The best Glean alternatives for small and mid-sized companies are tools that give you AI answers from company knowledge without an enterprise-scale rollout: the AI built into tools you already use (Microsoft 365 Copilot, Atlassian Rovo, Notion), a dedicated knowledge tool like Guru, the company-knowledge features in ChatGPT and Claude, or a workspace like Orakis that keeps knowledge and work together. Which one fits depends on where your knowledge lives today and whether you want search or coordination.
What Glean does well
Glean describes itself as an enterprise AI platform connected to a company's own data. According to its website, it connects to more than 275 work apps and data sources, including Slack, Google Drive, Jira, Confluence, SharePoint, GitHub and Salesforce. It offers search and cited answers across all of them, an AI assistant, and agents for automating work. Access is permission-aware, so people only see what they are allowed to see, and Glean lists a range of security certifications (Glean website).
That breadth is its strength. For a large company with hundreds of systems, a single permission-aware search layer across all of them is hard to build any other way.
Why smaller companies look for alternatives
For a team of 10 to 200 people, the trade-offs look different:
- Fewer systems. If most knowledge sits in two or three tools, the AI in those tools may already cover it.
- Rollout effort. Enterprise platforms are built and sold for enterprise rollouts, with matching processes.
- Search isn't the whole problem. Atlassian found that leaders and teams lose 25% of their time searching for answers (Atlassian State of Teams, 2025), but small teams also lose time to the coordination around the answer: who owns this, what's late, who is waiting.
- Content quality. A search layer can only find what has been written down. If the knowledge is still in people's heads, search won't fix that (see How to Get Knowledge Out of Employees' Heads).
The alternatives
Features change often. This overview reflects November 2026 and is based on each vendor's website; check before deciding.
Microsoft 365 Copilot
Copilot is built into Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel and PowerPoint and grounds its answers in your work context. Agents can be created in natural language with Agent Builder and extended with Copilot Studio, and it runs on the Microsoft 365 security foundation many companies already use (Microsoft website). Good for: companies that run on Microsoft 365. Keep in mind: strongest for knowledge stored in Microsoft's own apps.
Atlassian Rovo
Rovo searches Atlassian products and connected third-party tools such as Google Drive, Gmail and Loom, offers chat, and provides agents. Its Teamwork Graph links knowledge, people, decisions and relationships, and admins control what data the AI may access (Atlassian website). Good for: teams already on Jira and Confluence. Keep in mind: centered on the Atlassian ecosystem.
Notion (Enterprise Search and agents)
Notion AI includes Enterprise Search, which answers with citations across your Notion workspace and connected apps such as Slack, Google Drive and GitHub, plus an agent that edits pages and custom agents that run on a schedule or trigger. These features sit in the Business plan and above (Notion website). Good for: teams whose docs and wiki already live in Notion. Keep in mind: you design the structure yourself, and work management is something you build from databases.
Guru
Guru calls itself a governed knowledge layer for enterprise AI. It delivers cited, role-scoped answers in Slack, the browser and AI assistants (including via MCP), and its Knowledge Agents flag stale or conflicting content and route gaps to experts (Guru website). Good for: companies where verified, accurate answers matter most, for example in support or sales. Keep in mind: focused on knowledge, not on projects or tasks.
ChatGPT or Claude with company knowledge
If your team already pays for ChatGPT or Claude business plans, you may not need another tool for basic Q&A. ChatGPT has a company knowledge mode that searches connected apps with citations, and both ChatGPT and Claude can connect to custom tools through MCP (OpenAI Developer docs; Claude Help Center). Good for: teams that want answers inside the assistant they already use. Keep in mind: the assistant still needs a well-kept source to read from, and it doesn't manage the work itself. See How to Give ChatGPT or Claude Access to Company Knowledge.
Orakis
Orakis takes a different approach: instead of searching across many tools, it keeps goals, tasks, team chat, documents and a linked knowledge base in one workspace. Alfred, the built-in AI agent, answers questions from that knowledge and also knows who is working on what. The Company Brain works through the workspace in the background and brings what needs attention to the right person. Claude, ChatGPT and other assistants can connect through MCP. Good for: small and mid-sized teams that want answers and coordination from the same system. Keep in mind: Orakis is young and in closed beta. It does not search across hundreds of apps like Glean; its integrations today are Google Calendar, Gmail, Microsoft Outlook and MCP-capable assistants.
Comparison
| Tool | Main approach | Searches many other apps | Knows projects and tasks | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glean | Enterprise search and agents | Yes (275+ per Glean) | Through connected tools | Large enterprises |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | AI in Microsoft 365 | Through connectors | Through Microsoft apps | Microsoft 365 companies |
| Atlassian Rovo | AI across Atlassian + connectors | Yes | Yes, with Jira | Atlassian teams |
| Notion | Workspace with Enterprise Search | Yes | If built in Notion | Notion-centric teams |
| Guru | Verified knowledge layer | Through integrations | No | Accuracy-critical teams |
| ChatGPT / Claude | Assistant with connectors and MCP | Yes | Only if connected | Teams already on a business plan |
| Orakis | Knowledge and work in one workspace | No | Yes, built in | Small and mid-sized teams wanting coordination |
How to choose
- List where your knowledge actually lives. If it's mostly one ecosystem (Microsoft, Atlassian, Notion), start with that ecosystem's AI.
- Decide if you need search or coordination. Finding documents is one problem; knowing who's on what and what's late is another.
- Check the content. If the answer isn't written down anywhere, no search tool will find it.
- Test with real questions. Collect 20 questions your team asked last month and run them through each candidate.
How Orakis does it
Orakis is built for teams that want their knowledge and their work in the same place. Processes, decisions, customers and people are linked pages, and goals, tasks and team chat live alongside them, so Alfred can answer both "what is our process?" and "who is working on this?" Leads decide how much Alfred may approve on its own, and every approval is visible. Through MCP, the same knowledge is available in Claude, ChatGPT and other assistants. Orakis is not a replacement for enterprise search across hundreds of systems; it is an alternative for teams whose bigger problem is coordination.
FAQ
Is there a free or low-cost alternative to Glean? If you already pay for Microsoft 365, Atlassian, Notion, ChatGPT or Claude business plans, check their built-in AI first. It may cover most of your needs without another tool.
Do I need enterprise search at all? If your knowledge sits in two or three tools, probably not. Enterprise search pays off when knowledge is spread across many systems.
Can I connect my knowledge to ChatGPT or Claude instead? Yes, through connectors or MCP. The assistant will only be as good as the source it reads from.