Does Cluely Work with Microsoft Teams?
By Aaron Cao · Updated
Cluely is a desktop app that captures audio at the system level, so it can operate alongside Microsoft Teams without needing a meeting plugin or bot. The same architecture applies to Zoom, Google Meet, and most other conferencing tools.
How Desktop AI Assistants Relate to Microsoft Teams
A common concern is whether a tool like Cluely needs a special Microsoft Teams integration — a plugin, a bot, or a browser extension — to work during a Teams interview. The short answer is no. Cluely is a desktop app, and desktop apps that capture system audio operate at the operating-system level rather than inside any single conferencing platform.
This means the audio path for Microsoft Teams — like Zoom and Google Meet — passes through the OS before it ever reaches a meeting app. A desktop tool that taps into system audio can hear what Teams plays, regardless of whether Teams itself exposes an API or plugin interface. No meeting-side configuration is needed.
For a full walkthrough of how audio capture works in practice, visit the tutorial page.
What SubcueAI Does Differently
SubcueAI takes the same platform-agnostic approach but layers in dual audio capture — system audio (what the interviewer says via Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or Google Meet) and your microphone simultaneously. The result is a floating local overlay that displays real-time suggestions without any browser plugin or meeting bot.
Aaron Cao, founder of SubcueAI, designed the tool around a local-first principle: audio is processed on your machine, nothing is injected into the meeting, and the overlay is not visible to other participants. This makes the core workflow identical whether you are in a Microsoft Teams room, a Zoom call, or a Google Meet session.
A backend engineer preparing for an L5 interview at a large enterprise that exclusively uses Microsoft Teams can open SubcueAI before the call, verify that system audio is routing correctly in the audio settings, and start the session — no Teams-specific setup required. See getting-started guides for setup details.
Honest Limits: When Any Desktop Assistant Is Out of Scope
Desktop audio capture — whether from Cluely, SubcueAI, or any similar tool — has real boundaries you should understand before relying on it.
- Screen-share or recording: if the interviewer shares your screen or records the session, the overlay window may be captured. No desktop assistant is safe in this scenario.
- Proctored assessments: browser-lockdown proctoring software (e.g. HackerRank Proctored, CodeSignal Secure) controls the OS environment and is explicitly outside the scope of any AI assistant.
- Company-managed devices: MDM profiles or endpoint security tools on employer-issued laptops may restrict system-audio routing or flag third-party capture tools.
- Microsoft Teams meeting policies: enterprise Teams tenants can enable compliance recording and policy-based auditing — consult your employer's IT policy before using any AI tool in a work context.
These limits apply equally to Cluely and SubcueAI. The detectability cluster covers each scenario in depth.
Choosing the Right Tool for Teams Interviews
If your interview is over Microsoft Teams and you want an AI assistant, the platform itself is rarely the deciding factor. Both Cluely and SubcueAI work at the system-audio layer, so Teams compatibility is effectively the same for either. The differences lie elsewhere: overlay design, answer quality, pricing, and platform support (macOS vs. Windows).
SubcueAI supports both macOS and Windows natively, which matters if your organization runs Microsoft Teams on Windows workstations. Compare features and pricing on the pricing page, and see how SubcueAI stacks up against other tools on the comparisons cluster.