How does Cluely avoid being detected in video meetings?

Cluely runs locally as a translucent overlay window that follows the user's eye position rather than joining the call as a visible bot. This allows it to remain hidden from participant lists in platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams.

Does Cluely support in-person conversations or only remote calls?

Yes, Cluely supports both system audio and microphone input. This allows it to transcribe and assist with meetings whether the other participants are remote or physically present in the room.

What languages does Cluely support for transcription?

Cluely transcribes live audio in 12+ languages, including strong performance with accented English. It also provides AI summaries and action items based on these transcripts.

Cluely

✓ Editorially verified

Real-time AI meeting assistant that takes notes and answers questions while you talk

Freemium· Starter: Free · Pro: $19.99 · Pro + Undetectability: $149.99Writing

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In short

Cluely provides a silent, real-time AI copilot for meetings by listening to audio and displaying a translucent overlay with live transcripts and suggestions. It is best suited for sales reps, recruiters, and consultants who need immediate assistance during calls without alerting participants or joining as a visible bot.

Best for

Sales reps, recruiters, founders and consultants who live in back-to-back video calls and want a silent copilot for live notes, objection handling and follow-up questions.

Skip if

Regulated industries, HR, legal or healthcare teams — the 'undetectable' recording posture is legally risky and few compliance teams will sign off.

Cluely is a desktop and mobile AI meeting assistant that listens to whatever is being said around you, transcribes it live in 12+ languages, and lets you invoke a chat-style copilot on top of the running transcript with a single keyboard shortcut (Cmd/Ctrl + Enter). Instead of joining a call as a visible bot, Cluely runs locally as a translucent overlay window that follows your eye position, so it does not appear on the participants list in Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Webex or Slack Huddles. During the meeting it produces structured notes, action items and follow-up question suggestions; after the call it saves a searchable transcript and AI summary. Typical users are sales AEs running discovery calls, recruiters screening candidates, founders in back-to-back investor meetings, consultants who need clean call notes without paying attention to the mechanics, and students or interviewees who want a private cheat-sheet during live conversations. The 'Pro + Undetectability' tier adds a mode that hides the overlay from screen-share capture entirely, which is the feature that made Cluely go viral (and controversial) after its founder used it during a Columbia CS interview. Response latency is advertised at roughly 300 ms with 95%+ transcription accuracy, and the app supports both system audio and microphone input so it works whether the other person is remote or in the room with you.

Editor's take

Cluely is genuinely fast and the overlay UX is nicer than most 'bot in the meeting' competitors, but the marketing leans hard on the 'nobody will know' angle and that is the wrong hill to build a serious productivity tool on. Use the Pro tier for personal note-taking; skip the Undetectability tier unless you have explicit consent from everyone on the call.

— The AI Tool Bible editorial team

Pros

✅ True real-time overlay — answers appear in ~300 ms while the meeting is still in progress, not after
✅ Does not join calls as a bot, so participants never see a 'Cluely Notetaker' avatar in the roster
✅ Works across Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex and Slack Huddles from a single desktop app
✅ Captures both microphone and system audio, so it handles in-person conversations as well as remote calls
✅ Auto-generated summaries, action items and suggested follow-up questions save real post-call admin time
✅ 12+ language transcription with strong accented-English performance

Cons

⚠️ 'Undetectability' raises serious consent and ethics issues in jurisdictions with two-party recording laws
⚠️ Top tier at $149.99/mo is expensive compared with Otter, Fireflies or Granola
⚠️ Underlying models are not disclosed, so enterprise buyers have no way to audit data-handling or model provenance
⚠️ No native CRM/Notion/Slack integrations of the depth Gong or Fathom offer — export is mostly manual
⚠️ Free tier is very restricted; realistic daily use requires the paid Pro plan
⚠️ Product is young and pivoted from an interview-cheating tool, so trust and roadmap stability are open questions

Use cases

Live sales call coachingReal-time meeting transcriptionAutomatic action-item extractionRecruiter screening notesInvestor pitch cheat-sheetsFollow-up question suggestionsPost-call AI summariesMultilingual meeting translationIn-person interview note-taking

Frequently asked

How does Cluely avoid being detected in video meetings?: Cluely runs locally as a translucent overlay window that follows the user's eye position rather than joining the call as a visible bot. This allows it to remain hidden from participant lists in platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams.
What features are included in the Pro + Undetectability tier?: The Pro + Undetectability tier costs $149.99 and adds a mode that hides the overlay from screen-share capture entirely. This distinguishes it from the standard Pro plan at $19.99.
Does Cluely support in-person conversations or only remote calls?: Yes, Cluely supports both system audio and microphone input. This allows it to transcribe and assist with meetings whether the other participants are remote or physically present in the room.
What languages does Cluely support for transcription?: Cluely transcribes live audio in 12+ languages, including strong performance with accented English. It also provides AI summaries and action items based on these transcripts.