Atlassian intelligence summarize idea descriptions: A 2025 overview

Let's be real: product backlogs get messy, and they get messy fast. If you're using Jira Product Discovery, you know the drill. Detailed idea descriptions are a goldmine for developers who need all the context they can get, but they can also turn your roadmap into a wall of text that’s nearly impossible to scan. When you’re trying to give stakeholders a quick, high-level overview, the last thing you want is for them to get bogged down in the details.

Atlassian has its own fix for this problem: a feature within Atlassian Intelligence made to summarize idea descriptions. It’s a pretty handy idea for cleaning up cluttered views and getting everyone on the same page without a ton of manual work.

But how well does it actually perform in the wild? This guide will give you the full scoop. We’ll walk through what Atlassian Intelligence is, how to use its summarization feature, what it costs, and some key limitations you should be aware of. We’ll also look at why a more powerful, integrated AI platform might be a better long-term solution for your team.

What exactly is Atlassian Intelligence?

First off, Atlassian Intelligence isn't a separate product you can just go out and buy. It’s a suite of AI-powered features that Atlassian has sprinkled throughout its cloud products, including Jira, Confluence, and Trello. The technology is a blend of Atlassian's own models and large language models from OpenAI. The main goal is to understand the context of your team's work and offer up helpful AI assistance right where you’re already working.

The feature we’re zeroing in on is its ability to summarize idea descriptions inside Jira Product Discovery. Its job is simple but important: take a long, detailed chunk of text and automatically spit out a short, easy-to-digest summary. This is a perfect fit for the "Idea short description" field, which is what everyone sees on high-level roadmap views. It’s a direct response to a common gripe from product teams on Atlassian's own forums who just wanted a cleaner way to present ideas without losing the important details.

How to use the Atlassian Intelligence Summarize Idea Descriptions feature

Getting this summarization feature up and running isn't rocket science, but it’s not a switch that every user can just flip on. Here’s a look at what it takes to get started and what the experience is like day-to-day.

Atlassian Intelligence Summarize Idea Descriptions: What you need to get it running

Before you can start summarizing, you have to tick a few boxes. Atlassian Intelligence features come bundled with Jira’s paid cloud plans, specifically Standard, Premium, and Enterprise. So, if you're on the Free plan for Jira Product Discovery, you won't have access to these AI tools.

Even if you're on a paid plan, the feature isn't on by default. An organization admin has to go into the central administration settings and activate Atlassian Intelligence for your products. It's an extra step that can sometimes be a bit of a roadblock, especially in bigger companies where you might need to get a green light from the IT department.

The Atlassian Intelligence Summarize Idea Descriptions user experience

Once it’s activated, using the tool is pretty straightforward. You have two main ways to kick it off from an idea’s description field or a comment section:

1. Highlighting Text: Just select the text you want to summarize, and a little Atlassian Intelligence icon will pop up. Click it, and you'll see a menu of options, including "Summarize."

2. Using a Command: You can also type /ai right into the editor. This brings up the same list of commands, where you can pick "Summarize."

After you trigger it, the AI chews on the text and gives you a summary. You can then insert it directly, tweak it a bit, or just toss it if it’s not what you were looking for. It's a manual, on-demand process, which gives you control but also means it's not a set-it-and-forget-it kind of workflow.

Where does the Atlassian Intelligence Summarize Idea Descriptions feature help?

When it works as intended, this feature has some clear upsides for product teams. It's not just about making things look tidier; it's about improving how the whole team communicates and gets things done.

Easier stakeholder updates

This is probably the biggest win. Roadmaps and presentations are instantly cleaner when you swap out long paragraphs for a single, crisp sentence. Stakeholders who aren't living in Jira 24/7 can quickly get the gist of each idea without having to click into every single ticket. It makes your updates more scannable and your meetings a lot more efficient.

Speeding up backlog grooming

Backlog refinement sessions can get sidetracked when the team spends the first five minutes on an idea just reading the description. By using the summarization feature to create short descriptions ahead of time, product managers can help the team jump right into the important stuff: talking about impact, effort, and priority. It keeps the momentum going and makes planning sessions feel much more productive.

Improving consistency

Let's be honest, not everyone on the team writes descriptions the same way. Some people are brief; others write a novel. Using AI to generate summaries helps create a standard format across your entire backlog. Every idea gets a consistent, short overview, which makes your project look more professional and organized. This is especially helpful when bringing new team members up to speed, as it gives them a simple way to understand what the team is working on.

The limits of using Atlassian Intelligence Summarize Idea Descriptions

Atlassian Intelligence is a decent starting point, but if you’re relying on it as your one and only AI tool, you'll probably hit a wall pretty quickly. The feature is useful for basic text summaries, but it doesn't have the depth or connectivity that most teams really need today.

Why the feature is stuck in a Jira-shaped box

The biggest problem is that Atlassian Intelligence is siloed. It can only summarize the text you give it in that one specific Jira field. It has no clue what’s going on in the related Confluence doc, the customer feedback piling up in Slack, or the historical support tickets in your helpdesk. Because it lacks this broader context, the summaries it creates can feel a bit shallow and miss the bigger picture.

This is where a tool like eesel AI is fundamentally different. It’s built to connect all your knowledge sources from the get-go. It doesn't just look at one text field; it plugs into your entire knowledge ecosystem. It can create summaries or answer questions by pulling info from Confluence, Google Docs, or past tickets in Zendesk. This gives you a complete and accurate picture, not just a surface-level summary.

You can't customize the feature

The summarization model in Atlassian Intelligence is basically a black box. You get what you get. There's no way to tweak the tone of voice, the length of the summary, or the output format. If the AI’s summary isn't quite right for your executive team, your only choice is to rewrite it by hand every single time. This adds back a layer of manual work that AI is supposed to be getting rid of.

This is where eesel AI shines with its "total control" approach. Its powerful prompt editor lets you define the AI’s exact persona, specify the format for summaries, and even build custom actions to tag tickets or update fields automatically. You get consistent, high-quality results that fit your needs perfectly, without the manual fuss.

Disconnected from your customers

Some of the best product ideas come directly from customers, usually through support chats. Atlassian Intelligence for Jira Product Discovery has no way to tap into this goldmine of information sitting in your external helpdesk. It’s a massive blind spot that keeps product teams from being truly customer-led.

eesel AI was designed to solve this exact problem. It offers one-click integrations with helpdesks like Zendesk, Freshdesk, and Intercom that you can set up in minutes. It can analyze support conversations, spot emerging trends, and help you turn customer problems into well-defined product ideas. It builds a bridge between your support and product teams so nothing important slips through the cracks.

Feature	Atlassian Intelligence	eesel AI
Knowledge Sources	Limited to the text in the current field.	Connects everything: Confluence, Google Docs, Slack, Zendesk, etc.
Customization	Almost none. You get a standard summary.	Fully customizable prompts, persona, and automated actions.
Helpdesk Integration	Nope. Stays within Atlassian tools.	One-click integration with Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom, and more.
Setup Time	Included in your plan, but needs admin approval to activate.	Go live in minutes with a self-serve setup.

Atlassian Intelligence Summarize Idea Descriptions pricing

Atlassian Intelligence isn't sold as a separate add-on; its features are just part of the existing Atlassian Cloud subscriptions. To use the summarize idea descriptions feature, your team needs to be subscribed to Jira Product Discovery on a plan that includes it.

Here’s a quick peek at the public pricing for Jira Product Discovery:

• Free: For up to 3 creators. It has limited features and doesn't include Atlassian Intelligence.

• Standard: $10 per creator per month (billed annually). This plan includes the core Atlassian Intelligence features.

• Premium: You have to contact their sales team for pricing on this one. It includes more advanced features on top of what's in the Standard plan.

As always, prices can change, so it's smart to check Atlassian’s official pricing page for the latest info before you make a decision.

Atlassian Intelligence Summarize Idea Descriptions: A good start, but is it enough?

Atlassian Intelligence's summarization feature is a nice-to-have, built-in tool for teams already deep in the Atlassian world. It’s definitely a step up from manually writing summaries and can bring more clarity to your Jira Product Discovery views.

However, its value is capped by its design. The fact that it can't access external knowledge, lacks customization, and is cut off from critical tools like your helpdesk means it can only ever solve a small piece of the puzzle. For teams that need to base product decisions on a complete view of their company's knowledge, from support tickets to internal wikis, a more powerful and connected AI solution isn't just a nice-to-have; it's a necessity.

Unify all your knowledge with eesel AI

eesel AI is the solution that breaks down these barriers. It was built from the ground up to connect all your tools instantly, giving your AI a single source of truth that stretches across your entire organization. With deep customization and seamless integrations, it goes way beyond basic summaries to actually improve your workflows.

Ready to build an AI that understands your entire business? Get started with eesel AI for free and see what a difference a truly unified knowledge base can make.