Issue Summary

Screen readers do not announce the placeholder text for "Comment area" input field.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open the Jira Cloud home page.
2. Navigate to the sidebar, expand Spaces, and open any space.
3. Navigate to the List view, activate it, and open any work item from the data table.
4. Using a screen reader, navigate to and activate the "Add a comment" button.
5. Observe that the <span> element containing the placeholder text has aria-hidden="true".
6. Note that the placeholder text is not programmatically associated with the field.

Screenshot

Actual Results

When screen reader users navigate to the "Add comments" the label is announced correctly. However, the placeholder text that provides additional guidance is not announced.

This occurs because the <span> element containing the placeholder text has aria-hidden="true" applied, which hides it from assistive technologies. Additionally, the placeholder text is not programmatically associated with the field using aria-describedby and a corresponding id.

As a result, the placeholder text is not exposed to screen readers.

Expected Results

Screen readers should announce all relevant instructions, including placeholder text.

Apply the following changes:

• Remove aria-hidden="true" from the placeholder <span> element.
• Add an id to the <span> element containing the placeholder text.
• Add the aria-describedby attribute to the <div> element representing the “Add comment” field.
• Reference the <span> element’s id value within the aria-describedby attribute to associate the placeholder text programmatically.

Note: This code example is intended only as a general illustration of how to address the violation and should not be considered a complete or production-ready solution. If you have any questions, please attach this ticket to a #help-accessibility request.

Code Snippet:

<div class="ProseMirror..." aria-label="Comment area, start typing to enter text.">
<p>
<span>Type /ai to Ask Rovo or @ to mention and notify someone.</span>
</p>
</div> 

Workaround

Currently there is no known workaround for this behavior. A workaround will be added here when available

Environment

MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2023)
macOs - Sequoia 15.7.9
Chrome - Version 154.0.8037.58 (Official Build) (arm64)
Safari- Version 27.0 (20625.1.29.18.28)
JAWS- Version 2026
NVDA- Version 2026.1
Voiceover - Version Latest