Get up to speed on complex work items, fast

Let’s face it, Jira work items can get complicated: a long description, dozens of comments, linked pull requests, child tasks, attachments. When you land on one of these, especially if you're new to it or haven't checked in a while, it takes real effort to piece together what's actually going on. You end up scrolling through comments, scanning every field, and cross-referencing child tasks just to understand the current state.

The new work item summary card does that work for you. Click to generate a summary and get a concise overview right at the top of the work item: what it's about, where it stands, who's involved, and what's expected next. It pulls from across the work item, including the description, comments, fields, linked work, child tasks, and attachments, so you get the full picture without having to read through everything yourself.

How it works

1. All the context in seconds

Generate a summary and immediately see what the work item is about, its current status, key contributors, next steps, and any risks or blockers. Instead of spending several minutes scrolling and cross-referencing, you get the important details in a few seconds. It's especially useful when you're reviewing work you didn't create, joining a project mid-stream, or catching up after time away.

2. Ready when you need it

The summary is generated only when you want it. Simple work items with a clear description and a handful of comments don't need a summary, and they won't get one unless you want one. For complex work items where the context has piled up, click "Summarize work item" and it's there. You stay in control of when it shows up.

How to get started

Open any Jira work item and click the “Summarize work item” icon to generate a summary. No setup or configuration required.

For admins: This feature is rolling out now across Jira cloud plans. The summary is generated on demand by end users and respects all existing permissions. It does not surface content from restricted documents or source code.

Learn more

See demos of all summer releases

FAQs