AI debugging is at its worst when a model guesses from a pasted error and confidently invents the rest of the system. It is much more useful when the model has structured evidence, purpose-built tools, and a way to prove the fix. Microsoft’s new MSBuild Binlog Analyzer is a good example of that better shape.
The preview Binlog Analyzer for VS Code connects Copilot Chat to a .NET MCP server that understands MSBuild binary logs. It can find failures, rank slow targets, show the critical path, compare two builds, explain incremental rebuilds, and identify package or property changes. Its answers come from the log rather than a general guess about what normally breaks.
The verification loop is the strongest part. Copilot can apply a fix, rebuild, and load the before-and-after binlogs. Performance baselines can expose a slower target as a measured regression instead of a vague feeling that CI has become worse. The same MCP analysis engine can also run headlessly for unattended investigation in CI.
It is still a preview and I would review any automatic fix like any other code change. The approach is right, though. Give the agent the evidence, constrain it with domain tools, and make it demonstrate the result. That is far more interesting than adding another chat box beside a wall of build output.