely on GitHub Copilot for mundane tasks across more than 100,000 repositories. Claude Code, however, is gaining traction for its agentic capabilities—planning multi-step changes, executing code, and iterating autonomously.

Developers have long debated the tools’ merits. Reddit discussions on r/ClaudeAI highlight Claude Code’s edge in complex tasks, with users noting, “Claude Code is better and if Microsoft can increase their productivity of their engineers, I’m sure they don’t care about the cost difference,” as posted on r/ClaudeAI. GitHub Copilot excels in inline suggestions within VS Code, but Claude Code handles repo-wide refactors more effectively, per comparisons in Skywork.ai.

The directive extends Microsoft’s prior integrations, where Claude Sonnet 4 powered GitHub Copilot for paid users starting June 2025.

Industry Titans Echo the Shift

Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang recently instructed engineers to “stop writing code manually and focus on solving ‘undiscovered problems’ instead,” revealing every Nvidia engineer uses AI assistants like Cursor daily, as shared on the No Priors AI podcast and at the World Economic Forum, according to The Times of India. Huang called Claude “incredible,” urging software firms to adopt it.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated in April 2025 that up to 30% of the company’s codebase is AI-generated, a metric climbing steadily. Google CEO Sundar Pichai echoed this, noting over 30% of new Google code stems from AI. These disclosures signal a profound transformation in software development, potentially diminishing demand for junior roles.

Internal Microsoft Reddit threads on r/ClaudeAI confirm Claude Code rollouts to major organizations via Anthropic console accounts, despite unlimited GitHub Copilot quotas.

Balancing OpenAI Loyalty with Anthropic Ties

Microsoft’s communications chief Frank Shaw affirmed, “OpenAI continues to be our primary partner and model provider on frontier models.” Yet, a November deal grants Microsoft Foundry customers access to Claude Sonnet 4.5, Opus 4.1, and Haiku 4.5, with Anthropic committing to $30 billion in Azure compute.

This multi-model strategy reflects developer habits: selecting tools per task. GitHub Copilot Business and Enterprise plans now route to Claude models like Opus 4.5 in VS Code, per Visual Studio Magazine. Analysts peg Claude Code’s annualized revenue near $1 billion, drawing platform giants.

If pilots succeed, Microsoft may offer Claude Code to Azure users, positioning it beside—or ahead of—Copilot, as speculated in AI for Work.

Developer Tools Evolve Amid Competition

Claude Code supports Model Context Protocol (MCP), hooks, and plugins for custom workflows, contrasting Copilot’s GitHub ecosystem integration, per Skywork.ai. Users on r/GithubCopilot debate switches, with one noting, “I use both… Total with taxes is around 32 euro a month and I get the best of both.”

Microsoft’s Copilot Studio VS Code extension explicitly endorses using GitHub Copilot or Claude Code for agent building, signaling hybrid acceptance, as detailed in the Microsoft 365 Developer Blog. Enterprise deployments weigh Copilot’s $10/month affordability against Claude Code’s $150/month premium for agentic depth.

X posts amplify the buzz, with users like @captchapassed observing, “microsoft is telling thousands of its own engineers to install Claude Code and compare it against GitHub Copilot… entire teams across Windows, Microsoft 365, Teams, Surface.”

Implications for Enterprise AI Strategy

The pilot tests productivity gains: self-reports show engineers delegating 60% of tasks to Claude, boosting output 50%, though only 20% fully automated without review, via AI CERTs News. Security and governance remain priorities, with admins controlling model access.

GitHub plans deprecate select Claude and OpenAI models by February 17, 2026, per GitHub Changelog, favoring fresher iterations. This internal contest could redefine Microsoft’s external offerings, blending rivals’ strengths into a unified platform.

As tech giants like Microsoft experiment boldly, the verdict from its own engineers may accelerate AI’s dominance in code creation, forcing vendors to innovate relentlessly.