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Shoulder Surf vs Cluely
Cluely is a real-time AI, as a Mac overlay and now an iPhone app.
Cluely gives you real-time answers from an overlay on your Mac, and as of mid-2026 from an iPhone app that records and assists without a bot. Shoulder Surf gives you real-time help too, as a meeting and interview assistant on a phone you set on your desk, and it keeps working after the meeting with a full workspace: ask anything, share documents, and generate real files.
What sets Shoulder Surf apart
Real-time help, on a separate device
It sits on your desk, listens, and answers you on your screen and through your AirPods, without running on the computer you work on.
A workspace, not just a record
After the meeting, ask anything about it in project chat, bring in your own documents, and have it build real files: reports, spreadsheets, Gantt charts, whatever you describe.
Your data, your choice
On-device transcription means your audio can stay on your iPhone, and you pick the AI: Apple on-device, our managed AI, or your own API key.
Cluely covers both the desktop and the phone, and its weekly mobile price is the cheapest way to try real-time help for a short stretch. Shoulder Surf is built for the person who wants that help on tap and quiet, with the choice of running the AI on-device or on their own API key.
See it for yourself
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