Email integration with Jira and Jira Service Management projects

There are 2 different types of emails that can be associated with Jira and JSM projects

System-Generated Emails:

Triggered by: Automatic events in Jira (issue creation, updates, comments, assignment, tagging, etc.)
Recipients: Defined by notification schemes in Jira (assignee, reporter, watchers, request participants etc.)
Reply Behavior: Replies ALWAYS become comments on the original issue. This is built-in Atlassian functionality and replies are sent to jira@atlassian.net. In JSM projects, replies from non customers will be sent to jira@atlassian.net and replies from customers and request participants will be sent to the email configured in the individual project configurations under email requests. Additional customer notification behavior options can be configured under the customer notification options in project settings.
Customization: Limited customization options (mostly visual branding). You can't alter the reply behavior.
Purpose: Keep users informed about issue progress and allow easy interaction via email replies.

Custom Emails:

Triggered by: Specific actions or events configured by Jira administrators (e.g., a custom workflow transition, using Jira automation).
Recipients: Can be more flexibly defined, including external users not directly involved in the Jira issue. As an example, the LTS JSM sends custom email notifications to the teams configured in Assets to notify them that their team has been assigned an issue.
Reply Behavior: Replies DO NOT become comments in the ticket. This is because they're not tied to the Jira notification system.
Customization: We strive to keep these simple as we encourage our agents and project teams to be working in the Atlassian tools vs. counting on email.
Purpose: Send specific information, notifications, or requests outside the standard Jira workflow.

Why the Difference Matters:

Understanding this distinction is crucial because users might assume any email from Jira allows them to comment by replying. With custom emails, this isn't the case, which can lead to missed communication. For that reason, we recommend that JSM agents and Jira project team members add comments directly in the ticket/task vs. using the reply to email functionality.

Need a quick way to create tasks or tickets in Jira or Jira Service Management (JSM)?

You can set up a dedicated email address for each project. Emails sent to that address will automatically create a new task or ticket!

Request this functionality for your project