Most teams struggle with messy data, outdated contact info, and impersonal outreach. It’s a headache. Sales and marketing teams spend hours juggling different tools, trying to piece together prospect lists and craft messages that don’t sound robotic. That’s where Clay comes in. It simplifies everything—clean data, AI-driven research, and personalized messaging—all in one place.
What is Clay?
Clay is a data enrichment and outreach tool designed for go-to-market (GTM) teams. It helps businesses clean up their prospect lists, gather deeper insights, and automate outreach with AI-driven messaging. Whether you're pulling leads from your CRM or building lists from scratch, Clay handles it all.
Unlike single-purpose tools that focus on just one part of the process, Clay combines multiple functions into a single platform. It integrates with over 75 data providers, performs real-time research, and syncs with CRMs to keep everything up to date. The goal? More accurate data, better insights, and outreach that doesn’t feel generic.
How Clay Works: A Simple 3-Step Process
Clay streamlines data enrichment and outreach into three key steps:
- Enrich & Clean Your Data
Most prospect lists are full of holes—missing job titles, incorrect emails, or outdated company info. Clay fixes that. It pulls from multiple data sources at once, giving you a fuller picture of each lead. Users often report getting three times the data coverage compared to providers like Zoominfo, at a fraction of the cost. - Use AI for Deep Research
Traditional enrichment tools stop at pulling basic contact details. Clay goes further. It scrapes websites, analyzes PDFs, and even runs Google searches to gather relevant insights. Instead of spending hours manually researching, your team gets AI-powered reports in seconds. - Automate Personalized Outreach
Generic outreach doesn’t work. Clay’s AI analyzes your data and crafts messages that feel natural. Whether you need cold emails, LinkedIn messages, or follow-ups, Clay writes them for you. Plus, everything syncs with your CRM, so you can track responses and refine your strategy without extra work.
Who Uses Clay?
Clay works for teams of all sizes—from scrappy startups to enterprise sales teams. The main users include:
- GTM Leaders: Define lead qualification rules and messaging strategies.
- GTM Ops Teams: Manage data enrichment, ensure CRM accuracy, and build outreach workflows.
- Sales Development Representatives (SDRs): Work directly from enriched data and AI-crafted messages, improving response rates without extra effort.
Even if your team doesn’t touch Clay directly, the data and messaging it provides can transform how you operate.
Why Clay Beats Traditional Tools
Most teams rely on a messy stack of tools—one for prospecting, another for enrichment, and yet another for messaging. Clay consolidates these functions into a single platform, making your process smoother and more cost-effective.
Tools Clay Can Replace:
- Prospecting platforms (Apollo, LinkedIn Sales Navigator)
- Data enrichment tools (Zoominfo, Clearbit)
- AI-powered research assistants (manual web scraping or outsourced research teams)
- Personalization tools (ChatGPT, Lavender, or manual email customization)
Some teams find that all they need is Clay, an email tool, and a CRM to run their entire outbound strategy.
Common Use Cases
Clay is flexible enough to handle a range of data-related tasks. Some of the most common ways teams use it include:
- Outbound Lead Generation: Automate lead discovery, enrichment, and messaging.
- CRM Enrichment: Keep your database up to date without manual updates.
- Inbound Lead Scoring: Automatically qualify and prioritize inbound leads.
- Account-Based Marketing (ABM): Build highly targeted lists and craft outreach that feels personal.
- Web Scraping & Data Research: Pull insights from websites and public data sources without needing a dev team.
Clay’s Pricing: Plans for Every Team
Clay offers a range of plans, so whether you’re a solo founder or an enterprise team, there’s an option that fits:
- Free Plan: 100 credits per month—good for testing the basics.
- Starter Plan ($149/month): 2,000 credits/month, access to custom API keys.
- Explorer Plan ($349/month): 10,000 credits/month, integrations with any HTTP API.
- Pro Plan ($800/month): 50,000 credits/month, CRM integrations, unlimited rows.
- Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing, plus dedicated support and private workflows.
Many teams start with a free trial and upgrade as they see Clay’s impact on their pipeline.
Real Users, Real Results
Clay isn’t just another SaaS tool—it’s already transforming how teams operate. Here’s what real users have to say:
- Vanta: “Clay should be an essential pillar of every company’s GTM stack. It enables outbound teams to work with the highest-quality data possible.” – Stevie Case, CRO
- OpenAI: “Clay lets us experiment with trigger-driven workflows and third-party enrichment data. We can move fast and drive serious impact on GTM execution.” – Scotty Huhn, Revenue Strategy & Data
- Anthropic: “Clay is a game-changer for marketing, data, and ops. We’ve tripled our enrichment rate by using Clay’s data providers vs. our previous solution.” – Adam Wall, Head of Sales Operations
FAQs
How does Clay compare to other data enrichment tools?
Clay pulls from 75+ data sources, meaning you get richer, more accurate information than with a single provider like Zoominfo or Clearbit.
Do I need coding skills to use Clay?
No. Clay’s interface is designed for non-technical users. If you can work with a CRM, you can use Clay.
Does Clay replace my CRM?
No. Clay enriches your CRM with better data and automated outreach workflows, but it doesn’t replace it.
How do I get started with Clay?
Sign up for a 14-day free Pro trial—no credit card required. That way, you can see how it fits into your workflow before committing.
Final Thoughts
Messy data and impersonal outreach slow teams down. Clay fixes both. With AI-driven research, better data enrichment, and automated messaging, it helps GTM teams close more deals with less effort. If your team is spending hours on manual research or using outdated prospect lists, it might be time to try Clay.
