Microsoft Makes OpenAI GPT-5.6 Default for Internal Engineers

The Story in Brief

Microsoft has made OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 the default model for internal engineers, replacing a GitHub Copilot setup that reportedly routed much coding work to Anthropic’s Claude. The Times of India reports that an internal memo also asks staff to review AI spending and says every division now has an AI token budget target. Employees can view their individual usage, which for some engineers runs from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a month.

The move follows Microsoft’s direction to engineers to stop using Claude Code and shift to GitHub Copilot CLI by June 30. Anthropic’s models remain available through Copilot CLI, Microsoft Foundry and some Microsoft 365 Copilot tasks. The change therefore cuts Claude’s default internal traffic, but does not end Microsoft’s commercial relationship with Anthropic.

The Indian Opinion

The lazy reading is that Microsoft has either abandoned Anthropic or lost faith in AI coding. Neither follows from the facts. This is a decision about defaults, control and spending, while Claude remains available in several products. Nor does a token budget prove Microsoft is retreating from AI. The useful test is simple: over the next few quarters, will Microsoft’s internal usage and contracts show sustained movement towards OpenAI, or will engineers keep choosing Claude when it performs better?

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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