Hi Atlassian Community,
If you caught the Team '26 Europe keynote, you got a sneak peek of something our team has poured a lot of love into. Today I'm thrilled to share more: the new and improved Rovo Desktop is coming in November to macOS! And it's the biggest update to the app since we opened the beta.
We reimagined Rovo Desktop from the ground up, with craft and speed front and center. The result is an app that feels fast, looks beautiful, and brings Rovo Search, Chat, and your team's knowledge right alongside every app you use. No more hunting through browser tabs for Rovo: it's simply there when you need it.
Here's a tour of what's coming: New Compact Mode, Press and hold, enterprise search, a fresh new design, and so much more.
When exactly is the update coming? → Expect to see these changes in November 2026 on macOS, with Windows coming shortly after! Download for macOS now, and you’ll get the updates automatically once they become available. Other versions are available here.
⚡️New Compact Mode: Rovo, always within reach
Some moments call for the full app. Others just need a quick answer, a file, or a link, without breaking your flow. That's where Compact Mode comes in.
Compact Mode is a lightweight, floating version of Rovo that you can open on top of any app with a quick keyboard shortcut. It brings everything together in one small window:
- Get to work faster. Recommended and recent items appear right away, because Rovo knows what you've been working on.
- Ask or search in one place. Start typing, then ask Rovo or search across all your apps. Filter by app, people, and chats with a click or keystroke.
- Ask about anything you find. Spot the right page or work item? Ask Rovo about it on the spot.
- Grab it and go. Copy a link with one click, or drag a file straight into an email or message. No app switching. No link hunting.
👆️Press and hold: instant context from your desktop
This might just be our favorite new feature. Forget the old routine of taking a screenshot, finding your chat, pasting it in, and explaining what you're looking at. Press and hold turns all of that into a single gesture.
Simply press and long hold your mouse anywhere on your screen. A little ring fills up under your pointer, and Rovo opens right there, with an image of the window you're looking at already attached to be used as context for your chat. Ask "help me prep for this meeting" or "summarize this thread," and Rovo gets to work with all the context it needs.
When you send your question, Rovo can see what you were looking at: the app you're in, the window's title, any text you've highlighted, the web page you're on, and a snapshot of the window.
You're always in control:
- Press and hold is off until you turn it on in Settings.
- Nothing is shared until you hit send. Changed your mind? Just close it.
- You can remove the attached image from your chat at any time.
🔎 Search across all your apps
Finding the right information shouldn't mean opening five tabs. The new Rovo Desktop includes a complete search experience, built right into the app. It covers Jira, Confluence, Loom, and the other tools your team has connected, like Slack, Google Drive, Zoom, and Gong.
- Smart answers. Instead of a sea of links, Rovo puts a clear answer at the top of your results, with sources you can check. Looking for a teammate? You'll get a quick card about who they are.
- Filters that make sense. Narrow results to a single app, then refine by things like status, assignee, type, or last updated.
- Preview without leaving. Click a result to read it in a panel right beside your results, instead of jumping out to your browser.
- From search to chat in one click. Continue the conversation with Rovo from any search with a single click.
✨ Designed to feel at home on your desktop
This was a design-led project from day one. We asked ourselves: what would Rovo Desktop look like if we pulled out all the stops and made every interaction feel as delightful as it could?
So we rebuilt the parts you touch most (the sidebar, the prompt box, and search) using the same native building blocks as your Mac or PC’s own apps. Everything is crisper, quicker, and more responsive. On the latest version of macOS, you'll also notice gorgeous, translucent glass that lets your desktop softly shine through.
The little things matter
We obsessed over the small moments, because that's where an app goes from good to delightful:
- A warm welcome greets you the first time you open Rovo, and the quick tour glides seamlessly into your very first chat.
- While Rovo is thinking, your chat gently shimmers in the sidebar. When the answer lands, a soft glow settles into an unread dot.
- Capture a screenshot, and you'll actually see it fly into your message.
- Move between the for you page and new chats, and you'll see the prompt box seamlessly morph.
🎁 And so much more
We couldn't fit everything into one post, but here are a few more favorites:
- Notifications when Rovo finishes a response, so you can step away while it works.
- Redesigned agent browsing, with your agents, recommended and verified agents, and favorites in one place, plus @mentions to bring agents into any chat.
- Updated thinking traces, step by step, as Rovo works through your question.
- Draft Confluence pages and whiteboards in a panel right next to your chat.
When can I get it?
The new and improved Rovo Desktop is coming in November 2026, starting with macOS. We'll share more as it rolls out, including when you can expect it for Windows. New to Rovo Desktop? Download for macOS now, and you’ll get the updates automatically once they become available. Other versions are available here.
We want your feedback!
Your feedback has shaped Rovo Desktop since day one, and this release is no exception. Drop your thoughts, questions, and ideas in the comments below. What's the first thing you'll try? 👇
