My dropdown next to my copilot chat button has disappeared!!

[msemko]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Question

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Copilot in GitHub

Body

My dropdown next to my copilot chat button has disappeared and got replaced with the cloud dropdown icon which now opens an agent popover. This used to (and still does for all my co-workers) open a dropdown menu where you can select whether you want to chat in an assistant window or a new tab. I despise the new tab mechanic. How can I discuss the PR if I cannot see the PR?! Why did this happen to just me. I feel like I am going insane. Everyone I know still has the old controls
I am talking about this button

Please help I am going insane

[devNull-bootloader]

Hey, that's completely normal. My UI also has the same button and tab mechanics. If you click on the Agent button, it will redirect you to a separate Agent window/tab. But if you click on the cloud button, it will open a small window where you can chat with an Agent/with Copilot.

P.S: If you found this helpful, please mark this as an approved answer or smth. It would help me get my Galaxy Brain badge!

[Priyanshu-byte-coder]

You are most likely seeing a UI change caused by a feature rollout or experiment in GitHub Copilot. GitHub frequently tests new interface variations with a small group of users before releasing them more broadly. This can result in one user seeing a different Copilot Chat button or dropdown behavior compared to their teammates.

The cloud icon and agent popover indicate that your account has likely been opted into a newer Copilot Chat experience. In some cases, this replaces the previous dropdown that allowed opening chat in a side panel or a new tab.

You can try the following steps:

1. Check GitHub Copilot settings
   Go to GitHub → Settings → Copilot → Features and see if any experimental features or preview options are enabled.

2. Disable experiments (if available)
   Some users can switch back by disabling preview or experimental UI features.

3. Try a different browser or log out and log back in
   Sometimes feature flags refresh after a new session.

4. Ask your organization admin
   If Copilot is managed through an organization, admins may enable certain preview features for selected users.

5. Provide feedback to GitHub
   GitHub actively collects feedback on UI experiments, especially when workflows are impacted (such as reviewing PRs while chatting).

Unfortunately, when a feature flag is enabled on an account, there is often no manual toggle to immediately revert to the old UI. However, GitHub frequently adjusts or rolls back experiments based on user feedback.

You are not the only one experiencing this — similar reports have appeared when Copilot interface experiments are introduced gradually.

[Kunal-Prime]

Hey @msemko,

I had the exact same thing happen yesterday lol.

Quick things that usually fix it:

1. Hard refresh the page (Ctrl + Shift + R)
2. Try in incognito mode
3. Go to github.com → Settings → Copilot and toggle it off then back on

For me the hard refresh fixed it instantly.

Does it come back after that? Let me know!