How do I resolve merge conflicts with AI assistance?

Why AI needs more than the conflict markers

When you open a file with a merge conflict, you see markers like this:

<<<<<<< HEAD
const timeout = 5000;
=======
const timeout = retryConfig.timeoutMs ?? 3000;
>>>>>>> feature/retry-logic

This tells you what the two branches wrote, but not why. An AI given only these three lines has no basis for choosing the right resolution. It will guess.

The fix is to give the AI the context it is missing.

What to include in your prompt

  1. The full conflict block — both sides plus the markers
  2. 20–40 lines of surrounding context from the file
  3. Which branch is the source of truth for this change
  4. What each side was trying to do — one sentence each

A prompt that works:

I have a merge conflict in src/api/client.ts.

SURROUNDING CONTEXT:
[paste 20 lines before and after the conflict markers]

CONFLICT:
<<<<<<< HEAD (main — stable release config)
const timeout = 5000;
=======
const timeout = retryConfig.timeoutMs ?? 3000;
>>>>>>> feature/retry-logic

main set a fixed 5-second timeout for the stable release.
feature/retry-logic introduced a configurable timeout with a 3-second default.
Both changes should be preserved — keep the configurable value but use 5000 as the fallback.

Resolve the conflict and show me the resulting lines only.

Using Copilot and Cursor inline

GitHub Copilot: VS Code highlights conflict regions. Open Copilot Chat, select the conflict block, and type /fix.

Cursor: Place your cursor inside the conflict markers and press Cmd+K. Cursor reads the surrounding file and suggests a resolved version in-place.

When to resolve manually

Do not hand these to an AI:

  • Lock files (package-lock.json, Gemfile.lock) — regenerate with your package manager instead
  • Database migrations — run-order matters; verify the sequence manually
  • Security-sensitive code — authentication, encryption, permission checks
  • Infrastructure as code — a wrong merge in Terraform configs can affect production

For the full guide on AI-assisted conflict resolution, see deployhq.com/git/resolving-merge-conflicts-with-ai.