Do People Actually Know What Cluely Does? I Took It To The Streets of San Francisco To Find Out

Why I Went Outside With A Camera And A Dollar Bill

Cluely has generated over 2 billion views. That’s a mind-blowing number. Those views came from viral product demos, tutorial threads, launch clips, and a stream of content across TikTok, Instagram, X, YouTube, and everywhere people scroll. But internet fame can be weird. You can be everywhere and still be misunderstood.

People love to take shots and say, what does Cluely even do? And honestly, as a CMO, that made me a little angry. Not full meltdown angry - more like, if we are getting the attention, then the message needs to land type of angry. So instead of armchair marketing, I decided to test the message live. On foot. In real life.

Picture me walking down Market Street, wind doing whatever it wants with my hair - which I swear looked chopped today - holding a handheld mic and a crumpled sheet that says: Here are the list of acceptable answers. I’m poking strangers with one question: have you heard of Cluely? If yes, then for a dollar, what does Cluely do?

The Ground Rules And The Acceptable Answers I Had In My Head

Before I started, I told the camera: Here are the list of acceptable answers. I did not read them on camera, so let me spell out what I would count as a win if someone said it back to me on the street.

• A real-time AI copilot that lives on your screen during meetings and interviews and gives you answers on the fly.
• An AI note taker - something that builds notes and meeting context automatically.
• An overlay that shows you relevant answers while someone asks you a question in a call or interview.
• It helps you not ask or answer dumb questions by surfacing the right info in the moment.
• Post-call features like automatic meeting summaries and automatic follow-up emails.

If anyone hit any of those, boom - dollar time. If someone nailed the post-call features specifically, I upped the bounty to 10 dollars later. Stakes were low, but hey, a dollar is a dollar. Or seven dollars, as you’ll see.

Let The Street Interviews Begin

First Encounters: A Lot Of No’s, A Lot Of Polite Smiles

I start with the classic opener: Do you know what Cluely does? I walk up to a man standing near a crosswalk. He looks at me, a little surprised, and says, Sorry? I repeat: Have you heard of Cluely before? He hasn’t. I thank him and move on. Nothing dramatic, just the quiet sting of a clean no.

I laugh it off to the camera: Man, those 2 billion views are not turning into anything and my hair is chopped. If you’ve ever tried street interviews, you know the vibe. Most people are in a hurry. Most people haven’t seen your product demo even if the algorithm swore they did. You keep going.

I try again. Excuse me, have you ever heard of Cluely before? Another no. Okay, no worries. I keep it upbeat. The goal is data and vibes, not pressure.

The First Win: The Note Taker Guy Who Was Almost There

Next, I approach someone who actually lights up when I ask: have you ever heard of Cluely before? Yeah, I have heard of. That tiny spark of recognition is gold. I snap right into game mode: okay, wait, for a dollar, what is Cluely’s product?

He goes: An AI to help maybe correct meetings or something. Not bad. He’s circling the right idea. I nudge him forward: keep going, keep going, what else? He adds: Helping building notes. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Then I try to get him to say it: What do we call that? He blurts out: The app. I laugh. Yes, but what do we call something that helps you take notes?

He tries: Like a tool? The Cluely tool. Which, honestly, I love. Then he lands it: A note taker. Then he grins and, with the mischievous honesty of the internet era, asks: Is it like a cheating tool? Yeah, yeah, yeah. There you go. He basically connected the two big ideas: it helps you with notes and it helps you in the moment.

I offer the dollar. He waves it off. No, that’s fine. I insist. Oh, you don’t even want a dollar? Then I ask if he’s a student or something. He laughs: Yes, I’m an intern. Oh, okay, so you’re making too much money for this dollar. Respect. He walks off. The camera catches a quick smile. If you know, you know.

More No’s: The Street Keeps You Humble

I keep moving. Have you ever heard of Cluely before? No. Have you ever heard of Cluey before? No. Okay, no worries. The wrong answers teach you just as much as the right ones. And honestly, the repetition helps. You start hearing which words people latch onto. You start hearing how unfamiliar names land by sound alone.

The Overlay Answer: You Can Basically Cheat On Anything

I approach a small group, and one person actually gets animated. Do you know what Cluely’s product is? He fires off: You can basically cheat on anything. O descriptive. I raise my eyebrows. He continues: You can have an overlay of the answers if someone’s asking a question. I ask: in what? He clarifies: On your screen, on your computer, during what situation? He goes for it: During an interview or something like that. Yes, yes. This guy gets it. He got it.

We start laughing, because he boxed the concept perfectly into a real-life moment. In an interview, someone asks you a hard question. You freeze. Cluely sees the context on your screen and feeds you useful info so you can answer. He nailed the gist in under twenty seconds.

Then I switch into full street-host mode and jokingly ask him: How much money do you make a year? He shrugs: I don’t know. I tease: You definitely make a mil a year. How much do you make? He plays along: At least a mil. Yeah. We are both in on the bit. I wave the dollar. Yo, this guy. You do not need this dollar. We laugh. He hands back the clout and keeps the swagger.

The On-The-Fly Answers Guy

I pivot to another passerby. Excuse me, have you ever heard of Cluely before? For a dollar, what is Cluely’s product? He thinks for a beat: Oh, note taking. I push: what else, what else? He adds: It’ll give you, like, the answers on the fly. Yes. Yes. What else? He pauses. I try to pull more: What else? He shrugs: I don’t know. That’s it? That’s all you know? That’s all I know. He closes strong though: It gives you the answers on the fly for, like, any conversation you’re trying. Okay. Yes, that’s correct. Correct. Hey, let’s go. I hand him a dollar. He leaves with a smile like he just won a tiny game show.

Sounds Familiar - But No Idea

Next person. Have you ever heard of Cluely before? He squints like he’s seen it scroll past somewhere. Yeah, sounds familiar. Why? For a dollar, do you know what Cluely’s product is? He shakes his head. No idea. It happens. Brand familiarity without message clarity is a thing. It tells me the top-of-funnel is doing laps, but the landing might be lost. We dap it up and keep walking.

The Consultant Who Tried To Look It Up

I spot someone with consultant energy. You know the look - focused, quick step, backpack that says laptop life. I ask: Do you know what Cluely is? He nods: I do know. For a dollar, what is Cluely’s product? He starts strong: They sell like... He pauses, then recalibrates: They’re like an AI plug in, in a way, or plugin, whatever, that allows you to basically, like, cheat on what? He answers himself: Either interviews or, like, if you’re doing, like, LeetCode or whatever. I think. I think so.

That’s one of it. Name one more, I say. It helps you do something else. That’s what most people use it for. But what else is there? He reflexively reaches for his phone. No, you can’t look it up. You can’t look it up. Your consultant. I... You can figure this out. I... This guy can figure it out, too. It turns into a mini pep talk. He takes a second, then connects the dots: They help you do something else than cheat on LeetCode. What else could you do? Oh, you can probably just use it for anything if you’re, like, having a conversation with someone over... In what? I prompt. In a meeting. Meeting. Yes. Yes. He lands it. Here’s the dollar.

Another No, Then The Pitch In The Wild

I turn to two friends walking together. Excuse me, have you ever heard of Cluely before? No, we have not. That one is clean. I try again with a passerby in a jacket. Excuse me, sir. Have you ever heard of Cluely before? Of what? Of Cluely. No. Okay. It’s my startup. I catch myself mid-brain and give him the condensed pitch on the sidewalk.

He asks the only question that matters: What’s it do? I deliver the crisp version: It’s an AI real-time media intelligence that answers questions for you during your meetings. You can hear in my voice that I’ve said this sentence a thousand times, but this time it has to feel alive. He nods: Oh, interesting. Would you like to learn more about it? I’m ready to pull out a QR code and a product demo on the spot, but he glances at his watch. I gotta get walking. All right. Okay. That’s street life. If you make the on-the-go moment count, they will come back later. Or they won’t. Either way, the pitch got cleaner.

The Crowd That Had Never Heard Of It - And The Pre-Med Twist

I step into a small plaza and project: Has anyone here heard of Cluely before? Anyone heard of Cluely? No. No one’s heard of it? No one? No one? No one? No one? No one? No? No one? No one? No. It becomes a rhythm, like a call and response to the algorithm gods. I grin and keep asking questions because I am not leaving without a mini story.

I ask one of them: What do you do? Work. Nothing. You’re unemployed? Unemployed? Yes. Okay. The marketer part of my brain lights up. You can use our tool to get a job. I say it with no irony. Because legit, if you are prepping for interviews, trying to sound concise, hunting for talking points, or tracking what to say after a call, this thing can help. He looks up. I can? Yes, yes, yes.

I ask: How much money do you want to be making postgrad? He hedges. I don’t know. Probably go to medical school. Medical? Oh, you’re going to med school? Yeah. Okay. I don’t know if it’ll help you cheat on that. We all laugh because that line writes itself. He smiles, we dap, and I move on. The city keeps flowing around us like we’re not filming anything at all.

The Invisible Copilot Answer

Next person says: I have. Have you ever heard of Cluely before? I perk up. Okay, for a dollar, what is Cluely’s product? He goes right to the metaphor: So it’s a copilot or it’s like an invisible copilot. Yes. Where it sees what you’re doing and then it gives you real time, I guess, feedback to answer questions or whatever.

That phrasing hits. Invisible copilot. It captures the feeling of it running quietly, watching your screen context, and giving you the info you need so you can look smooth under pressure. I ask: Have you ever used it? The moment breaks as the sidewalk choreography bumps us to the next exchange. The dollar is in play, but we get interrupted. You can hear me start a sentence: Okay, are you a dol... Then it segues right into the next person like the city edited the scene for us.

The Billboard Memory: No Dumb Questions

I ask someone else: Do you know what Cluely is? He says, Yes, I do. Yo, you do? You do? I light up. He explains how: I saw the ad on the freaking thing or whatever. The one thing. Dumb. No dumb questions. Clue or something. Oh, you saw the billboard? I saw the random billboard. That’s it.

We had a billboard that played with the idea of asking dumb questions and not wanting to be the person who freezes when the obvious thing slips your mind. It clearly stuck with him as a tagline, even if the product details didn’t load in. I test it anyway: Okay, for a dollar, what is Cluely’s product? He riffs: So you don’t answer dumb questions or ask dumb questions. That it? It is not the full answer, but it is part of the vibe. Even that sliver tells me the campaign anchored to something memorable.

We Had Given Away $7 - Time For A $10 Question

I look into the camera and call it: We have just given away $7 and we’re gonna give $10 to anyone who knows about Cluely’s post call features. So let’s go. Bigger prize, more specific question. If someone knows this, they didn’t just see us in passing - they saw a demo, a thread, or a product page.

The $10 Winner: Post-Call Summaries And Follow-Up Emails

I find a guy who seems like he’s in builder mode - headphones around the neck, eyes bright, a little amused that I’m pushing cash for knowledge. Excuse me, sir. For $10, what are Cluely’s post call features? He smiles like he has the cheat codes. Oh, that’s actually really easy. There’s actually two main features.

He ticks them off cleanly, like he rehearsed. The first feature is a post call meeting summary. So after your call, Cluely will automatically generate a list of all the main points of the call and it could even separate into different categories. Wow. Okay. And what’s the second feature? He fakes me out with an I don’t know. Then he locks it in: Oh, the second feature is the automatic follow up email. So after my call, Cluely will automatically draft up a follow up email for me to easily send.

I am genuinely impressed, and I ask what everyone wants to know: Wow. How did you know all that? He grins and stays perfectly on brand: Give me my money. I hand him the ten. He walks away a little richer and deeply validated.

What The Day Told Me

By the end of the loop, here is what the sidewalk taught me. A good amount of people actually do know what Cluely’s product is. The phrases that stuck were note taker, cheating tool, answers on the fly, overlay, and invisible copilot. When people try to name it fast, they default to the scenario: interviews, meetings, LeetCode practice, conversations where you want to sound sharp.

When I pitched it, I called it an AI real-time media intelligence that answers questions for you during your meetings. When others pitched it back, they called it a plugin that lets you cheat or a tool that helps you not ask dumb questions. The truth sits in the middle. It is a real-time AI copilot that sits quietly on your screen, sees context, and surfaces the exact info you need, plus it captures the conversation, builds structured notes, and then after you hang up it summarizes the call and drafts the follow-up so you do not drop the ball.

Also, the name gets said a hundred different ways: Cluely, Cluly, Clulee, Cluey, Clue. I will answer to all of them if it means you know what the product does. And yes, 2 billion views do not magically convert into 2 billion explanations. You still have to walk outside and ask. You still have to catch people between coffee and a crosswalk and earn the sentence you want them to say.

Everything People Said, Collected And Clarified

Real-Time Copilot During Live Conversations

• It gives you answers on the fly while you are talking in a meeting or interview.
• It shows an overlay with relevant information as someone asks you a question.
• It acts like an invisible copilot that sees what you are doing and feeds you helpful context.

AI Note Taking And Context Building

• Helps with building notes automatically so you do not scramble afterward.
• Captures the main points, decisions, and action items.

Cheating Tool - The Spicy Street Version

• People called it a cheating tool because it helps you sound prepared in the moment.
• They named interviews, meetings, and even LeetCode as scenarios.
• Translation: it reduces blank-mind panic by surfacing answers fast.

Post-Call Magic

• Automatic post-call meeting summaries, neatly categorized.
• Automatic follow-up emails drafted and ready to send.

Street-Level Moments You Did Not See But Definitely Felt

Every time I asked someone, I was reading micro-expressions. The tiny forehead crease when the name rings a bell. The half-smile when someone realizes they do know it and can win a dollar. The quick withdraw when I say AI and they assume this is a pitch. Street interviews are 10 percent question, 90 percent permission. And yes, my hair was catching wind in the worst way. Chopped. We move anyway.

When people said no, it was never hostile. It was the normal no of a city on the move. When they said yes, it was often with a spark - the internal I think I saw this on my For You Page. When someone tried to look it up, I blocked the search with love. No Google, trust your brain. When I teased someone about a million-dollar salary, it was just joy. When I told an unemployed student he could use our tool to get a job, I meant it. Even if he is going to med school and I cannot help him cheat on the MCAT.

If You Only Remember One Line

Cluely is a real-time AI copilot for your screen that gives you answers during meetings and interviews, takes notes for you, and after the call it writes the summary and drafts the follow-up email. Or in street language: it helps you not ask or answer dumb questions when it matters.

Final Tally, Next Steps, And A Simple Ask

We gave away $7 for the quick hits and $10 to the post-call features legend. More important, we got proof that the message is landing. Not perfectly. Not universally. But enough that strangers could say note taker, on-the-fly answers, overlay, invisible copilot, and yes - the spicy word - cheating.

I am going to keep doing this. More street interviews. More product videos. More ways to make the invisible part of the product feel obvious. If you want to follow along, subscribe, like the channel, and keep an eye out for the next episode.

Also subscribe to Daniel Mintz, which is my personal channel. Make sure to stay super pumped and I will see you guys next time. Alright, peace. Cluely out.