Automation FAQs

Automation is Atlassian's built-in workflow engine for repetitive tasks such as auto-assigning issues, sending notifications, and transitioning statuses based on conditions. You can build automations across Jira, Confluence, Jira Service Management, Jira Product Discovery, Customer Service Management, and Administration.

Automation usage is measured in steps. An Automation step is a single executed part of a flow:

• Triggers: the event that starts the flow (e.g., "When an issue is created")

• Conditions: narrows the scope of your flow (e.g., "If priority = High")

• Actions: tasks the flow performs (e.g., "Send email", "Assign to user")

• Branches: logic paths (e.g., if/else)

• Loops: repeated iterations within a flow

Example: Trigger → check priority → assign user → send notification = 4 steps.

Your organization receives included Automation step allowances based on your subscriptions and plan tier, pooled at the org level. Allowances refresh monthly. If you need more, you can purchase Automation step packs (prepaid) or enable extra usage billing (postpaid).
Important: Rovo-powered steps within a flow (e.g., "Use Agent," "Use Rovo") consume Rovo credits from your separate Rovo credits allowance, not Automation steps

Each of the following apps/collections includes a monthly Automation steps allowance:

• Jira

• Confluence

• Jira Product Discovery

• Jira Service Management / Service Collection

• Teamwork Collection

Your Automation steps allowance is pooled at the organization level across all apps, so steps consumed in any app draw from a single shared pool.

There is no way to designate individual flows for prioritized execution. However, you can protect important workflows by:

However, you can protect important workflows by:

• Monitoring usage proactively: via the Platform usage dashboard in Atlassian Administration.

• Proactive notifications: billing admins receive alerts at 80% and 100% of monthly usage thresholds.

• Purchasing packs: Automation step packs (committed packs or usage packs) can be added at any time.

• Optimizing lower-priority flows: simplify or reduce the frequency of non-essential flows to free capacity for critical workflows.

We're investing in giving admins more tools to manage and allocate capacity. We'll keep you updated on new capabilities on the roadmap.

Previously, Automation usage was measured in successful flow runs. Each completed flow counted as one run, regardless of how many actions it contained. Limits were set per-app and per-edition, and Enterprise customers had unlimited automation.

Here's what's changing:

• New unit of measurement: Moving from measuring execution of entire flows to execution of individual steps within a flow, giving you granular visibility into exactly what's being automated.

• Pooled allowances: Instead of per-app limits, your organization gets a single pooled allowance across all Atlassian apps, providing more flexibility in how you use automation.

• Enterprise plans: Enterprise plans will no longer have unlimited automation. Instead, they receive pooled allowances designed to cover typical Enterprise usage patterns.

• Extra usage option: If your organization needs more, additional steps cost $0.50 per 1,000 steps, or you can purchase Automation step packs (prepaid).

What stays the same:

• Automation is still built into your existing subscription, no separate purchase required.

• Your automation flows remain unchanged.

• Allowances refresh monthly.

When your monthly pooled allowance is consumed, and your organization or billing admin has disabled extra usage:

• New automation flows will stop: Triggering events won’t execute until your allowance refreshes at the start of your next monthly billing period, or until you add a usage pack/committed pack. Automation flows that are mid-flow (in-flight) will complete.

• Events are not queued: Events that would have triggered a flow that occur while the flow is paused are not stored or replayed when the allowance refreshes.

• Automation flows using manual triggers are also paused

What still works: Existing work items, workflows, and manual processes are unaffected, only automated flow execution pauses. Your flows remain configured and resume automatically once your allowance refreshes or a usage pack/committed pack is added. Admins can check the automation audit log to see which flows would have triggered during the pause.

How to avoid interruption:

• Ensure extra usage remains enabled ($0.50 per 1,000 extra steps), so flows continue running.

• Purchase Automation step packs (prepaid).

• Monitor and optimize via the Platform usage dashboard.

If your organization exceeds its monthly Automation steps allowance, additional steps are billed at $0.50 per 1,000 steps. You can estimate your extra usage cost with this formula: (Monthly steps consumed − included allowance) ÷ 1,000 × $0.50 = estimated extra usage charge

Example: (12,000 − 5,000) ÷ 1,000 × $0.50 = $3.50 estimated extra usage charge