Top Glean alternatives for AI-powered enterprise search (2026)
Karen Chalco
What is enterprise search?
Enterprise search is AI-powered software that helps employees find information across all company systems. It searches through Google Drive, Slack, CRMs, databases, and other workplace tools from one place.
What is Glean?
Glean is one of the leading enterprise search platforms. It indexes your workplace data and provides contextual answers to employee questions. The platform is known for strong security controls and connecting to over 100 business applications.
Why do companies look for Glean alternatives?
Companies seek alternatives to Glean for three main reasons.
- Need AI that takes action, not just finds information -They need AI agents that complete tasks based on discovered knowledge. This means drafting documents, running analysis, automating responses, and providing actionable answers. Traditional search tools just retrieve documents.
- Want deeper customization -They want agents tailored to their specific workflows, with custom instructions, fine-grained permissions, and integrations that match how their teams actually work.
- Hit pricing limits -They need transparent, scalable pricing that doesn't penalize growth with sudden tier jumps or per-user costs that make expansion expensive.
💡 Case Study: See how Persona hit 80% AI Agent adoption with Dust. Read the full story →
Quick comparison table
Tool | Setup Time | Task Automation | Key Strength |
Dust | Hours | Yes | Search + automation |
Microsoft Copilot | Days | Limited | Microsoft integration |
Guru | Hours | Limited | Knowledge management |
Notion AI | Hours | Yes | All-in-one workspace |
ChatGPT Enterprise | Days | Limited | Brand recognition + unlimited GPT-5/GPT-4o |
Gemini Enterprise | Days | Yes | Agentic AI + enterprise search |
Ready to see search that actually gets work done? Try Dust free for 14 days →
1. Dust - #1 alternative to Glean for enterprise search, powered by AI agents
What makes Dust's search better? Dust doesn't just find documents. It's powered by semantic search that reads them, understands what you're looking for, and gives you actual answers. Think of it as the difference between someone handing you a stack of papers versus someone who tells you exactly what you need to know.
Plus, Dust is an agentic first platform that goes further. It's an AI agent operating system that helps you complete the work those documents enable. Traditional enterprise search stops at retrieval. Dust agents generate reports, analyze data, create content, and solve problems based on your company's knowledge. Search becomes the starting point for getting work done, not the end goal.
Dust Pros:
- Agentic automation capabilities: Dust is way more than search: our AI agents automate complex workflows and take action on information, not just retrieve it
- Answers, not links: Ask a question, get an answer with sources, without clicking through 10 documents
- Search everything at once: Slack, Google Drive, Notion, Salesforce, and 100+ other tools. One search box for everything
- Enterprise-grade security: SOC2 Type II certified, HIPAA and GDPR compliant with fine-grained permissions and data privacy controls
- Model agnostic: Future-proof platform that works with multiple AI models for optimal performance
- 100+ integrations plus MCP support: Native connectors to Slack, Notion, Google Drive, Salesforce, Snowflake, BigQuery, GitHub, and more, plus Model Context Protocol for custom applications without waiting for official connectors
- Ask like you talk, in any language: Type questions normally. No special search syntax needed
- Combines info from multiple docs: If the answer is spread across 5 documents, Dust pulls it all together for you
- Secure permissions: Dust gives you full control over who can use each agent and what information each agent can access. Secure sensitive data in private vaults.
- Get answers, not document dumps: RAG-powered agents search and synthesize information from proprietary data sources using semantic understanding, not keyword matches. You get contextual answers, interactive Frames, custom dashboards, not a pile of links to sort through.
- MCP integration for unlimited tool access:Connect your AI agents to custom applications, legacy systems, and specialized tools your team already uses. No need to wait for official integrations.
Dust Cons:
- Learning curve for advanced automation features
- Requires initial setup and integration planning to get custom answers
Get started with Dust search templates:
Out of the box, Dust's default agent already searches across all your connected data sources. Just ask @dust a question, and it finds the answer. For questions that need more digging, @deep-dive runs multiple searches across your company data and the web, connecting dots between sources to build comprehensive answers.
Want something more specialized? You can build custom AI agents that go beyond search:
- Sales agentthat searches proposals and competitor intel, then drafts personalized pitch decks
- HR agentthat finds policy answers and automatically creates Notion pages or Slack updates
- Support agentthat searches help docs, pulls data from your ticketing system, and drafts responses
- Engineering agentthat searches technical docs, queries your data warehouse, and generates code snippets
Best for: Companies needing agentic AI automation for complex workflows, not just basic search. Perfect for growing companies (10-5000+ employees) across sales, customer support, marketing, engineering, legal, HR, IT, finance, and leadership teams. Ideal for all industries with knowledge-intensive work and data across multiple systems. Perfect for remote teams, compliance-focused organizations, and companies ready to automate beyond traditional search.
Pricing: Starts at $29/user/month
Trusted by: Modern companies like Cursor and Clay use Dust to automate knowledge work
2. Microsoft Copilot
What it does: Microsoft Copilot integrates with your Microsoft 365 tools to answer questions and generate content using your company data.
Microsoft Copilot Pros:
- Integration with Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive
- Built-in security aligned with Microsoft standards
- Content generation for emails and documents
- Meeting summaries and action items
- Enterprise-grade compliance features
Microsoft Copilot Cons:
- Only works well if you use Microsoft 365 (limited support for Google Drive, Notion, and other non-Microsoft stacks)
- Expensive when you factor in required licenses
- Limited customization and requires technical expertise for advanced features
Pricing: $30/user/month (requires Microsoft 365 subscription)
Best for: Organizations already using Microsoft 365 with 200+ employees
3. Guru
What it does: Guru focuses on keeping company knowledge accurate and up-to-date with real-time verification features.
Guru Pros:
- Real-time knowledge verification and update notifications
- Browser extension for easy access during work
- Strong CRM and sales tool integrations
- Team collaboration features for knowledge sharing
- Easy setup and user-friendly interface
Guru Cons:
- Limited AI capabilities compared to newer platforms
- Primarily focused on knowledge management, not task automation
- Can become expensive for larger teams
Pricing: $25/user/month
Best for: Sales and customer support teams needing verified, up-to-date knowledge management
4. Notion AI
What it does: Notion combines search with project management, wikis, and collaboration in one platform, with AI features as an add-on.
Notion AI Pros:
- Highly customizable pages and databases
- Strong user community and template library
- Affordable pricing for small teams
- Real-time collaboration tools
Notion AI Cons:
- Can become cluttered with heavy usage
- AI features cost extra ($10/month)
- Performance issues with large datasets
- Only accessible within Notion app, not where teams actually work (Slack, browser, etc.)
- Single workspace agent with no ability to create specialized agents for different teams
Pricing: $12/user/month, AI features add $10/month
Best for: Small to medium teams (10-200 employees) wanting unified workspace functionality
5. ChatGPT Enterprise
What it does: ChatGPT Enterprise is OpenAI's workplace AI platform with unlimited access to advanced models, custom GPTs, and connections to business apps like Google Drive, Salesforce, and Slack.
ChatGPT Enteprise Pros:
- Brand recognition and ease of use (most employees already know ChatGPT)
- 50+ connectors including Google Drive, Slack, GitHub, HubSpot, Salesforce
- Strong reasoning and data analysis capabilities
- Enterprise security with SOC 2 compliance, encryption, and SSO
- Admin controls with usage analytics
ChatGPT Enterprise Cons:
- Connectors mostly read-only, can't update Salesforce or create tickets
- Custom GPTs only work in ChatGPT app, not in Slack or Teams
- Locked to OpenAI models only
- Single-owner GPTs with no team collaboration
- No deep research agents for multi-step investigations
- No self-serve pricing, requires sales engagement
Pricing: Custom quotes only (reports suggest $60/user/month with 150-user minimum)
Best for: Large organizations (150+ employees) already familiar with ChatGPT
6. Gemini Enterprise
What it does: Gemini Enterprise is Google's AI platform that combines enterprise search, AI chat, and intelligent agents. It searches across Google Workspace and third-party apps like Salesforce, Slack, and Microsoft 365 to deliver answers and automate tasks.
Gemini Enterprise Pros:
- Cross-platform search across Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Jira, Slack
- AI agents that can research, analyze data, and take actions like creating calendar events
- Strong integration with Google ecosystem (Drive, Gmail, Calendar, Meet)
- Enterprise security with data residency, encryption, and compliance controls
- Multi-modal capabilities including document, image, and video analysis
Gemini Enterprise Cons:
- Newly launched (October 2025), still maturing compared to established competitors
- Best suited for companies already using Google Workspace
- Limited third-party Actions compared to native Google integrations
- Pricing details not widely transparent yet
- Smaller community and fewer resources compared to ChatGPT or Copilot
Pricing: Contact Google for custom pricing (part of Google Cloud)
Best for: Companies using Google Workspace who want enterprise search plus AI agents, organizations prioritizing Google ecosystem integration
The next phase in enterprise search is doing, not searching
Companies no longer want tools that just find information. They want AI that can understand what they found and take action on it. This means generating reports, updating systems, creating content, and automating tasks based on discovered knowledge.
Dust leads this evolution as the only platform building toward a comprehensive AI agent operating system. While other tools stop at showing you documents, Dust helps you complete the work those documents enable. This represents a fundamental shift from search-based AI to action-oriented AI agents that transform how work gets done through intelligent automation.
Organizations increasingly recognize the need to move beyond conversational interfaces to a command center for autonomous agents. Dust's vision of ambient intelligence positions it as the platform that will define the next era of workplace AI, where agents don't just find information but actively complete the workflows that information enables.
Ready to experience search that gets work done? Start your free Dust trial → and see how AI agents transform your knowledge workflows.
Feature comparison table
Feature | Glean | Dust | Copilot | Guru | Notion | ChatGPT Enterprise | Gemini Enterprise |
Semantic search | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Task automation | ❌ | ✅ | Limited | Limited | ✅ | Limited | ✅ |
Setup time | Hours | Hours | Days | Hours | Hours | Days | Days |
No-code friendly | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Integrations | 100+ | 50+ | +100 | 100+ | 150+ | 50+* | 50+ |
Document generation | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
Enterprise security | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
*Most ChatGPT Enterprise integrations are read-only, limiting the ability to take actions or write data back to connected apps.
How to choose the right alternative
What to consider:
- Team size and budget: Per-seat costs add up quickly for larger teams
- Technical expertise: Non-technical teams need simple, no-code solutions
- Use case priority: Need just search? Pick Guru. Want search plus automation? Choose Dust
- Current tech stack: Choose solutions that integrate with your existing tools
- Growth plans: Consider whether the solution can scale with your team
Transform your team's search experience with intelligent automation. Book a demo with Dust →
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
What are the best Glean alternatives?
Dust is an excellent solution for enterprise search, but it does way more than that. With AI agents that automate workflows, generate documents, and take action on information, Dust transforms how teams work with knowledge beyond just finding it.
Why do companies switch from Glean?
Companies look for Glean competitors when they need workflow automation, want more customization options, or require better and more transparent pricing for growing teams.
What is Dust and how is it different?
Dust combines enterprise search with AI agents that can automate tasks, generate documents, and take action on information, not just find it.
Is Dust an open source alternative to Glean?
Yes - Dust is open source (MIT license) while Glean is proprietary. But the bigger difference isn't licensing, it's approach: Glean is built for enterprise search, while Dust is built for creating custom AI agents that take action.
Glean alternative is best for small companies?
Unleash ($15/month) offers basic enterprise search, while Dust provides search plus automation for teams that want to do more than just find information.
Can these alternatives handle the same data sources as Glean?
Most competitors integrate with common tools like Google Drive, Slack, and Salesforce. Dust offers 20100+ integrations while focusing on automation capabilities that go beyond search.