Earlier this week, GitHub's Copilot switched to usage-based billing for users. Many individuals noticed a large bump in their bill even after the first day of usage. Some users' bills have gone from tens of dollars to hundreds, or even thousands for a single prompt. Before making the change, GitHub released a tool to estimate users' new bills based on previous usage. Many users didn't believe the estimates and have started using the A.I. tool even more in hopes it will somehow be less expensive than GitHub estimated. But now GitHub, and more importantly parent company Microsoft, is introducing another billing surprise. Starting July 1, 2026, they are requiring a down payment of the user's arm or leg.
A GitHub blog post stated, "We know our users love GitHub Copilot. They wouldn't be paying our exorbitant fees if they didn't. But A.I. compute is expensive, and we can't just let everyone access it without knowing they're serious about paying their bills. So we need to retrieve an arm or a leg from users as a down payment. If they miss a bill, we sell the body part on the black market to recoup our costs, and shut down their account forever."
Due to the complex nature of extracting and storing body parts, this will only be done for new accounts. All existing users will be grandfathered in until they decide to change their license tier. GitHub states they will store the body parts in a large freezer, allowing users to surgically re-attach them if they are ever returned.