Can Cluely Be Detected by Zoom?

Zoom is a native desktop application rather than a browser tab, which gives it deeper operating-system integration than a browser-based meeting tool. Even so, its core function is capturing camera, microphone, and whatever screen or window you explicitly share. Zoom does not scan your running processes or installed applications as part of a standard call.

Detecting other software requires either a third-party proctoring tool installed separately alongside Zoom, or an IT-managed Zoom configuration that your employer has specifically enabled. Zoom's attention-tracking feature, for example, only reports whether the Zoom window is the active foreground window; it does not identify which other applications are open or running.

A broader overview of what different meeting platforms can and cannot observe is on the detectability topic hub.

Agree: the concern about an overlay being noticed during a live interview is real and worth taking seriously. Promise: this section gives you a precise picture of when that risk applies. Preview: it comes down to screen-share scope, not anything Zoom scans internally.

Cluely displays a floating window that sits above other windows on your desktop. If you share your full desktop during the Zoom call and the overlay is positioned within that shared region, the interviewer sees it. Sharing only the Zoom application window or a specific browser tab excludes the overlay from the shared view entirely.

Aaron Cao, founder of SubcueAI, described the design thinking behind SubcueAI's floating overlay: the goal was a window that candidates could move to a display or region that is never shared, so they keep full control over what the interviewer sees. That meant building a native desktop overlay that sits outside any meeting-client window rather than inside it.

Some technical interviews and coding assessments run Zoom alongside a separate proctoring platform. These tools can enforce full-screen mode, restrict application switching, or actively report running processes to the employer. In that context, any overlay application, including Cluely, would be visible to the proctoring system.

The signal to watch for: if the interview invitation asks you to install software beyond Zoom itself, or references a testing or assessment platform, treat the session as proctored at a system level. No AI assistant should be used in that environment, regardless of how it captures audio.

For non-proctored Zoom calls, step-by-step setup guidance for SubcueAI is on the tutorial page.

SubcueAI is a native macOS and Windows application. It captures audio at the operating-system level, pulling both your microphone signal and the system audio from Zoom through the OS audio stack rather than through Zoom's own application interface. Answer suggestions appear in a floating desktop overlay that sits outside the Zoom window.

Because the overlay is a separate desktop window and not embedded in Zoom, it will not appear if you share only the Zoom application window during the call. To avoid showing it when sharing your full desktop, position the overlay on a second monitor or a screen region outside the shared area before the call starts. You can test this configuration in advance using the mock interview tool to confirm that your audio and display setup works as expected.