Now that we’re a few weeks into the new year here at AC, we’ve given some thought to the trends we expect to emerge over the next 12 months – especially around the Atlassian ecosystem.
From AI to the rise of solutions for business teams, let’s delve in to our Atlassian predictions.
1. AI colleagues, not capabilities
We had to start with AI, didn’t we? In this article, we’ll focus on AI in the context of Atlassian tooling.
Rovo is Atlassian’s AI-powered offering, comprising AI agents, powerful enterprise search, chat functionality, and more.
In the past 12 months, we’ve seen, first-hand, increasing numbers of clients embed and embrace Rovo, and we’ve helped some of them to unlock greater value from AI experiences on the Atlassian Cloud Platform as a result.
Our teams here at AC have also been using it, experimenting with custom Rovo Agent builds, embedding AI-powered automations and workflows, and developing a greater understanding of how it can benefit our customer organisations.
So, in terms of Atlassian predictions, where do we go from here?
In 2026, we anticipate a shift from AI as something teams are ‘trying out’, to being a deeply integrated element across workflows, tasks and processes.
Launched in 2024, and included free of charge across most plans in 2025, Rovo is still a relatively new arrival to the Atlassian ecosystem, but has been developing at great pace. We predict that 2026 will be the year when it stops being a novelty, and begins truly delivering value through tightly integrated workflows, automations and agentic experiences.
We particularly expect to see this in Rovo Agents, especially custom ones. With the increased capabilities of Rovo Studio (where you can create custom Rovo Agents with no code), teams will be increasingly able to develop unique AI agents to fulfil very niche use cases.
Once embedded, and delivering value, we predict that teams will stop thinking about AI agents as ‘extras’ and instead view them as integral members of the team.
Unsure where to start with Rovo – or whether you’re realising value from it? Our dedicated Rovo Accelerator Solution has been designed for teams just like yours, to help you make the most of your Atlassian AI capabilities.
2. The rise of the business teams
Over the past couple of years, Atlassian has expanded its tooling to meet the needs of all teams. Think about the move to include business team templates and capabilities within Jira (previously the domain of software developers), or the recent arrival of the Atlassian Teamwork Collection.
Increasingly over the next year, we anticipate that the tooling and processes that work so well in other teams will also be rolled out to business teams.
In fact, one of our clients, a leading international insurance firm, uses JSM workflows, forms and automations to manage its claims processes, amongst other business use cases. This client is a real forward-thinker when it comes to maximising value from tooling, and most recently we’ve been working with them to develop powerful custom Rovo Agents.
ℹ️ Spotlight on custom Rovo Agents
From intelligently prioritising workload to improving data quality, our clients are realising value from custom AI and Rovo Agents.
Built by our team here at AC using Rovo Studio and Atlassian Forge, our clients’ custom Rovo Agents have helped their teams save invaluable time, resolve queries faster, and reduce manual overhead.
With our guidance, could you do the same in 2026?
What will this look like for Atlassian business teams?
There are already examples of this. Think of the principles of IT Service Management, rolled out across entire organisations through ESM (Enterprise Service Management). Or the rise of Kanban boards, once the preserve of Software Engineers and Development teams, but now used to manage the flow of work across everywhere from Marketing to HR.
We anticipate that this concept will continue throughout the Atlassian Cloud Platform. Business teams will benefit from the structure, governance and best practice enjoyed by other teams.
Want to roll out structured, trackable service delivery across your business teams? Our specialist Service Management for Business Teams solution can do just that!
3. Increased responsibility and regulation around AI
Now, this isn’t necessarily a new trend for 2026, and isn’t solely an Atlassian prediction.
In fact, legislation around responsible use of Artificial Intelligence – across all and any platforms – has been around for some time, with the ISO 42001 standard released back in 2023.
However, as the use of AI grows across organisations this year, we expect that the conversation around using it responsibly and ethically will become more mainstream.
No longer solely a Head of Compliance or IT’s task, we anticipate that during 2026, all teams will need a firm understanding of their organisation’s approach to responsible AI practices and procedures.
ℹ️ We wrote about ISO 42001 in more depth recently…
We explored the principles of the 42001 standard over on the AppFox blog, along with how some of their Atlassian Marketplace apps could help to support your compliance efforts.
AppFox is our development arm, specialising in Atlassian, monday.com and Miro apps.
Read it now! How to Support ISO 42001 Compliance in Confluence with Atlassian Marketplace Apps
4. Goals, goals, goals
Let’s shift our focus back to an Atlassian prediction lens.
Throughout 2025, Atlassian championed the importance of goals. It launched a new Cloud platform app (unsurprisingly named ‘Goals’) to ensure that every project or team could be linked to a tangible objective.
For leaders and senior stakeholders, the Goals app enables crucial visibility so they can track the progress towards hitting a target, and understand – at a high level – where there are blockers.
For teams on the ground, this centring of goals ensures that all team members understand the value of their work, and the wider context of what they’re working towards. We expect that teams’ use of Jira may flex to support this shift in focus.
ℹ️ Spotlight on Jira
Jira is a project management tool for all teams – but in 2026, with this continued focus on goals and outcomes, we expect it to be viewed by some teams as less of a ‘work tracker’ and more of an ‘outcomes tracker’.
The progress of individual tasks will, of course, still be valuable – but reviewing how they contribute to an end goal, will be even more so.
We expect Jira work items to increasingly represent business objectives, value streams, and OKRs, not solely ‘tasks’.
AI capabilities will continuously links work items to outcomes, such as revenue impact, customer satisfaction and risk reduction.
Teams will be able to ask Jira and custom Rovo Agents questions such as, ‘What work should I prioritise to achieve this goal?’ and receive an answer backed with organisation-specific context and intelligence.
In 2026, we anticipate this focus on goals to continue. When work is linked to outcomes, it can really boost both accountability and productivity – and seeing the impact of your tasks in real time can be a true motivator.
Are you using Jira effectively to align work to your goals and manage your projects? If not, we’ve got the solution for you. Discover the secret to long-term success with AC’s Project Management Blueprint solution.
5. Using Confluence as a living, central hub - not a static document store
We’ve long championed Confluence – as a collaboration space, a knowledge management system, and a secure content repository.
Both Jira Service Management and Customer Service Management users can integrate Confluence to create a dynamic knowledge base, for both internal users and external customers to self-serve.
Aside from Service Management use cases, Confluence is a powerful single source of truth, and can be used for additional goal reporting, planning, drafting comms and more.
So, what do we expect to happen in 2026 to elevate Confluence even further?
As we previously mentioned, we expect teams to really use Rovo capabilities in greater depth across the Atlassian toolset this year, and this includes in Confluence. From Agents drafting and refining copy, to Rovo Chat finding linked work items, or answering queries with context, Rovo AI experiences will add greater value and user experiences in Confluence.
In our experience, we’ve particularly found that Confluence is a superb tool for embedding an ISMS (Information Security Management System), and for general dynamic content management (such as your 42001 documentation, perhaps!). You can set up automations up to manage content expiry, access permissions and more.
Now, as it stands, Confluence’s native functionality cannot achieve all of this seamlessly – so in 2026 we also expect to see even more teams embracing Atlassian Marketplace apps.
ℹ️ Spotlight on Workflows for Confluence Marketplace app
Created by our colleagues at AppFox, Workflows for Confluence is a key app in your Atlassian toolkit, providing rigorous document control:
Build custom workflows aligned with your compliance requirements
Closely manage your documentation review process, with multi-stage approvals, automated actions and a comprehensive audit trail
Ensure only approved documentation is shared and published in line with regulatory requirements, with custom publishing workflows
Created by AC’s Atlassian award-winning app development team, AppFox
Aligns with other content management apps, such as AppFox’s Compliance for Confluence
Try Workflows for Confluence free today on the Atlassian Marketplace!
6. The move from Data Center to Cloud
We couldn’t complete our 2026 Atlassian predictions without a nod to one of the biggest changes teams will face over the next 12 months.
As of the 30th March 2026, Atlassian will sunset Data Center products (although support will be wound down carefully, in phases, over the following three years to support customers).
For many close to the Atlassian ecosystem, this news did not come as a surprise; Atlassian has been investing significantly in Cloud-only innovations (such as Rovo), and enhancing its range of agreements with Cloud hosting partners (such as AWS and Google Cloud).
However, for some long-time Data Center (DC) users, this will be a significant (and, for some admittedly, an unwelcome) shift.
As such, throughout 2026, we expect to be helping many organisations to migrate to the Atlassian Cloud. From migration preparation to supporting with post-migration testing and training, if you’ve been impacted by the Data Center end-of-life announcement, we’re on hand to guide you through this transition.
Are you preparing to migrate to Atlassian Cloud? If so, you need to start preparing now – and we’re hear to guide you through this crucial phase. With practical recommendations and tools, get yourself in the best position now by attending our interactive Cloud Migration preparation webinar.
That’s a wrap on our 2026 Atlassian predictions
Will we be proved right?
You’ll have to wait 12 months for that – but what we do know is that the next year is going to be packed with innovation: new ways to maximise value from your Atlassian apps, an increasingly creative range of custom Rovo Agents, and, for some of you, taking the first steps in the unchartered territory of Cloud hosting.
We also know, for sure, that here at Automation Consultants, we’ll be by our clients’ side throughout every new feature, AI experience and more. We’re a safe pair of hands, as Platinum Solution Partners, and with our Atlassian Cloud and Service Management specializations.
So, to make your 2026 a little easier, turn to us for proven Atlassian best practice, guidance, and a real focus on securing long-term success for your teams.
