Microsoft Visual Studio adds Copilot usage alerts and sees Australian discount promotion

Microsoft released a June Stable Channel update for Visual Studio that introduces real‑time usage alerts for GitHub Copilot, helping developers track token‑based billing that has pushed some monthly costs above $800. The update also adds a two‑stage trust check for Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers to detect configuration changes before they run.

Separately, a promotional sale in Australia offers Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026 for A$50, a steep discount from the regular A$719 price, available through mid‑July and limited to Windows‑only installations.

These developments highlight both new governance features for AI‑assisted coding and a regional pricing push for the IDE.