What Is Cluely? The AI Meeting Assistant, Its Story, Prices and Reviews (2026)
Cluely is an AI assistant that runs on your computer during meetings and calls. It watches your screen and listens to the conversation, then suggests answers in a small overlay window that can be hidden from screen sharing. It also writes meeting notes. The company launched in April 2025 with the slogan “Cheat on Everything” and has since repositioned itself as a general AI meeting assistant.
From Wikipedia, TechCrunch, Cluely’s pricing page, terms and policies, and Trustpilot, checked on 29 October 2026. We make Realtimer, which competes with Cluely.
How Cluely works
Cluely is a desktop app with a mobile app for meeting notes. During a call it reads what’s on your screen and hears the audio, and a language model suggests what to say in an overlay. It doesn’t join the meeting as a bot. The overlay is hidden from screen sharing only on the most expensive plan.
Early tests found problems. Wikipedia cites independent testing that found answers arriving 5 to 90 seconds late and suggestions that were generic, and Roy Lee, Cluely’s CEO, told TechCrunch the product was “in a really raw state” at launch.
Who made Cluely
Cluely was founded by Chungin “Roy” Lee (CEO), Neel Shanmugam (COO) and Alex Chen (CTO). According to Wikipedia, it followed Lee’s and Shanmugam’s suspension from Columbia University in March 2025 over Interview Coder, a tool that fed AI-generated answers to coding questions during job interviews. Cluely launched on 20 April 2025; Wikipedia reports 70,000 sign-ups in the first week.
It raised a $5.3 million seed round co-led by Abstract Ventures and Susa Ventures in April 2025, and a $15 million Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz in June 2025. The launch video showed Lee using the app on a date to invent details about himself. By late April 2025 the site had dropped explicit references to cheating on exams and interviews, and by November 2025 Cluely presented itself as a standard meeting assistant.
The revenue claim
In July 2025 Lee told TechCrunch that Cluely’s annual recurring revenue had doubled in a week to about $7 million. On 5 March 2026 TechCrunch reported that Lee had publicly retracted that figure, calling it the only blatantly dishonest thing he had said online. Wikipedia reports that the screenshots he posted showed about $5.2 million.
What Cluely costs
On 29 October 2026 Cluely’s pricing page listed three plans. Details and team costs are in Cluely pricing.
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|
| Starter | Free | Limited AI responses and notes, up to 3 files |
|---|
| Pro | $19.99 a month | Unlimited answers, notes and files |
|---|
| Pro + Undetectability | $149.99 a month | Pro, plus hidden from screen sharing |
|---|
Refunds, cancelling and reviews
You cancel in your account settings; the plan runs to the end of the paid period. Cluely’s refund policy allows a refund only within 24 hours of purchase and only with video proof that the app doesn’t work; being seen on a shared screen and slow answers are listed as not refundable. Step by step: how to cancel Cluely.
On Trustpilot Cluely had 1.6 out of 5 from 23 reviews on 29 October 2026, almost all one star, mostly about charges after cancelling and refused refunds. The profile is unclaimed and Trustpilot doesn’t verify reviews.
Some blogs reported a 2025 data breach affecting 83,000 users. We found no confirmation from Cluely, a security researcher or Have I Been Pwned, and at least one analysis calls the story unfounded.
A Cluely alternative for work calls
Realtimer is a real-time AI assistant for Mac that answers from your own price lists and documents with the source file shown. No bot joins the call, and the window is hidden from screen sharing on every plan, including Free. Pro is €29 a month. See pricing →
What is Cluely: FAQ
What is Cluely?
A desktop AI assistant that reads your screen and listens to meetings, suggests answers in an overlay and writes notes. It launched in April 2025.
Who founded Cluely?
Roy Lee, Neel Shanmugam and Alex Chen. Lee and Shanmugam had been suspended from Columbia University over Interview Coder, an interview cheating tool.
Is Cluely free?
There’s a free Starter plan with limits. Pro costs $19.99 a month; hiding the window from screen sharing needs Pro + Undetectability at $149.99 a month.
Is Cluely detectable on screen share?
The overlay is hidden from screen sharing only on the $149.99 plan, and Cluely’s refund policy says detection by screen sharing software isn’t refundable.
Did Cluely lie about its revenue?
Its CEO publicly retracted the $7 million ARR figure he gave TechCrunch in 2025, as TechCrunch reported on 5 March 2026.
Sources: Wikipedia: Cluely · TechCrunch, 21 April 2025 · TechCrunch, 3 July 2025 · TechCrunch, 5 March 2026 · Cluely pricing · Cluely refund policy · Trustpilot: Cluely · Final Round AI: breach claim