🔎 When Customers Need Answers Now: How We Fixed the Search Experience in Jira’s Customer Portal

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Imagine this:
You’re a service desk agent. The phone rings. A user is stuck.
They say, “I’m having an issue with login authorization.”

You open Jira. You try to help.
But the customer doesn’t know the exact request type they used.
Neither do you.
Now you’re jumping between portals, guessing forms, and wasting time while the customer waits — frustrated and unsure if you even received their request.

Sound familiar?

💢 The Problem: Searching in Jira's Customer Portal Isn’t Always Helpful

By default, Jira’s portal search only works on the main help center homepage.
Even then, it doesn’t always show relevant results — especially when:

• You’re inside a specific project or request form

• You’re trying to search for a request without knowing the exact wording

• You want to search based on tags, descriptions, or asset references — not just titles

For agents and customers alike, this leads to one thing: friction.

⚡ The Fix: A Better Way to Search (Right Where You Need It)

That’s why we started using the Better Search in Customer Portal app — a simple but powerful upgrade that transforms the Jira Service Management experience for both agents and customers.

Here’s how it helps 👇

✅ Use Case: I'm an Operator, and I Don’t Have Time to Guess

A customer reports an issue:
“I tried submitting a request, but I’m getting an error on login authorization.”

I’m inside the project — but I don’t know which request type they selected.
Jira’s default portal doesn’t help me unless I go back to the homepage.

With this app?

The search bar is right on the form or project I’m already in.
I start typing “authorization” — and boom, it surfaces all relevant results.
No need to guess. No need to leave the screen.

🧠 Context-Aware Search Where It Actually Matters

Unlike Jira’s default setup, this app lets you:

• Place the search bar inside specific request forms or project portals

• Configure where it appears and where it doesn’t

• Show results even when the user doesn’t know the exact name of a request type

• Help users navigate faster and more accurately — reducing support load and wait times

🔧 Configuration Options That Make Sense

You can define:

• 📍 Which projects the search should cover

• 🧾 Which request types are searchable

• 🔀 The order in which results appear

• 🔒 Whether the search bar shows on specific request forms — or remains hidden for others

This isn’t just “search everywhere” — it’s search where it makes sense.

👥 Agent vs. Portal User Experience

• 👨‍💻 Agent View (Paid): Internal users get full control over placement, project scoping, and filtering

• 🙋‍♀️ Portal User (Free): Customers see the search results directly on the portal — without knowing Jira or navigating menus

The result?
Fewer clicks. Faster resolutions. Less frustration on both sides of the screen.💬 Final Thoughts

Support doesn’t fail because your team is unskilled.
It fails when your tools hide the answers behind menus, manual clicks, or missing request type names.

Better Search in Customer Portal helps users find the right request — and helps agents find the issue behind the request — instantly.

🔗 Available on Atlassian Marketplace. Built with real operators in mind.

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