Glean
Glean is an enterprise AI search and Work AI platform designed for large organizations whose knowledge is scattered across dozens of tools.
Publisher review
Glean is an enterprise AI search and Work AI platform designed for large organizations whose knowledge is scattered across dozens of tools. It indexes company data from sources including Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Salesforce, Slack, Databricks, and Confluence, then provides a unified search experience that returns permission-aware, personalized results. The platform is built for companies with complex stacks and messy, distributed knowledge, where employees need to find answers across documents, messages, tickets, code, and customer records without switching apps. Glean also includes a Work Hub for centralizing announcements, updates, and an employee directory, plus Glean Apps that let users build custom AI-powered workflow tools without coding.
Glean uses AI and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) to deliver contextual answers from internal data. It creates a semantic index of enterprise knowledge and applies advanced NLP to understand natural language queries, going beyond keyword matching. Personalization is driven by a knowledge graph that tailors results based on a user’s role and past behavior, so two employees asking the same question see different results. The platform offers over 100 connectors, permission-aware search, and assistant and agent features that let employees ask questions, summarize information, analyze data, and generate work artifacts. Glean also supports building and governing AI agents for multi-step workflows.
Glean competes directly with Microsoft Copilot, Moveworks, Coveo, Elastic, and Guru. Compared to Microsoft Copilot, which is deeply integrated into the Microsoft 365 ecosystem and excels at content generation within those apps, Glean provides broader cross-platform search across many tools and is often praised for its search accuracy and relevance. Glean is considered one of the strongest enterprise AI search platforms for large companies, combining search, AI assistants, agents, governance, company context, and workflow automation in one platform. However, it does not publish standard self-serve pricing and requires a sales-led evaluation.
The main trade-offs with Glean are that deployment can be complicated and infrastructure costs are hard to estimate upfront. Search results sometimes take time to become accurate, especially during the pilot phase where testing is limited. Proper rollout and user adoption require significant effort after purchase. Additionally, the quality of answers depends on the underlying knowledge; if source documents are stale, the AI can still pull from outdated information. Glean pricing starts at $50+ per user per month, with AI capabilities often adding ~$15 per user per month.
How it works
-
Unified enterprise search
Indexes data from 100+ connectors like Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Salesforce, Slack, Databricks, and Confluence into one searchable interface.
-
AI-powered RAG retrieval
Uses Retrieval-Augmented Generation and semantic indexing to deliver contextual, natural language answers from internal enterprise data.
-
Personalized knowledge graph
Tailors search results to each user’s role, team, and past behavior so two employees see different answers to the same query.
-
Work Hub
Centralizes company-wide announcements, updates, and an employee directory for easy access alongside search results.
-
Glean Apps
Lets users build custom AI-powered workflow tools without coding, using natural language to automate tasks.
-
AI assistant and agents
Enables employees to ask questions, summarize information, analyze data, and build agents for repeatable multi-step workflows.
-
Permission-aware search
Respects existing access controls from connected tools, ensuring users only see results they have permission to view.
Strengths and trade-offs
Strengths
- Users consistently praise Glean for its ease of use and ability to quickly find information across multiple platforms, significantly enhancing productivity.
- Glean offers over 100 connectors and permission-aware search, making it one of the strongest enterprise AI search platforms for large companies with complex stacks.
- It combines enterprise search, AI assistants, agents, governance, company context, and workflow automation in a single platform, earning a high overall rating with 126 ratings and 88% willingness to recommend.
- Glean’s AI capabilities, including context-based searches and semantic indexing, deliver highly relevant results that adapt to a user’s role and past behavior.
Trade-offs
- Deployment can be complicated and infrastructure costs are difficult to estimate upfront, requiring careful planning.
- Search results sometimes take time to become accurate, and the pilot phase offers limited testing opportunities.
- Proper rollout and user adoption require significant effort after purchase, and if source documents are stale, answers can still pull from outdated information.
- Glean does not publish standard self-serve pricing, forcing buyers into a sales-led evaluation with no transparent starting point.
Pricing context
Starts at $50+ per user per month, with AI capabilities often adding ~$15 per user per month. No standard self-serve pricing is published; requires a sales-led evaluation.
Getting started with Glean
-
Sign up for Glean
Contact Glean sales to start a pilot. You will work with their team to set up an account and configure initial access. Expect a sales-led evaluation with no self-serve sign-up.
-
Connect your data sources
Use Glean's 100+ connectors to link your enterprise tools like Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Salesforce, Slack, and Confluence. Authenticate each source so Glean can index your company's knowledge.
-
Configure permission-aware search
Set up access controls by mapping existing permissions from connected tools. This ensures search results respect user roles and data visibility rules, so employees only see authorized content.
-
Run your first search query
Enter a natural language question in the search bar, such as "What is the Q3 sales forecast?" Glean uses AI and RAG to return personalized, contextual answers from your indexed data.
-
Deploy Glean to your team
Roll out the platform across your organization by communicating its benefits and providing training. Monitor adoption and refine search accuracy as users interact with the knowledge graph.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Glean and how does it work?
Glean is an enterprise AI search platform that indexes data from over 100 connectors like Microsoft 365 and Slack. It uses RAG and semantic indexing to deliver permission-aware, personalized answers from internal knowledge, helping employees find information across tools without switching apps.
How much does Glean cost per user?
Glean pricing starts at $50 or more per user per month, with AI capabilities often adding about $15 per user per month. The company does not publish standard self-serve pricing, so buyers must go through a sales-led evaluation to get a quote.
What are the main features of Glean?
Key features include unified enterprise search with 100+ connectors, AI-powered RAG retrieval, a personalized knowledge graph, permission-aware search, Work Hub for announcements, Glean Apps for no-code workflow tools, and AI assistants and agents for summarizing and analyzing data.
How does Glean compare to Microsoft Copilot?
Glean provides broader cross-platform search across many tools, while Microsoft Copilot is deeply integrated into the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Users often praise Glean for its search accuracy and relevance across diverse enterprise data sources, making it a strong alternative for complex stacks.
What are the downsides of using Glean?
Deployment can be complicated, and infrastructure costs are hard to estimate upfront. Search results may take time to become accurate during the pilot phase, and proper rollout requires significant effort. If source documents are stale, answers can pull from outdated information.
Does Glean offer permission-aware search?
Yes, Glean respects existing access controls from connected tools like Salesforce and Slack. This ensures users only see search results they have permission to view, maintaining data security and compliance across the organization.
Alternatives
How Glean compares
Direct head-to-head against 3 competitors. Picked by 7wData.
Glean
- Pricing
- Starts at $50+ per user per month, with AI capabilities often adding ~$15 per user per month. No standard self-serve pricing is published; requires a sales-led evaluation.
- Target
- Glean is an enterprise AI search and Work AI platform designed for large organizations whose knowledge is scattered across dozens of tools.
- Strength
- Users consistently praise Glean for its ease of use and ability to quickly find information across multiple platforms, significantly enhancing productivity.
- Watch for
- Deployment can be complicated and infrastructure costs are difficult to estimate upfront, requiring careful planning.
Coworker
- Pricing
- Custom/Contact sales; free 14-day trial available
- Target
- Enterprises needing AI agents that execute multi-step workflows across 25+ apps
- Deployment
- Cloud SaaS
- Strength
- Organizational Memory technology tracks 120+ parameters for context-aware task execution
- Watch for
- Newer entrant; limited third-party reviews and long-term track record
Workativ
- Pricing
- Custom/Contact sales; no public per-user pricing
- Target
- IT and HR teams automating employee support with conversational AI agents
- Deployment
- Cloud SaaS
- Strength
- Pre-built agent templates for common employee service desk workflows
- Watch for
- Narrower focus on employee support; less suited for general enterprise search
ClickUp
- Pricing
- Free tier; paid plans from $7/user/month
- Target
- Teams wanting unified project management, docs, and AI search in one platform
- Deployment
- Cloud SaaS
- Strength
- Combines knowledge management with task and project tracking
- Watch for
- Search depth and permission controls less mature than dedicated enterprise search tools
User reviews
No user reviews yet. Be the first to write one.
Sources
Reporting on this tool draws on these publicly available sources.