BeforeQuery vs Glean
Glean is the enterprise search leader — deep retrieval, tight identity, mature governance. BeforeQuery starts from grounded retrieval too (Knowledge Studio is the closest analogue) and adds what search alone cannot: agents that take approved actions, cross-department Playbooks, and 10 named AI Employees. Different jobs, related buyers.
At a glance
Glean column compiled from glean.com/product/assistant, /platform/agents, and public case studies (as of 2026-09-07).
When to pick BeforeQuery
You want the Assistant to take actions, not just answer questions. Provisioning access, resolving tickets, approving expenses, refunding orders — with approval chains and audit. Glean is expanding into agent actions; we're agent-native from day one. You want 135 pre-built Playbooks across HR / IT / Finance / Security / Legal / Sales / Marketing / RevOps. Playbooks are the unit of automation, not just custom agents built from scratch. You want persona-branded AI Employees per module (Ivy / Harry / Fin / Sig / Lex / Sol / Mel / Rev / Remy / Dex). Materially improves adoption when serving multiple functions. You want transparent pricing and a real free tier. Free forever with 100 questions/mo; Pro at $99/mo; Business at $499/mo. Glean is sales-led enterprise. You're SMB or mid-market. Glean's ICP starts at ~500 employees; ours starts at 10 with a free tier that scales.
When to pick Glean
You already have deep enterprise search needs — connecting 30+ systems, permission-aware retrieval across every corner of your company. Glean is the category leader with mature governance and tight identity across sources. You're enterprise-scale (thousands of employees, dozens of departments) and want a search-anchored platform where agents are one surface. Glean's search foundation is deeper than ours; agents are additive. You want the strongest enterprise-search Q&A as your primary use case, with agents as a growing extension. Our foundation is Knowledge Studio + Context Graph + Playbooks — search is one of many surfaces. You need Glean's specific Fortune-500 references. Their proof at scale is stronger than any newer entrant.
When it is close
Rarely — the platforms have different centers of gravity. Glean wins on search depth and enterprise-scale references; we win on agent-native actions + AI Employee UX + transparent pricing. Coexistence pattern: use Glean for company-wide search; use BeforeQuery for the action-taking Assistant + module-specific Playbooks that need approval + audit.
Frequently asked questions
Isn't Glean just doing what you do?
Overlapping — both ground answers in indexed knowledge. The difference is the action layer. Glean has been search-and-Q&A first; we're agent-first (grounded retrieval + approval-gated action + audit). Glean is expanding into agents; we started there.
Can we run both platforms?
Yes. Glean covers company-wide enterprise search; we cover the Assistant that takes action on well-defined workflows. Different jobs; connect Glean as a knowledge source in BeforeQuery if you want to reuse indexed content.
Do you match Glean's connector count?
Not the depth of Glean's enterprise search connectors today. Glean has spent years on permission-aware retrieval across every enterprise SaaS. Ours: 75 first-party + ~350 UIA-mediated (Composio) + NL integration builder = 440+ addressable by month 12. If your primary need is company-wide search, Glean wins.
How do the two Assistants differ?
Glean Assistant answers from search; ours answers from search AND takes actions. Ask ours to "cancel my subscription and refund the last invoice" — it looks up the account (Context Graph), reads the refund policy (Knowledge Studio), issues the refund (Stripe playbook) subject to approval, and logs the audit event. Glean surfaces the policy and the account; the action happens elsewhere.
How does the pricing compare?
Ours is transparent per-tier. Glean is enterprise-contracted, typically starting six figures annual. For SMB, mid-market, and teams evaluating without a large enterprise-search budget, we're materially more accessible.
Try BeforeQuery in 5 minutes
Free plan, no credit card. Connect a source, install a playbook, and see the Assistant take action — not just answer.