Microsoft is bringing Bring Your Own Model (BYOM) to Visual Studio in Preview, giving developers more flexibility to choose the AI models they want to use within their development workflow. The new capability supports connections to Microsoft Foundry and other supported providers, helping developers work with models that better fit their technical, performance, cost, and organisational requirements.

Here’s what you need to know:

Bring Your Own Model to Visual Studio
BYOM is now available in Preview across Visual Studio Community, Professional, and Enterprise editions. It lets developers connect supported AI models and providers directly within the Visual Studio experience.
Connect to the Models You Choose
You can connect to a Microsoft Foundry deployment or use your own key from another supported provider in Agent (Preview) Mode. Supported providers currently include Microsoft Foundry, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Ollama, with custom URL support for OpenAI and Ollama.
Designed for Developer Flexibility
BYOM gives teams more control over the models they use based on their workflow, budget, performance, security, and organisational requirements. It can also help organisations make use of approved models and deployments while keeping developers in the familiar Visual Studio environment.
Getting Started
BYOM is available in Preview through the Visual Studio 18.10 Insiders Release and works with the new Agent (Preview) experience. Developers can add a model provider through the model picker, connect their preferred provider, and start working in Agent Mode.
What’s Next for BYOM
Microsoft plans to expand BYOM with stronger enterprise governance, centralised model configuration, more granular model controls, broader provider support, and deeper Microsoft Foundry integration. Feedback from this Preview will help shape what comes next.

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