AI Toolkit for VS Code October Update

We're thrilled to bring you the October update for the AI Toolkit for Visual Studio Code! This month marks another major milestone with version 0.24.0, introducing groundbreaking GitHub Copilot Tools Integration and additional user experience enhancements that make AI-powered development more seamless than ever.

Let's dive into what's new! 👇

🚀 GitHub Copilot Tools Integration

We are excited to announce the integration of GitHub Copilot Tools into AI Toolkit for VS Code. This integration empowers developers to build AI-powered applications more efficiently by leveraging Copilot's capabilities enhanced by AI Toolkit.

🤖 AI Agent Code Generation Tool

This powerful tool provides best practices, guidance, steps, and code samples on Microsoft Agent Framework for GitHub Copilot to better scaffold AI agent applications. Whether you're building your first agent or scaling complex multi-agent systems, this tool ensures you follow the latest best practices and patterns.

📊 AI Agent Evaluation Planner Tool

Building great AI agents requires thorough evaluation. This tool guides users through the complete process of evaluating AI agents, including:

• Defining evaluation metrics - Establish clear success criteria for your agents
• Creating evaluation datasets - Generate comprehensive test datasets
• Analyzing results - Understand your agent's performance and areas for improvement

The Evaluation Planner works seamlessly with two specialized sub-tools:

🏃‍♂️ Evaluation Agent Runner Tool

This tool runs agents on provided datasets and collects results, making it easy to test your agents at scale across multiple scenarios and use cases.

💻 Evaluation Code Generation Tool

Get best practices, guidance, steps, and code samples on Azure AI Foundry Evaluation Framework for GitHub Copilot to better scaffold code for evaluating AI agents.

🎯 Easy Access and Usage

You can access these powerful tools in two convenient ways:

Direct GitHub Copilot Integration: Simply enter prompts like:

• Create an AI agent using Microsoft Agent Framework to help users plan a trip to Paris.
• Evaluate the performance of my AI agent using Azure AI Foundry Evaluation Framework.

AI Toolkit Tree View: For quick access, find these tools in the AI Toolkit Tree View UI under the section `Build Agent with GitHub Copilot`.

✨ Additional Enhancements

🎨 Model Playground Improvements

The user experience in Model Playground has been significantly enhanced:

• Resizable Divider: The divider between chat output and model settings is now resizable, allowing you to customize your workspace layout for better usability and productivity.

📚 Model Catalog Updates

We've unified and streamlined the model discovery experience:

• Unified Local Models: The ONNX models section in the Model Catalog has been merged with Foundry Local Models on macOS and Windows platforms, providing a unified experience for discovering and selecting local models.
• Simplified Navigation: Find all your local model options in one place, making it easier to compare and select the right model for your use case.

## 🌟 Why This Release Matters

Version 0.24.0 represents a significant step forward in making AI development more accessible and efficient:

1. Seamless Integration: The deep integration with GitHub Copilot means AI best practices are now available right where you're already working.
2. End-to-End Workflow: From agent creation to evaluation, you now have comprehensive tooling that guides you through the entire AI development lifecycle.
3. Enhanced Productivity: Improved UI elements and unified experiences reduce friction and help you focus on building great AI applications.

🚀 Get Started and Share Your Feedback

Ready to experience the future of AI development? Here's how to get started:

• 📥 Download: Install the AI Toolkit from the Visual Studio Code Marketplace
• 📖 Learn: Explore our comprehensive AI Toolkit Documentation
• 🔍 Discover: Check out the complete changelog for v0.24.0

We'd love to hear from you! Whether it's a feature request, bug report, or feedback on your experience, join the conversation and contribute directly on our GitHub repository.

🎯 What's Next?

This release sets the foundation for even more exciting developments ahead. The GitHub Copilot Tools Integration opens up new possibilities for AI-assisted development, and we're just getting started.

Stay tuned for more updates, and let's continue building the future of AI agent development together! 💡💬

Happy coding, and see you next month! 🚀