Rovo Agent returns permissions error when accessing Confluence knowledge sources in Automation

Summary

When using a Rovo agent within a Jira Automation rule (Agentic Automation), the agent may fail to read its assigned Confluence knowledge sources. Even if the page is correctly configured as a source, the agent returns an error indicating the content is unavailable due to permissions.

Diagnosis

You are likely affected by this issue if the following conditions are met:

• A Jira Automation rule triggers a Rovo agent to perform a task (e.g., "Ask Rovo").

• The Rovo agent has specific Confluence pages or spaces added under Knowledge Sources.

• The automation execution fails, and the agent's response contains an error message similar to:

  • "Assessment could not be completed. [Page Name] (page id [ID]) was not available due to a permissions error."

  • "[Page Name] was not available for retrieval."

• The user or Service Account configured in the Automation Connection has confirmed "View" permissions for the Confluence content in question.

Cause

This behaviour typically occurs due to one of the following:

1. Instruction Conflict: The agent's instructions may contain hardcoded Page IDs or specific references that conflict with how Rovo retrieves data from its indexed knowledge sources.

2. Connection Context: The Rovo agent operates using the permissions of the account defined in the Automation rule's connection. If there is a sync delay or a specific restriction on that account's API access, the retrieval fails.

3. Knowledge Source Indexing: A temporary desync between the Rovo agent's knowledge configuration and the Confluence content permissions.

Solution

To resolve this issue, follow these steps:

1. Update Agent Instructions

Avoid hardcoding specific Confluence Page IDs in the agent's "Instructions" field. Instead, refer to the content by its title or purpose. Rovo is designed to automatically search its defined Knowledge Sources based on the context of your prompt.

2. Refresh Knowledge Sources

1. Navigate to your Rovo Agent configuration.

2. Go to the Knowledge tab.

3. Remove the affected Confluence page or space.

4. Save the agent, then immediately re-add the page or space as a knowledge source.

3. Verify and Test Automation Connections

1. Open the affected Automation Rule.

2. Check the Connection settings for the Rovo action.

3. Ensure the connected user has explicit access to the Confluence page.

4. Test: Try changing the connection to a different user who has access to see if the agent can then retrieve the page. If it works with a different user, the original connection account may need its permissions refreshed in Confluence.

Related Information:

• Debug responses from Rovo agents

• What are connections in Automation?