The best Cluely alternatives for Mac

Cluely calls itself meeting AI that helps during the call, not after. It listens while you talk on Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Webex or Slack, and when you press Cmd and Enter it offers a suggested answer, a follow-up question or a recap of what was just said. It also takes meeting notes you can share, and transcribes in more than 12 languages. No bot joins the call: Cluely runs on your own computer. Its site offers a Mac download, a Windows download and an iPhone app.

The part Cluely is best known for is its pitch that it's “completely undetectable”. Its home page says it's invisible to screen share and never shows up in shared screens, recordings or meeting tools. On the pricing page, though, that is its own plan: Pro + Undetectability, at $149.99 a month, described as “completely hidden to meeting screen sharing software”. Plain Pro is $19.99 a month, and Starter is free with limited AI answers and limited notes.

We make Koi, the first pick below, so read this with that in mind. Every fact about Cluely and the other apps comes from their own sites, checked October 21, 2026, in USD.

• The price of hiding. Being hidden from screen sharing is only in the $149.99 a month plan, more than seven times Pro.
• Where your calls go. Cluely's privacy policy says you can have it collect audio recordings, transcriptions and screenshots, and that it keeps your personal information while your account exists. It names no AI providers, and says it doesn't train on your data.
• You want notes, not a teleprompter. If what you really need is a record of the call and a summary, a dedicated note taker costs less.
• You want help with the rest of your Mac too. Cluely is built around meetings; it doesn't point at buttons or do things in your other apps.
• You'd rather not use an app sold on being undetectable, at work or anywhere else.

In Cluely, the help comes from the conversation itself:

1. Open Cluely before the call and join it as usual on Zoom, Meet, Teams, Webex or Slack.
2. Cluely listens and transcribes as people talk.
3. Press Cmd and Enter when you want help. It offers an answer, a follow-up question or a recap.
4. After the call, open its notes to share or ask about past meetings.

In Koi, you record the call and ask about what's on your screen:

1. Join the call. When the call app starts using the microphone, Koi asks “Record this call?”. Click Record, or tap Fn + ⌃ and pick Online call.
2. Pick Audio only or Audio and video. The dock's Record button turns into red sound bars while it records.
3. Need a hand with something on screen, like a slide or a spreadsheet? Tap Control twice, type your question and press Return. Koi sees the screen and answers in writing, with no voice.
4. Stop the recording. The call opens as a document, You and Them in turns, and Koi asks “Summarize this call?”.
5. Say yes for a title, summary, your to-dos and a follow-up email you can open in Mail as a draft.

The difference is the source. Cluely answers from what's being said; Koi answers from what you ask and what's on your screen, and writes the call down so you can ask about it afterwards: “what did Sam say about pricing?” searches your calls and pages on the Mac.

Side by side, from each company's own site, checked October 21, 2026.

Cluely says so. Its home page claims it's invisible to screen share and “undetectable in every way”, and its undetectability page says it never shows up in shared screens, recordings or meeting tools. Neither page names tools it was tested against, or says anything about proctoring software, and the hiding itself is the $149.99 a month plan. We didn't test it, so we can't tell you how well it holds up.

Here's how Koi compares, as plain facts. Koi isn't sold as undetectable and has no plan for it. Like Cluely, it never joins a call as a bot, and it doesn't announce itself to the people on it, so telling them you're recording is up to you, and the rules differ by country and state. Koi's dock and its captions stay out of any screen you share or record, so your notes and the recording button don't end up in the share. When you call Koi, it answers out loud, through your speakers or headphones.

Cluely's privacy policy, last updated June 10, 2025, says your recordings, transcriptions and screenshots are governed by its terms, that data may be processed in any country where it uses service providers, including audio transcription providers, and that it doesn't sell or train on your data. You can email it to turn on end-to-end encryption.

With Koi, a recorded call's audio and video never leave your Mac, and the transcript is written on the Mac too. Only if you say yes to its summary do the transcript's words go to Koi's AI, and the notes are kept nowhere but the document on your Mac. During a call with Koi itself, your voice goes to the AI provider, and a picture of the screen with each question unless you switch that to only when you ask, or never. Our server keeps what each call cost, not what was said or shown. The trust page has the full list.

• Want calls recorded and summarized on your Mac, and an AI that shows you what to click? Koi.
• Want notes on every device, free to start? Granola AI.
• Want the cheapest bot-free notes on a Mac? Shadow.
• Want an assistant that sees your whole day? Highlight AI, or Littlebird with a free plan.
• Only want to ask about your screen, for free? HeyClicky.

For more meeting apps, see the best AI note takers for Mac and our guide to recording a Zoom meeting on a Mac. For assistants that see your screen, see the best AI assistants for Mac, and Koi's plans for what each one includes. Lifetime is $59 for the first 25 buyers, rising to $199.