January 24, 2026 – According to a recent report from tech outlet The Verge, although Microsoft has its own GitHub Copilot, a growing number of its employees are turning to Anthropic’s Claude Code AI programming tool within the company.
Over the past few months, Microsoft developers have been engaged in a thorough comparison of the pros and cons of Claude Code, Cursor, and GitHub Copilot, aiming to identify the most outstanding AI programming tool. While none of these software options has managed to come out on top in all daily tasks, Claude Code stands out for its user – friendliness, appealing to both developers and non – technical staff. As a result, it has become the preferred choice for the majority.
Microsoft seems to be on the same page. Sources reveal that the company is now actively encouraging thousands of employees from multiple core teams to use Claude Code for programming.
It’s reported that Microsoft first introduced the Claude Sonnet 4 model in its developer department as early as June last year. A few months later, it gave priority access to this model for paid users of GitHub Copilot.
Meanwhile, Microsoft’s newly – established CoreAI team has been continuously testing Claude Code. Just last week, the Experiences + Devices department, which is in charge of Windows, Microsoft 365, Bing, Edge browser, and Surface, was instructed to install Claude Code.
The company is even going a step further by encouraging employees with no programming background to give Claude Code a try. This move is intended to enable designers and product managers to swiftly transform their ideas into functional prototypes.
At present, Microsoft’s software engineers have been mandated to use both Claude Code and GitHub Copilot simultaneously. They are also required to submit feedback and comparison reports on the usage of both tools.
