Decision rule
Choose on accepted, reviewable changes per unit of engineering effort. Do not score raw code volume or vendor benchmark claims as repository success.
Candidates to evaluate
AI coding assistant
GitHub Copilot
It is designed for AI assistance within GitHub and development environments.
Verify: Test the exact editor or agent workflow, model choice, repository permissions, and branch controls.General AI assistant
Claude
Claude's product materials include coding and code-analysis uses.
Verify: Use a reproducible repository snapshot and verify every changed file and test claim.General AI assistant
ChatGPT
It can be evaluated for explanation, debugging, and bounded code-change assistance.
Verify: Confirm the available coding surface and keep generated changes inside normal review.General AI assistant
Gemini
Google positions Gemini models and products for coding as one of several use cases.
Verify: Record the model, tools, context, and execution environment rather than only the brand.Run a fair pilot
- Select tasks across bug fixing, small features, refactoring, and test creation.
- Freeze the starting commit and acceptance suite.
- Measure accepted tasks, regressions, review time, scope violations, and unverified claims.
- Run security and dependency checks before accepting any candidate change.
Sources checked
Open the original pages before relying on a time-sensitive product decision.