Cluely AI Setup Checklist: Must-Configure Settings for New Users

Your first Cluely AI meeting is only as powerful as your initial setup. Skip the defaults, and you’ll miss out on real-time coaching cues, accurate transcription, personalized feedback—and even basic privacy controls. Cluely AI isn’t a ‘set-and-forget’ tool; it’s an adaptive ai meeting assistant designed to evolve with your communication goals. That starts the moment you open the app.

Whether you’re preparing for high-stakes interviews, refining sales pitches, or building executive presence, configuring the right settings ensures Cluely delivers actionable insights—not just raw data. This Cluely tutorial walks through every critical setting new users should adjust before their first recorded session—no guesswork, no overwhelm.

1. Account & Privacy Preferences

Cluely AI processes sensitive conversational data, so privacy isn’t optional—it’s foundational. Start here, not at the end.

Enable End-to-End Encryption (Recommended)

By default, Cluely encrypts recordings in transit and at rest—but full end-to-end encryption (E2EE) must be manually enabled. To activate it:

Go to Settings → Security → Encryption
Toggle “Enable end-to-end encrypted meetings”
Confirm with your account password

✅ Why this matters: With E2EE enabled, only you (and invited collaborators with decryption keys) can access transcripts, summaries, or speaker analytics. Even Cluely’s infrastructure cannot decrypt your content. This is especially critical for legal, HR, or healthcare professionals—and a key differentiator in any serious cluely review.

Manage Data Retention Policies

Cluely stores recordings and transcripts by default for 90 days—but you can customize that.

Navigate to Settings → Data Management → Retention Period
Choose from: 30 days, 90 days, 1 year, or manual deletion only

💡 Pro tip: If you work under GDPR or HIPAA-aligned policies, select “manual deletion only” and pair it with scheduled cleanup reminders. You’ll retain full control—and avoid accidental auto-deletion of valuable coaching material.

2. Audio & Transcription Accuracy

Garbage in, garbage out applies doubly to speech-to-text engines. Cluely AI uses Whisper-based models fine-tuned for professional dialogue—but accuracy hinges on your hardware and environment settings.

Select Your Primary Microphone & Test Input Levels

Open Settings → Audio → Input Device
Choose your preferred mic (e.g., “Blue Yeti USB Mic” over “MacBook Microphone”)
Click “Test Microphone”, speak naturally for 5 seconds, and watch the real-time waveform and dB meter

⚠️ Red warning? Your input level is too high—lower gain in system preferences or move slightly farther from the mic. Gray flatline? Gain is too low or mic is muted.

Choose Language & Accent Model

Cluely supports 28 languages and regional variants (e.g., “English (US)”, “English (UK)”, “English (IN)”). Don’t assume auto-detect works flawlessly.

Go to Settings → Transcription → Language & Dialect
Select your dominant speaking language and dialect (e.g., “English (US)” + “General American”)
Optional: Enable “Speaker-Aware Accent Adaptation” if team members have diverse native accents

🔍 Real-world impact: A sales rep using “English (IN)” instead of “English (US)” improved transcription accuracy by 22% in discovery calls with Indian enterprise clients—per internal Cluely user benchmarks.

3. Coaching & Feedback Preferences

This is where Cluely AI transforms from a passive recorder into your personal communication coach. Most new users leave these at default—and miss out on targeted, behavior-level insights.

Activate Real-Time Coaching Mode

Real-time coaching overlays live suggestions during calls (e.g., “You’ve used ‘um’ 4 times in 60 seconds”, “Try rephrasing that question more openly”). It requires explicit opt-in:

Go to Settings → Coaching → Real-Time Feedback
Toggle “Show live coaching prompts during meetings”
Customize which categories appear: Pace & Pauses, Filler Word Detection, Question Quality, Confidence Indicators, or Inclusivity Language

🎯 Bonus: Under Coaching → Feedback Style, choose between Minimalist (subtle icons), Detailed (full sentence suggestions), or Coach Mode (Socratic-style follow-ups like “What would make this point land stronger?”)

Set Your Personal Communication Goals

Cluely learns your patterns—but only if you tell it what matters most. During onboarding, you’re prompted to pick 1–3 focus areas. Revisit and refine them anytime:

Settings → Coaching → My Goals
Choose up to three from: Reduce filler words, Increase active listening signals, Improve question depth, Strengthen closing statements, Balance speaking time, Use more inclusive pronouns

📈 Example: A customer success manager selected “Balance speaking time” and “Improve question depth”. Over 8 meetings, Cluely flagged 12 instances where she spoke >70% of call time—and suggested 3 alternative open-ended questions per session. Her NPS survey scores rose 18% in Q2.

4. Integration & Workflow Sync

Cluely AI shines when it connects seamlessly with tools you already use—CRM, calendar, note apps, and LMS platforms. Skipping integration means fragmented insights and manual exports.

Connect Your Calendar (Google or Microsoft)

Auto-syncing pulls meeting titles, attendees, and agendas—so Cluely can contextualize feedback (e.g., “Your negotiation language shifted noticeably during the ‘contract terms’ agenda item”).

Go to Settings → Integrations → Calendar
Click “Connect Google Calendar” or “Connect Outlook”
Grant permissions, then select which calendars to sync (e.g., “Work”, “Interview Prep”, exclude “Personal”)

✅ Pro tip: Enable “Auto-tag meetings by calendar color”—Cluely will apply custom tags (e.g., #sales-demo, #1on1-feedback) and route insights accordingly.

Link Your CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, or Pipedrive)

When Cluely knows who you’re speaking with—and why—it tailors coaching. For example, it may highlight empathy gaps in renewal calls but emphasize clarity in technical onboarding sessions.

Navigate to Settings → Integrations → CRM
Authenticate and map fields: Contact ID, Deal Stage, Meeting Purpose
Toggle on “Sync call outcomes to CRM notes” to auto-append Cluely’s summary + top 3 improvement opportunities

📌 Note: CRM-linked users see 37% higher adoption of Cluely’s “Practice Mode” (a simulated role-play feature)—because insights feel immediately relevant to pipeline health.

5. Notification & Summary Delivery

Cluely generates rich post-meeting reports—but they’re useless if buried in email or missed entirely. Configure delivery to match how you consume insights.

Choose Your Default Summary Format

Cluely offers four summary types—each serving a different need:

Executive Brief (1–2 paragraphs): Best for sharing with managers or stakeholders
Coaching Recap (bullet points + metrics): Ideal for self-review or 1:1 prep
Transcript-First (annotated full transcript): Preferred by legal, compliance, or training teams
Action-Oriented (tasks + deadlines): Used by sales reps tracking follow-ups

Set your default under Settings → Summary → Default Format, then override per meeting using the “Summary Type” dropdown before saving.

Control Notification Timing & Channels

Cluely can deliver summaries via email, Slack, or in-app alert—but timing affects engagement.

Go to Settings → Notifications → Delivery Schedule
Options include: Immediately after meeting, Daily digest (5 PM local time), or Weekly recap (Monday AM)
Under Channels, enable Slack or email and connect your workspace or address

🔔 Data insight: Users who select “Daily digest” are 2.3× more likely to review ≥3 summaries per week than those using “Immediate” delivery—likely due to reduced notification fatigue.

6. Practice Mode & Role-Play Customization

Cluely’s Practice Mode simulates realistic conversations—interviews, objections, negotiations—with AI-generated counterparts. But its value multiplies when customized.

Set Your Practice Scenarios & Difficulty

Go to Settings → Practice Mode → Scenario Library
Enable pre-built packs: Sales Objection Handling, Technical Interview Prep, DEIB-Focused Feedback, Executive Presence Drills
Adjust difficulty sliders: Response Speed, Complexity, Emotional Intensity

💡 Try this: Before your next product demo, load the “Sales Objection Handling” pack, set Complexity to High, and Emotional Intensity to Medium. Run 3 timed 5-minute drills—then compare your filler word rate and question diversity across attempts.

Record & Compare Past Performances

Cluely saves practice sessions alongside real ones—enabling longitudinal tracking.

In Practice Mode → History, click any session → “Compare with Real Meeting”
Select a recent customer call with similar context (e.g., “QBR with SaaS client”)
View side-by-side metrics: talk ratio, confidence score, empathy markers, and keyword frequency

This comparison is one of Cluely’s most underused—and highest-ROI—features for rapid skill transfer.

Final Thoughts: Your Cluely AI Foundation Starts Here

Getting Cluely AI right from day one isn’t about perfection—it’s about intentionality. Every setting you configure builds a tighter feedback loop between your spoken behavior and measurable growth. The users who see fastest results don’t record more meetings—they calibrate smarter.

Revisit these settings quarterly. As your goals shift—from landing your first job to leading cross-functional negotiations—your Cluely configuration should evolve too. And remember: this is just the start. For deeper exploration, check out our more tutorials or browse Getting Started tutorials for walkthroughs on advanced analytics, team deployment, and Cluely API integrations.

✅ Quick recap: Prioritize encryption & retention first. Tune audio and language for accuracy. Define coaching goals—not generic ones, but yours. Sync calendar and CRM for context-rich insights. Deliver summaries in a way you’ll actually read them. And treat Practice Mode like a lab—not a novelty.

Cluely AI doesn’t replace human judgment. It sharpens it. And that begins with smart, deliberate setup.