The 6 best Glean AI alternatives I found for enterprise search in 2025

Kenneth Pangan

Stanley Nicholas
Last edited October 5, 2025
Expert Verified

Trying to find the right information across a dozen different company apps can feel like a losing battle. Tools like Glean promise to fix this with a single, powerful AI search bar, but a lot of teams end up looking for alternatives. Why? The steep pricing, slow setup, and a general lack of control are common reasons. If that sounds familiar and you’re after something more flexible, affordable, and self-serve, you’ve come to the right place.
I’ve spent time digging into the top platforms on the market to bring you the 6 best Glean AI alternatives. This guide will walk you through tools that can connect to your existing apps, give you accurate answers, and help your team get work done, all without the enterprise-level price tag and headaches.
What is enterprise AI search?
Before we jump into the alternatives, let’s get on the same page about what we’re talking about. Enterprise AI search platforms are basically tools that create one smart search engine for all of your company’s internal knowledge. Instead of digging through Google Drive, Confluence, Slack, and Zendesk one by one, your team can just ask a question in one spot and get a straight answer.
The cool part is that it’s not just about matching keywords. These platforms use AI to actually understand what you’re asking. They connect to all your data, index it, and figure out how different documents, people, and conversations are related. The whole point is to spend less time searching and more time doing.
My criteria for choosing the best Glean AI alternatives
Glean is a solid tool, but its weak spots, like fuzzy pricing and long setup times, are where other platforms can really make a difference. I based my list on what I think matters most to modern support and IT teams who just need a tool that works.
Here’s the checklist I used:
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Speed to value: How fast can you actually get it working and see if it’s helping? I leaned towards tools with self-serve onboarding and one-click integrations instead of those that lock you into long sales calls.
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Customization and control: Can you tell the AI what to do and how to behave? The best options let you get specific about what knowledge sources to use, what the AI can do, and when to loop in a human. You should be in charge of the AI, not the other way around.
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Integration depth and breadth: A good enterprise search tool has to connect to everything. I looked for platforms with plenty of ready-to-go connectors for help desks, wikis, cloud drives, and chat apps.
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Transparent and predictable pricing: Is it clear what you’re paying for? I picked alternatives with public pricing plans that don’t hit you with confusing per-resolution fees and surprise bills.
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Simulation and testing: How do you know the AI will work correctly before you let it loose? Platforms with a simulation mode let you test the AI on your past data, so you can build confidence without any risk.
A quick comparison of the top Glean AI alternatives
Here’s a high-level look at how my top picks stack up against each other.
Feature | eesel AI | Coveo | Guru | Elasticsearch | GoSearch | Capacity |
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Best for | All-in-one support automation | Large enterprise customization | In-workflow knowledge cards | Technical teams (DIY) | Cost-effective search | Internal & external support |
Self-Serve Setup | Yes | No | Yes | Yes (highly technical) | Yes | No |
Transparent Pricing | Yes | No | Yes | Yes (for cloud) | Yes | No |
Simulation Mode | Yes, on past tickets | No | No | No | No | No |
Key Differentiator | Go live in minutes with total control | Advanced relevance tuning | Browser extension for context | Open-source flexibility | Non-indexed secure search | Unified helpdesk automation |
The top 6 Glean AI alternatives for 2025
Here’s my detailed breakdown of the best platforms to check out if you’re looking for a powerful, flexible, and affordable alternative to Glean.
1. eesel AI
eesel AI is an AI platform for customer service and internal support that you can get up and running in minutes, not months. While Glean often involves a long sales and setup process, eesel AI is completely self-serve. You can plug it directly into your help desk (like Zendesk or Intercom), chat tools (like Slack), and knowledge bases (like Confluence or Google Docs). It can automate support, draft replies, and answer internal questions without making you switch tools.
A flowchart outlining the quick, self-serve implementation of a modern AI CRM agent, from connecting data to going live.
What really sets it apart is the level of control it gives you. You get to decide exactly which types of tickets to automate, tweak the AI’s personality with a simple prompt editor, and limit its knowledge to specific sources. Best of all, you can test everything risk-free. Its simulation mode uses your historical tickets to show you the exact ROI before you even turn it on.
The eesel AI simulation dashboard showing how AI uses past product knowledge to predict future support automation rates.
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Pros:
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Go live in minutes: Genuinely self-serve setup with simple integrations.
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Useful simulation: Test on your past tickets to see how it will perform before activating.
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Complete control: Customize the AI’s persona, actions, and automation rules without any code.
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Transparent pricing: No weird per-resolution fees, just clear monthly or annual plans.
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Cons:
- Works best for teams already using modern help desks and knowledge management tools.
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Team: $239/month (billed annually) for up to 3 bots and 1,000 AI interactions. Includes training on docs and websites, AI Copilot, and Slack integration.
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Business: $639/month (billed annually) for unlimited bots and 3,000 AI interactions. Adds training on past tickets, AI Actions, bulk simulation, and Microsoft Teams integration.
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Custom: Custom pricing for unlimited interactions, advanced actions, multi-agent orchestration, and custom integrations.
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2. Coveo
Coveo is a heavyweight, enterprise-grade AI search platform known for its advanced personalization features. It’s a serious contender for huge organizations that have complex needs and the resources to handle a major implementation. Coveo connects with a wide range of enterprise systems, from Salesforce to Adobe, to create a unified search experience for both employees and customers.
But as powerful as it is, Coveo is the exact opposite of a self-serve tool. Getting started means going through a detailed sales process and a dedicated implementation project, which is a big investment of time and money. It’s a great choice if you need deep customization and have a technical team to run it, but it doesn’t have the simplicity and speed of other options.
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Pros:
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Very advanced AI for personalizing search results.
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Deep analytics to help you understand user behavior.
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Can scale to handle the needs of massive organizations.
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Cons:
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The implementation process is long and complicated.
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Pricing isn’t public, but it’s known to be expensive.
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You need technical experts to set it up and keep it running.
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Pricing: Coveo’s pricing is not publicly listed. You have to talk to their sales team and get a custom quote after a demo. This makes it tough to budget and compare without getting deep into a sales cycle.
3. Guru
Guru is a knowledge management tool that’s all about putting verified information right where your team works. Instead of making you go to a separate search portal, Guru operates through a browser extension and integrates with apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams. It lets you create "knowledge cards" that pop up when you need them, so your team always has the right information at the right time.
Guru’s AI can search your connected sources and give answers, but its real strength is in helping you create and verify knowledge, not just search for it. It’s less of a direct Glean competitor for universal search and more of a collaborative wiki with a smart search layer on top. It’s a fantastic choice for sales and support teams that need to keep their playbooks and FAQs updated and easy to find.
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Pros:
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Great for building and maintaining a knowledge base that people actually trust.
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Works inside your existing tools via a browser extension.
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The interface for creating and organizing content is really easy to use.
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Cons:
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Its AI search isn’t as robust as dedicated enterprise search platforms.
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Can get messy if you don’t have a good system for managing content.
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Self-serve: Starts at a 10-seat minimum for $25 per user/month (billed annually) or $30 per user/month (billed monthly). This plan includes AI Search, Chat, a knowledge base, and an intranet.
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Enterprise: Custom pricing that gets you a dedicated success manager, SSO, and advanced admin controls.
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4. Elasticsearch
For teams that have serious technical skills, Elasticsearch is a powerful, open-source option. It’s a super flexible search and analytics engine that you can customize to build pretty much any search experience you can imagine. You can run it on your own servers or in the cloud and have total control over everything.
The trade-off for all that flexibility is complexity. Setting up and managing Elasticsearch is a real engineering project. It gives you the building blocks, but you’ll have to build the connectors, user interface, and AI layer yourself. It’s a great option for companies that want to own their search infrastructure from the ground up, but it is not a plug-and-play tool by any means.
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Pros:
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Open-source and incredibly customizable.
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Extremely powerful and can handle massive amounts of data.
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Has a strong community and tons of documentation.
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Cons:
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You need significant technical expertise to get it working and keep it running.
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Doesn’t come with a user-friendly interface or pre-built connectors.
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The total cost can be high once you factor in engineering time.
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Pricing: The open-source version is free. Elastic Cloud hosting has resource-based pricing that changes depending on the provider (AWS, GCP, Azure), and their Serverless option is usage-based. You’ll need to do some careful math to estimate your costs.
5. GoSearch
GoSearch is a direct shot at Glean, offering AI-powered enterprise search that focuses on being affordable and secure. It’s made by the same people behind GoLinks, so the search experience feels familiar, and it includes AI chat and agents at no extra cost.
What’s interesting about GoSearch is its security model. It offers a "non-indexed" option for personal apps, which pulls data in real-time without storing a copy of it. This is a big deal for companies worried about duplicating sensitive information. While it doesn’t have as many features as some of the older players, its pricing and unique security approach make it a solid option for startups and mid-sized companies.
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Pros:
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Cheaper than Glean, with AI chat included for free.
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A unique non-indexed search option for better security.
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The interface is simple and easy to use.
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Cons:
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Has fewer integrations than more established platforms.
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Missing advanced features like simulation and workflow automation.
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Pricing: GoSearch talks about being affordable, but its official pricing page makes you log in with a work email to see the details, which is a bit of a hurdle. However, their alternatives page hints at per-user pricing plans.
6. Capacity
Capacity is a broad AI automation platform that happens to include knowledge management and enterprise search. It’s built to help both internal teams (like HR and IT) and external customers, so it’s a good pick if you’re looking for one tool to handle support automation everywhere.
Capacity’s Answer Engine connects to your apps and docs to let people find information through a chat interface. It also has workflow automation features for handling things like ticket routing. But, like Coveo, it’s an enterprise tool that requires you to go through a sales process. You can’t just sign up and try it. Their pricing page is also currently down, so there’s no way to know the cost without a demo.
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Pros:
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One platform for both internal and external support automation.
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Includes no-code tools for building automated workflows.
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Has a strong focus on helpdesk and IT service management use cases.
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Cons:
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Not a self-serve platform; you have to go through a demo and sales process.
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Pricing is not public, and the page is currently broken.
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Might be overkill for teams that just need enterprise search.
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Pricing: Custom pricing available upon request.
How to choose the right platform from these Glean AI alternatives
Okay, that’s a lot of options. How do you actually pick one? It really just comes down to your team’s specific needs, resources, and what you care about most.
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If you need to move fast and stay in control, look at a self-serve platform like eesel AI. Being able to sign up, connect your tools, and test the AI’s performance without ever talking to a salesperson is a huge plus for teams that need to be agile.
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If you have a big budget and complex needs, a tool like Coveo might be a better fit, as long as you have the technical team for a long-term implementation.
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If your main goal is building a collaborative wiki, then a tool like Guru is built specifically for creating and sharing trusted knowledge within your team’s daily routine.
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And if you want to build it all from scratch, Elasticsearch gives engineering teams the ultimate flexibility to own their search stack.
This video demonstrates an open-source AI search and answer engine, offering a look at how Glean AI alternatives can function for workplace inquiries.
What’s next after reviewing these Glean AI alternatives?
While Glean is a decent tool, the world of enterprise AI search has plenty of powerful, flexible, and more affordable alternatives. The best choice is the one that fits how you work, matches your budget, and gives you the control to automate things on your own terms.
For teams that want to get going today, stay in the driver’s seat with their AI, and test with confidence, eesel AI is a really strong option. It gives you the power of enterprise-grade AI with the simplicity you’d expect from a modern software tool. You can connect your knowledge sources, see how it would have performed on thousands of your past tickets, and go live in just a few minutes.
Ready to see how quickly you can get your support automated? Start your free trial with eesel AI today.
Frequently asked questions
Glean is powerful, but many teams seek Glean AI alternatives due to its high cost, complex setup processes, and a general lack of control over the AI’s behavior. They are often looking for more flexible, affordable, and self-serve solutions.
When evaluating Glean AI alternatives, prioritize factors like speed to value (quick setup), robust customization options, extensive integration breadth, and transparent pricing. Also, look for platforms that allow you to test performance with your own company data.
Yes, many Glean AI alternatives, particularly self-serve platforms, offer publicly listed and predictable pricing plans. This can be a significant advantage over Glean’s often opaque, custom enterprise quotes, making budgeting much clearer.
Many Glean AI alternatives, especially self-serve options like eesel AI, can be implemented and integrated within minutes or hours. This contrasts sharply with Glean’s typically lengthy sales cycles and enterprise-level implementation projects.
The level of control varies greatly among Glean AI alternatives. Tools like eesel AI offer extensive control over AI persona, automation rules, and specific knowledge sources, while open-source options like Elasticsearch provide ultimate customization for technical teams.
Yes, eesel AI is a notable example among Glean AI alternatives that offers a unique simulation mode. This feature allows you to test the AI’s performance on your historical data, providing confidence and a clear ROI before full deployment.
For smaller teams or startups prioritizing rapid deployment, affordability, and self-service, Glean AI alternatives like eesel AI or GoSearch are excellent choices. They provide robust enterprise search capabilities without the heavy investment or complex setup associated with larger platforms.