GitHub makes AI usage mandatory for all employees, says CEO Thomas Dohmke
GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke has made AI usage mandatory for all employees, insisting tools like Copilot are essential across roles. Aligning with Microsoft’s wider policy, GitHub frames AI not as optional but as a core workplace skill.
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GitHub is drawing a clear line in the sand, artificial intelligence is no longer optional, it’s essential. Chief Executive Officer Thomas Dohmke has confirmed that every employee at the Microsoft-owned platform must use AI tools like GitHub Copilot in their daily work—regardless of their role.
Speaking on The Decoder podcast, Dohmke said the rule is part of GitHub’s cultural DNA. “It’s part of our company culture that everybody at GitHub uses GitHub,” he explained. “There is no world where I would allow for somebody to say, ‘Well, sorry, I don’t want to use GitHub.’”
The mandate aligns with Microsoft’s wider corporate push. In a recent memo, Microsoft executive Julia Liuson noted that employees’ AI adoption will factor into performance reviews, alongside traditional skills such as communication and collaboration. That makes proficiency with AI as fundamental as teamwork or problem-solving in today’s workplace.
Dohmke clarified that GitHub isn’t measuring productivity in terms of lines of code generated with Copilot. Instead, the focus is on mindset, encouraging staff in engineering, sales, HR, and legal alike to experiment and adapt with AI tools as part of a culture of continuous learning.
The CEO was unequivocal about the stakes, “If the employee doesn’t want that, then there’s tens of thousands of other tech companies out there where they can have that.”
By making AI adoption a non-negotiable condition of employment, GitHub is signaling how deeply artificial intelligence is being woven into the fabric of work. What was once seen as an optional enhancement is now being reframed as a core professional competency.
