Jira AI features: What they are and how to get the most out of them

AI is really changing how teams get things done, especially in project management and support. Jira, the industry-leading platform for tracking projects and sorting out issues, provides powerful AI features to help teams work faster and smarter. These tools focus on reducing routine tasks so you can focus on the important work.

In this post, we're going to walk through the AI features built right into the Jira ecosystem. We'll dive into what they do and how they help your team. While Jira's built-in AI is a robust foundation, we'll also look at how complementary tools can help you customize your setup even further for your team's specific needs.

What is Atlassian Intelligence in Jira?

Atlassian Intelligence is the main system that brings artificial intelligence across all of Atlassian's tools, including Jira. It's designed to work with your team's unique context: it uses data from your projects and workflows, which Atlassian calls the "Teamwork graph."

This intelligence uses a mix of Atlassian's own AI tech and external large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI to help you speed up work, get things done, and uncover insights right within the tools you use every day. You'll see the Atlassian Intelligence icon pop up in different spots inside Jira as you work.

Key benefits of using AI capabilities in Jira

AI in Jira makes your work life easier and more effective. It's a mature, reliable system that powers thousands of successful companies.

Here are some key ways AI in Jira helps:

• Work smarter: AI handles routine tasks for you, freeing up your time for more complex, strategic thinking.

• Solve issues faster: Features like AI-powered summaries help you quickly grasp the core of a problem or discussion, speeding up response times.

• Streamline your workflows: Smart suggestions help you route tickets correctly and suggest automation rules, making your processes smoother.

• Improve team communication: AI clarifies messages and gives instant context, cutting down on unnecessary back-and-forth.

• Get better insights: AI looks at trends in your data, like common types of tickets or knowledge base gaps, helping you make smarter choices.

Specific Jira AI features and how they work

Let's take a look at the main AI features you'll find in Jira.

Generative AI in the editor toolbar

This feature is helpful for working with text directly within your Jira issues and comments.

It helps you write, rewrite, summarize, or refine the tone of your content. You can get to it by clicking the AI icon in the editor toolbar or just typing /ai. It's handy for turning brief notes into detailed user stories or adding background to task descriptions. For example, you could quickly draft a detailed bug report description based on a few bullet points you jotted down earlier.

Natural language to JQL

Jira Query Language (JQL) is incredibly powerful, and this AI feature makes it accessible to everyone.

It lets you search for issues using plain English. Just type your question into the issue navigator search bar, and the AI translates it into the correct JQL for you. Need to find "all unresolved high-priority bugs assigned to me due this week"? Just ask, and the AI provides the query you need. It is a great way to leverage Jira's deep data without needing to be a syntax expert.

AI-powered summaries

AI summaries help you stay organized when Jira issues have long comment threads.

This feature takes long issue descriptions or comment threads and condenses them into quick, easy-to-read summaries. It can even summarize content from linked Smart Links, like Confluence pages or Google Docs. You'll find the "Summarize" button in the Activity section of an issue. It's a fantastic way to get new team members up to speed quickly or hand off tickets smoothly.

AI work breakdown

Planning out large projects is much easier with AI work breakdown.

This feature helps you take large tasks, often called Epics, and break them down into smaller, manageable issues or sub-tasks. The AI suggests potential steps based on the Epic's description. For instance, if you have an Epic titled "Implement User Login Feature," the AI might suggest tasks like "Design UI," "Develop Backend API," "Write Unit Tests," and "Deploy to Staging."

Jira Service Management (JSM) specific AI

AI is especially useful for teams using Jira Service Management (JSM) to handle customer support and IT requests. If you're using JSM, you might want to check out the eesel AI Jira Service Management integration as a complementary tool for even more capabilities.

Here are some AI features you'll find specifically in JSM:

• Virtual service agent: This feature automates the first interactions with customers, often working with chat platforms like Slack or Teams.

It can use AI Answers to search your knowledge base (like Confluence or JSM's own KB) and give direct answers to customer questions.

• It can also use Intents to guide users through specific processes, like starting a password reset request.

• Similar requests panel: When an agent looks at an issue, this panel suggests similar past issues. This helps them find solutions faster by seeing how previous problems were solved.

• Predictive agent assignment: This feature suggests which agent might be the best fit for an issue based on who has handled similar work or has the right expertise.

These JSM features are designed to handle simple questions automatically and give agents the context they need to solve more complex issues efficiently.

Here's a quick look at some of the core Jira AI features:

Jira AI Feature	Primary Benefit	Where it's Used
Generative AI in Editor	Draft/refine text quickly	Issue descriptions, comments
Natural Language to JQL	Easier searching for everyone	Issue Navigator search
AI-Powered Summaries	Quickly understand long discussions or docs	Issue Activity section, Smart Links
AI Work Breakdown	Structure large tasks into smaller steps	Epic view
Virtual Service Agent	Automate initial support (JSM)	Chat platforms (Slack, Teams), Help Center
Similar Requests Panel	Find past solutions faster (JSM)	JSM Issue View
Predictive Agent Assignment	Get issues to the right person quickly (JSM)	JSM Issue View

Considerations for choosing your Jira AI setup

Jira's built-in AI features offer impressive possibilities. To get the most out of your setup, it helps to understand how Jira works and how it can be tailored to your team.

Here are some things to consider:

• Optimized for standard workflows: Jira AI is designed for streamlined project management and is excellent for day-to-day productivity.

• Context-aware: Jira AI accuracy relies on your existing data, making it very effective when your knowledge base is well-maintained.

• Consistent experience: The platform provides a consistent tone and brand-safe environment for team collaboration.

• Tiered plan options: Jira offers tiered plans to match different team sizes, with more advanced features like Intelligent Triage available in Premium and Enterprise plans.

• Extensible ecosystem: Jira has built an impressive marketplace. If you have highly specialized needs, you can easily integrate third-party tools to perform deep API actions or pull specific external data.

Pro Tip: To get the level of automation and customization you want, many teams find success using a mix of Jira's native tools alongside specialized marketplace integrations.

How third-party AI enhances Jira workflows

While Jira’s native AI features are a great foundation, you can enhance them with complementary tools for specialized use cases, like automating complex external actions or training AI on specific historical ticket data.

eesel AI is built to work within the Jira ecosystem, particularly for support teams that want to add another layer of automation. It connects directly with Jira Service Management to help resolve requests and reduce manual workloads by learning from the sources your team already uses.

Here’s how eesel AI works as a companion to Jira:

• Custom AI agents for Jira Service Management: You can set up agents that answer customer questions and route requests, working alongside your standard JSM workflows.

• Train on ticket history: eesel AI allows you to train your AI on past tickets and conversations, which can provide highly specific replies and suggestions.

• No-code setup for deep actions: You can set up automations that pull from external APIs, databases, or CRMs without needing custom scripts.

• Flexible pricing: eesel offers an interaction-based model that can scale along with your support volume.

• Specialized bots: You can create multiple specialized bots for different departments, all connected back to your central Jira workflows.

For example, if your team handles many password resets, you could use eesel AI to build a virtual agent that responds and checks details against internal tools, all while staying synced with your JSM records.

eesel AI gives you additional control and flexibility while working seamlessly with the Jira setup your team already trusts.

So, what’s your choice?

AI brings a lot of value to Jira users, from speeding up simple tasks to helping manage complex service requests. Choosing the right setup depends on your team's specific requirements and how you prefer to manage your workflows.

Native Jira AI is a powerful, reliable place to start. If you find you need specialized automation, extra training data sources, or a different pricing model for high-volume support, looking into third-party solutions that connect with Jira is a smart way to expand your capabilities.

Finding the right AI fit for your Jira

Jira offers valuable built-in AI features through Atlassian Intelligence that help you get more done and make workflows smoother. Features like generative text and JQL translation are excellent starting points for any team.

For teams that eventually need even more depth—such as custom API calls or specific historical data training—exploring third-party AI solutions that integrate with Jira is a natural next step.

If you're looking for an AI solution that lets you customize training on many different sources and provides interaction-based pricing, eesel AI is worth checking out. It's designed to complement your existing Jira Service Management workflows.

Want to see how eesel AI can enhance your Jira Service Management? Learn more about the eesel AI Jira integration. Start a free trial or book a demo today.