
Let's be honest, your company’s knowledge isn’t stored in one neat little box. It’s scattered everywhere, across documents, chat threads, and old support tickets. This makes finding a straight answer a priority for both your team and your customers.
Atlassian provides a powerful solution for this with Atlassian Intelligence, its native AI built to connect Jira Service Management (JSM) and your Confluence knowledge bases. The promise is simple: Get the right information to the right person, right when they need it.
In this guide, we'll walk through how it actually works, what you need to get it running smoothly, and some key considerations for optimizing your setup. Because a built-in AI is a fantastic foundation, and for some teams, a flexible complementary approach is what helps you reach the next level.
What is Atlassian Intelligence search across linked knowledge bases?
Atlassian Intelligence Search Across Linked Knowledge Bases is a set of AI features designed to connect your Atlassian tools. It uses generative AI to understand questions typed in plain English, hunt through your Confluence spaces for answers, and provide a quick summary directly inside JSM and other channels.
So, instead of your agents or customers manually digging through articles, the AI does the heavy lifting. It can take a question like, "how do I set up the VPN on my Mac?" and return a concise answer, complete with links to the original articles it used.
This is the tech that powers features like the JSM virtual agent's "AI Answers," aiming to boost self-service, cut down on repetitive tickets, and help your agents find what they need faster. Its performance thrives when you have a well-organized and up-to-date knowledge base in Confluence.
Core features of Atlassian Intelligence
Atlassian has woven its AI into a few key areas to make finding and using information much easier. Here’s a look at what you can expect.
The virtual agent and AI answers
The main way people will interact with this AI is through the Jira Service Management virtual agent. This is where "AI Answers" shines. Instead of being limited to rigid, pre-programmed conversation flows, the virtual agent uses AI to handle questions as they come up.
When a user asks something, the agent searches the linked Confluence knowledge base, pulls together the relevant info, and gives a direct, summarized response. This is meant to deflect common questions right in the customer portal or within chat tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams, freeing up your support team to tackle more complex problems.

Natural language search for issues
This next one is a real time-saver for agents. Writing complex Jira Query Language (JQL) queries can sometimes be a challenge, but Atlassian Intelligence lets agents use natural language instead.
For instance, an agent can just type "find all urgent tickets assigned to me about network outages" instead of wrestling with a complicated JQL string. The AI translates that request into a working query, making it much quicker to find old tickets and related context without needing to be a JQL whiz.

Content summarization and generation
Beyond just searching, the AI can also help agents catch up on existing issues. It can take long ticket descriptions and endless comment threads and boil them down to a few key bullet points. It can also help create new knowledge base articles by drafting content from a simple prompt, making it easier to turn a one-off fix into a helpful document for the future.
How to get the most out of Atlassian Intelligence
To see the best performance from any AI, the quality of the data it can access is essential. Here’s what you need to have in place for Atlassian’s AI to really pull its weight.
A well-structured Confluence knowledge base: The foundation for Atlassian Intelligence
A well-structured knowledge base is key: The AI performs best when fed high-quality information. Ensuring your Confluence articles are updated and clear is an absolute must for an AI-ready knowledge base.
Here are a few practices to keep in mind:
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Keep it fresh. Make it a habit to review your articles regularly. Update old information and ensure instructions are clear and consistent.
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Focus on a single source of truth. Sticking to one primary article for each topic helps the AI provide the most accurate and up-to-date version of the truth.
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Speak your customer's language. When you write articles, use the same words and phrases your customers do. They’re more likely to search for "my laptop won't connect to wifi" than "troubleshoot wireless connectivity issues."
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Use clear headings. The AI relies on the structure of your articles, including headings, to make sense of the content. Good organization leads to better answers.
Configuration and channel availability
To get started, an administrator has to activate Atlassian Intelligence for your entire organization. It's also worth knowing that features are being continuously optimized across different platforms. While the virtual agent has robust support in Slack and Microsoft Teams, keeping an eye on the latest updates ensures you're getting the best experience on your team's preferred tools.
Considerations for Atlassian Intelligence
While Atlassian Intelligence is a solid choice for teams living within the Atlassian ecosystem, there are ways to expand its reach if your knowledge lives in many different places.
Focus on the Atlassian ecosystem
Atlassian Intelligence is specialized for searching Atlassian products. It’s excellent at navigating Confluence, but many teams have critical information in other locations as well.

If your product specs are in Notion, your company policies are in Google Docs, or you have historical solutions in other help desks like Zendesk, you may find that a complementary AI tool can help bridge these gaps. This ensures your agents don't have to search across different systems manually.
Specialized customization and workflow control
Atlassian offers strong automation within its own suite. However, a modern support workflow sometimes benefits from additional integrations. You might want your AI to look up an order status in Shopify or check an account detail in a custom CRM.

This is where a complementary platform like eesel AI can work alongside your Atlassian setup. It provides a full workflow engine and support for custom API actions, giving you specialized control over the AI's tone and the specific actions it can take across your entire tool stack.
Testing and optimization
Jira Service Management allows you to test your virtual agent in a dedicated channel, which is a great way to refine its responses. For teams looking for even deeper analytics, specialized tools can offer additional ways to simulate performance at scale.

For instance, eesel AI includes a simulation mode that lets you test your AI setup against your past tickets. This helps you forecast resolution rates and identify knowledge gaps, providing extra confidence as you roll out your automation.
| Feature | Atlassian Intelligence | eesel AI |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge Sources | Optimized for Confluence & Jira | Confluence, Google Docs, Notion, Zendesk, Slack & 100+ more |
| Customization | Integrated automation within Atlassian ecosystem | Fully customizable prompt editor & workflow engine with custom API actions |
| Setup & Onboarding | Admin activation within Atlassian portal | Radically self-serve, go live in minutes |
| Pre-launch Testing | Live testing in a dedicated channel | Powerful simulation mode on historical tickets |
| Pricing Model | Bundled with high-tier Atlassian plans | Transparent plans that complement your existing stack |
Atlassian Intelligence pricing
Atlassian Intelligence is offered as a premium benefit, bundled into the Premium and Enterprise plans for Jira Service Management, Jira Software, and Confluence.
This pricing model ensures that teams have access to a full range of enterprise-grade features alongside their AI capabilities. For teams already on these plans, it’s a powerful value-add. For those on other tiers, it offers a comprehensive reason to invest in a more robust Atlassian environment. This pricing model provides a complete, integrated solution for teams looking to scale.
A better approach: Unifying all your knowledge with eesel AI
A tool like eesel AI offers a complementary path to enhance your Atlassian ecosystem. It acts as an intelligent layer that sits on top of all your platforms, connecting your native Atlassian data with everything else your team uses.

eesel AI connects to Confluence and Jira just like the native solution, but it also integrates with Google Docs, Notion, Zendesk, Slack, and over 100 other sources. This creates a unified brain that supports your Atlassian setup with a full picture of your business knowledge.
Here’s why this approach works so well:
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It’s truly self-serve. You can get up and running in minutes, making it easy to test and implement.
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It works with your current setup. eesel AI plugs directly into your current help desk, so it enhances your workflow without requiring you to change how you work.
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You're in control. Use the simulation mode to build confidence, and use the workflow engine to fine-tune your AI’s behavior.
Final thoughts
Atlassian Intelligence search is a powerful and mature feature for teams that are invested in the Atlassian ecosystem and want to centralize their information within a trusted platform. It is an excellent choice for managing knowledge within their comprehensive suite.
For teams whose knowledge is spread across many different apps, adding a complementary AI strategy is often the best way forward. By using Atlassian's strong native features alongside a flexible tool that connects all your knowledge sources, you can create a truly effective and intelligent support experience.
Ready to build an AI that knows your whole business?
If you want an AI that works seamlessly with Confluence and all the other tools you already use, eesel AI is the perfect partner.
Connect Confluence, Google Docs, past tickets, and more in just a few clicks. Simulate your AI's performance on real data, and go live with confidence.
Try eesel AI for free or book a 30-minute demo to see how you can unify your knowledge today.
Frequently asked questions
It's a suite of generative AI features by Atlassian designed to connect Jira Service Management and Confluence knowledge bases. Its primary function is to understand natural language questions and provide summarized answers from your Confluence content.
It helps by powering the JSM virtual agent's "AI Answers" for self-service, enabling agents to use natural language for JQL queries, and summarizing long ticket descriptions. This aims to deflect common questions and speed up information retrieval.
The most crucial prerequisite is a well-structured and up-to-date Confluence knowledge base. Additionally, an administrator must activate Atlassian Intelligence for the entire organization.
It is specialized to work within Atlassian products like Confluence and Jira. For teams with knowledge dispersed across external tools, adding a complementary platform can help provide a more unified search experience.
It is included as a core benefit of the Premium and Enterprise plans for Jira Service Management, Jira Software, and Confluence, providing a comprehensive suite of features for growing teams.
It is primarily built to leverage knowledge stored within the Atlassian ecosystem. To access information in external platforms like Notion or Google Docs, many teams complement their setup with tools like eesel AI.
It is an excellent choice for teams that are invested in the Atlassian ecosystem and maintain their knowledge in Confluence. For teams with information across various tools, adding a complementary AI layer can help create a complete solution.
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Article by
Kenneth Pangan
Writer and marketer for over ten years, Kenneth Pangan splits his time between history, politics, and art with plenty of interruptions from his dogs demanding attention.







