Unable to use 'Manage Models...' for organization accounts despite model permissions enabled

[nblog]

• Copilot Chat Extension Version:
  Version: 0.29.1

• VS Code Version:
  版本: 1.102.3 (user setup)
  提交: 488a1f2
  日期: 2025-07-29T03:00:23.339Z
  Electron: 35.6.0
  ElectronBuildId: 11847422
  Chromium: 134.0.6998.205
  Node.js: 22.15.1
  V8: 13.4.114.21-electron.0
  OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26100

• OS Version:
  Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.26100.4652]

Issue Summary
For accounts under an organization, the "Manage Models..." option in Copilot Chat is inaccessible. However, in the organization settings (Settings > Models > Development), permission to use models has already been enabled.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Log in with an account under an organization.
2. Confirm that in Organization Settings > Models > Development, model usage is allowed (All publishers).
3. Open Copilot Chat in VS Code and attempt to access "Manage Models...".

Expected Behavior
The "Manage Models..." menu should be available if organization permissions allow model usage.

Actual Behavior
The menu remains unavailable/disabled for organization accounts.

Additional Context

• Organization settings confirm model usage is permitted.
• When I reopen VSCode, the 'Manage Models...' feature is still missing.

Request

• Guidance on resolving this issue or clarification if this is an intentional limitation.
• Suggestions for troubleshooting or escalation if this is a bug.

Thank you for your assistance.

[pierceboggan]

@nblog This is because "Manage Models" is for our "bring your own key" functionality which is only available today in Copilot Free, Pro, and Pro+.

I have a PR up that removes these license checks, but we are awaiting a policy on GitHub.com so admins can disable BYOK before merging:
microsoft/vscode-copilot-chat#242

[zackheil]

What is the progress on this policy change? Playing around with this has been frustrating since there is no indication to a user that they can't use any of these features just because we are using a business license. The UI just stops at the model selection screen, and after tons of uninstall/reinstall cycles of extensions, vscode itself, downgrading extensions to see if newly broken, etc., I finally find this month old issue explaining why I hit this wall. There are a good number of comments I have seen online saying "I can't find this feature" or "They must have removed this" probably because they are all on business/enterprise accounts and there is nothing to indicate in vscode that "you can't use this because of your SKU"...

[mamoreau-devolutions]

I'm desperately waiting for custom model selection to become available in GitHub Copilot Business/Enterprise, as I have currently have to switch to a free account just to use it. I understand that there should be better organization-level controls for this feature, but at a bare minimum, a way to turn it on/off for the entire organization would fit the bill for most. Using a custom model is a great way to get unblocked when hitting GitHub Copilot rate limits because custom models cost 0x. For the few power users that hit the rate limit, they can temporarily switch to something else which is better than the built-in 0x models.

[nblog]

I'm desperately waiting for custom model selection to become available in GitHub Copilot Business/Enterprise, as I have currently have to switch to a free account just to use it. I understand that there should be better organization-level controls for this feature, but at a bare minimum, a way to turn it on/off for the entire organization would fit the bill for most. Using a custom model is a great way to get unblocked when hitting GitHub Copilot rate limits because custom models cost 0x. For the few power users that hit the rate limit, they can temporarily switch to something else which is better than the built-in 0x models.

The solution currently provided is a "rather peculiar" workaround, requiring the organization administrator to add “other online model providers” in the backend. It cannot utilize local models nor support custom models.