What is Cluely? The AI meeting overlay, explained

What does Cluely do?

Cluely sits on top of your other windows during a video call. While people talk, it transcribes the conversation, keeps a running set of notes, and when you press Cmd+Enter (Ctrl+Enter on Windows) it suggests what to say next, a follow-up question, or an answer to something you were just asked. After the call you get shareable notes and a recap.

The homepage's headline claim is that other people in the meeting can't tell you're using it. In plain terms that means two things. Cluely never joins the call as a bot, so nobody sees an extra participant named "Notetaker". And on its most expensive plan, the overlay is left out of your screen share, so people watching your shared screen don't see it.

That second part is where most of the confusion starts. It's not in the free plan, and it's not in Pro. More on that in the pricing section.

Cluely lists Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Slack and Webex as supported apps. Because it listens at the device level instead of plugging into each meeting platform, it doesn't need an integration for each one.

How does Cluely work?

Reviewers who have taken the app apart describe the same pipeline, and it lines up with what Cluely's privacy policy says it collects (audio recordings, transcriptions and screenshots):

1. The desktop app captures audio from the call and transcribes it.
2. It reads what's on your screen when you ask for help.
3. It sends that context to a large language model on Cluely's servers.
4. The answer streams into a floating overlay window that stays on top of your meeting app.

Cluely's homepage claims 12+ languages, 300 ms responses and 95% transcription accuracy. Those are vendor numbers. Early hands-on reports were less kind: journalists who tried the app at launch in 2025 reported delays of 5 to 90 seconds and generic suggestions, and Roy Lee later described the launch build as being in a "really raw state" (as summarized on Wikipedia). The product has had more than a year of updates since then, so treat launch-era complaints as history rather than a current test.

The "hidden from screen share" piece is an operating system feature, not AI. On Windows, an app can ask the OS to exclude a window from capture, and every capture path that goes through Windows then skips it. We explain the mechanism in WDA_EXCLUDEFROMCAPTURE explained. A phone camera pointed at your monitor still sees the overlay, whichever app you use.

Who built Cluely, and is it a real company?

Yes, it's a real, venture-funded company. The short history, from public reporting:

The launch campaign was built around using AI to get ahead in situations where outside help isn't expected, and it drew heavy criticism. Within days the company removed references to exams and interviews from its site. Today's Cluely sells itself as a notetaker and live meeting assistant, and its blog compares it with Granola and Otter rather than with interview tools.

Why does the history matter if you just want meeting notes? Mostly for trust. The revenue episode and the billing complaints we cover below are the two things buyers ask about most.

How much does Cluely cost?

Prices from cluely.com/pricing, checked October 2026:

So the feature most people associate with Cluely costs $1,799.88 a year. There's no lifetime option. The full breakdown, including what "limited" means on Starter, is in our Cluely pricing guide.

What platforms does Cluely run on?

The download page lists macOS 10.15 or later (Apple Silicon or Intel) and Windows 11 on x64, each with 500 MB of free disk space and 8 GB of RAM recommended. There's an iPhone app in the App Store, sold as a meeting notetaker. Windows 10 isn't listed, and there's no Linux build. If you're on Windows, our Cluely download guide for Windows walks through the installer.

Cluely at a glance: our verdict

Scores are our own judgment from Cluely's public pages, its privacy policy and public reviews in October 2026. We build a competing product, so weigh them accordingly.

Is Cluely safe to use?

It's a legitimate app from a funded US company, not malware. "Safe" depends on what you're comfortable sending to a third party.

Cluely's privacy policy (last updated June 10, 2025) says it collects audio recordings, transcriptions and screenshots, stores data with service providers in any country where it has them, and keeps personal data while your account exists. It also says Cluely does not sell your data or train on it. If your meetings include client data, ask your IT or legal team before you install anything that records the call. Recording laws differ by country and US state, and some require every participant's consent.

The bigger practical risk is billing. Cluely's Trustpilot profile showed 1.7 out of 5 from 22 reviews when we checked in October 2026, and the profile is unclaimed, so it's a small and self-selected sample. Still, the complaints repeat: annual charges people didn't expect, cancellations that didn't stick, and support that's mostly a bot. Read the checkout screen carefully and set a reminder before any renewal.

Who is Cluely for, and who should skip it?

Cluely makes sense if you're on a Mac, you want the AI to hear the meeting so you don't have to type questions, and automatic notes are part of the value. Sales reps and founders who run back-to-back calls fit that description well.

Skip it, or at least skip the top tier, if your main need is a private AI window during screen shares. You'd be paying $130 a month over Pro for one operating system flag. Skip it too if you're on Windows 10, or if company policy rules out tools that record calls.

That second group is who we built AuraCloak for. It's a Windows-only overlay that's excluded from screen capture on both plans. It doesn't listen to the call: you type, use push-to-talk on your own mic, or press Alt+S to screenshot. You bring your own model (OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, GitHub Copilot, Azure OpenAI or a local endpoint) or use your ChatGPT Plus or Claude Pro login in browser mode. The Cluely alternative page covers what you give up if you switch, and our alternatives hub lists the rest of the field.

For a feature-by-feature split, see AuraCloak vs Cluely.

FAQ

What is Cluely used for?

Cluely is used during video calls to get live answer suggestions, follow-up questions and notes without adding a bot to the meeting. It listens to the conversation, reads your screen when asked, and shows results in a private overlay. The company now markets it mainly as an AI meeting assistant and notetaker.

Who owns Cluely?

Cluely, Inc. was founded in 2025 by Roy Lee (CEO), Neel Shanmugam and Alex Chen. It raised a $5.3 million seed round in April 2025 and a $15 million Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz in June 2025. It's headquartered in New York City.

Is Cluely free?

Partly. The Starter plan is free with limited AI responses and notetaking. Pro costs $19.99 a month, and the plan that hides Cluely from screen sharing costs $149.99 a month (checked October 2026).

Does Cluely work on Windows?

Yes, on Windows 11 with an x64 processor, per cluely.com/download in October 2026. Windows 10 isn't listed. Cluely also runs on macOS 10.15 or later and has an iPhone app.

Is Cluely a real company or a scam?

It's a real, venture-backed company with a working product. Trust concerns come from its CEO admitting in March 2026 that a revenue figure he gave the press was false, and from Trustpilot reviews (1.7/5 from 22 reviews in October 2026) that mostly complain about billing and cancellations.