Visual Assist 2026.3: Expanding AI Workflows & Improving Performance

AI in IDEs is evolving quickly, but for many the hype might feel artificial. For most C++ developers, the question isn’t “can AI write code?” — it’s: “how can I fit this into the way I already work?”

With Visual Assist 2026.3, we’re continuing to explore that question by introducing a new VA Intelligence function. One that was designed, in true Visual Assist fashion, to augment existing workflows, instead of solving non-existent issues with AI.

But that’s not all this release. We also added interesting additions such as HLSLI include support and improved macro expansion behavior. Lastly, meaningful performance improvements and stability fixes round out the update.

Head to our downloads page to get the release now.

Change Code with AI — New VA Intelligence Function

The headline of 2026.3 is a new VA Intelligence function: Change Code with AI. It’s an open-ended, prompt-based feature that lets you describe what you want done to a selected block of code in a conversational manner..

Here’s the basic workflow:

1. Select a section of code you want to modify.
2. Run the feature to open the new dialog.
3. Type in a prompt describing what you want.
   Example: Optimize this, rename these variables, refactor for readability, convert this loop — the feature is flexible.
4. VA Intelligence presents the results with a diff view of the proposed changes. Review and decide to accept, tweak, or deny the changes to proceed.

The key design choice here is that nothing is applied without your review. No matter how wild the prompt, you always get a clear before-and-after diff before anything changes in your code. The output is easy to evaluate and easy to reject.

This is a good moment to address a question that we just got in the mail just before this release: How does adding LLM/AI features mix with VA’s existing features? 

Visual Assist’s core features (navigation, refactoring, code inspection) utilize parsing that follows deterministic rules that make the result predictable. VA Intelligence, by contrast, works best on problems that can’t be solved with explicit rules. 

This includes open-ended transformations, natural language instructions, tasks where the intent can’t be anticipated in advance. Change Code with AI targets exactly that space.

This is also why the feature is kept deliberately open. There are no heavy guardrails limiting what you can ask. (Please don’t ask it to refactor your entire codebase—technically, you can do it, but please don’t use it without review!)

We’re actively gathering feedback on how developers use it — so take it for a spin and let us know what you find.

Don’t have VA Intelligence enabled yet? Change Code and Explain Code with AI is available through VA Intelligence. If you’ve already set up VA Intelligence, no additional install is needed. 

It needs explicit permission and is disabled by default. To install VA Intelligence, navigate to Extensions ? VAssistX ? VA Intelligence and run the installer.

*Requires compatible GPU hardware. Learn more about setup requirements.

HLSLI Include Support

Visual Assist already supports HLSL shader development. With 2026.3, that support now extends to .hlsli files. This is the include file extension commonly used to organize reusable HLSL code, similar to how .h header files work in C++.

If you’re working on shader pipelines and referencing your HLSL across include files, VA features like syntax highlighting, navigation, and code completion will now activate properly in those files. No new setup required — it works the same as .hlsl.

New Diff View Dialog Behavior when using AI

A small but useful quality-of-life addition for users of VA Intelligence: when you use the new Change Code, the diff view now opens directly below the selected text instead of in a separate dialog. 

Additionally, the diff view stays in sync with what’s actually selected. Previously, the dialog could fall out of sync if your selection changed mid-session, leading to a confusing mismatch between what was highlighted in the editor and what the diff was showing.

Fixes & Improvements

Significantly Faster Macro Expansion in Unreal Engine

Users working in Unreal Engine projects with macro expansion enabled will notice a meaningful improvement in responsiveness. An optimization pass was done on macro resolution, removing sluggishness that could affect navigation and hover behavior when working with complex UE macros.

If you work in Unreal Engine and previously disabled macro expansion due to performance concerns, it’s worth enabling it again and seeing how it performs now. You can find the setting under Visual Assist options.

Macro expansions added in VA 2025.3

Fuzzy Search Accuracy Fix

Visual Assist’s fuzzy search is used when searching for symbols and file names with Open File in Solution and Find Symbol in Solution. Search results are now more accurate and will better reflect what you’re actually looking for.

As a reminder, fuzzy search lets you find symbols and files even with approximate queries. Typing mcn can match MyClassName, and mgv can match myGlobalVariable. It accommodates typos, abbreviations, and partial matches so you don’t have to type exact names to navigate quickly.

Improved Paste Behavior in C/C++ Custom Directories List

Pasting multiple lines into the C/C++ Custom Directories list now works as expected, correctly creating separate entries for each pasted path. Previously, multi-line pastes weren’t being split into individual entries cleanly.

The Custom Directories list is where you can specify additional include directories to help Visual Assist resolve headers that aren’t already part of your project’s include path. This fix makes it easier to add multiple directories in one go.

Full list of minor fixes and improvements

• Fixed a memory leak introduced in a recent release
• Fixed incorrect results in fuzzy search
• Fixed a crash when using TabsStudio alongside Visual Assist
• Fixed a Visual Studio 2019 startup crash caused by early feature access
• Fixed an issue where pressing Ctrl could trigger the legacy options dialog 

Download

Download Visual Assist 2026.3 from our downloads page. An active license is required to access all features and fixes.

If you have feedback on the new Change Code with AI feature — or anything else in this release — use the in-app feedback form or join our Discord community. User feedback directly shapes what we work on, and we’d love to hear how you’re using the new VA Intelligence function.

Happy coding!

-The Whole Tomato team

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

• What is Change Code with AI?
  t’s a new VA Intelligence function that lets you select code, describe what you want done to it in conversational language, and review the proposed changes in a diff view before accepting them. It’s designed as an open-ended, prompt-driven tool built directly into Visual Studio.
• How do I use it?
  Select a section of code, run the feature, and type your prompt in the dialog that appears. VA Intelligence will process it and present a diff view of the proposed changes for you to accept or discard. Note: Install and enable VA Intelligence first.
• What kinds of prompts can I use?
  The feature is intentionally open-ended — you can ask it to optimize, rename, add error handling, restructure, or just about anything else you can describe. It works best on smaller, focused selections rather than large files or entire documents.
• Does it automatically apply changes to my code?
  No — every proposed change is shown in a diff view first, and nothing is applied until you explicitly approve it. Regardless of what you prompt it to do, you always get a clear preview before anything in your code changes.
• Can I use it to generate new code from scratch?
  Technically yes, but the current UI is designed around modifying existing code, so that workflow isn’t as smooth yet. It’s on the radar for future improvements.
• Does this require a separate install?
  No. If you already have VA Intelligence installed and enabled, Change Code with AI is available automatically after updating. No additional setup is needed.
• How do I share feedback and suggestions on AI features?
  Use the in-app feedback form: go to VAssistX ? Help ? Show Welcome Page. The feedback widget there sends your input directly to the dev team.

• What is an HLSLI file?
  It’s a common include file extension used in HLSL shader development, functioning similarly to .h header files in C++ — a way to organize reusable shader code across multiple files. There’s nothing functionally different about it from standard HLSL; it’s just one of the extensions developers use to split up shader code.
• What changed in this release?
  Visual Assist was already activating its features for .hlsl files but not .hlsli files — that gap is now filled. All the same VA features, including syntax support, navigation, and code completion, now activate properly in .hlsli files with no settings changes required.

• What is fuzzy search in Visual Assist?
  It’s a search mode used in Open File in Solution and Find Symbol in Solution that finds approximate matches, accommodating typos, abbreviations, and partial queries. For example, typing mcn can match MyClassName, and mgv can match myGlobalVariable

• What is the Custom Directories list?
  It’s a setting in Visual Assist’s options where you can specify additional include paths to help VA locate and parse headers that aren’t already part of your project’s built-in include structure. It’s particularly useful when VA is having trouble resolving certain includes.
• What was improved with pasting into the Custom Directories list?
  Pasting multiple directory paths at once now correctly creates a separate entry for each line. Previously, multi-line pastes weren’t being split into individual entries cleanly, making bulk-adding directories more tedious than it should have been.