Smarter Code Completions & User Control

Visual Studio 2026 now displays code completions with syntax highlighting and supports partial acceptance—users can click to accept only the portion of a suggestion they need, or use Ctrl+right arrow for word-by-word adoption. This gives developers fine-grained control over AI-generated code while maintaining visual distinction through lower opacity and italic styling.

Copilot Memory & Custom Commands

Two new productivity features streamline workflow:

• Copilot Memories automatically detect and save coding standards and preferences, applying them consistently across all chat sessions at personal or repository level
• Slash commands (/generateInstructions, /savePrompt) allow rapid invocation of custom prompts directly from the / menu in Copilot Chat

Expanded Agent Ecosystem

The update adds purpose-built agents for specialized tasks:

• @Test agent: Generate and refine unit tests for C# code, supporting xUnit, NUnit, and MSTest
• WinForms expert agent: Guidance on designer patterns, modern .NET 8–10 practices, layout, and exception handling
• @BuildPerfCpp agent (preview): Uses Build Insights to identify C++ build bottlenecks and suggest optimizations
• @Modernize agent (preview): Assists with upgrading C++ projects to latest MSVC versions
• @Profiler agent: Enhanced to discover and run existing unit tests for performance validation

Debugging & Integration Improvements

New debugging capabilities include:

• Analyze Call Stack button in the debugger sends current execution state to Copilot for instant explanation and frame annotation in sync/async stacks
• NuGet MCP server identifies package vulnerabilities, updates dependencies, and targets specific versions via natural language
• Markdown preview in Copilot Chat displays rendered content directly in Visual Studio's Markdown editor without copy-pasting