Glean Assistant vs Writer (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Glean Assistant if

• Makes sense if your company wants one assistant across its work apps
• Fits if IT will connect the apps and set permissions

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you're an individual: it's sold to organizations
• Skip it if you want a price or a trial before talking to sales
• Watch out: proactive AI, shared chat and cross-system workflows are beta
• Watch out: no phone or desktop apps are listed

Pick Writer if

• Fits if you are a team of up to 5 that wants to try AI playbooks for 14 days
• Works for companies that need brand voice and governance controls and can buy through sales

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you need a price before talking to anyone, as neither plan shows one
• Tight if you go past 5 users, 5 playbooks or 3 connectors, the Starter caps
• Watch out: SSO, SCIM, audit logs and HIPAA coverage are Enterprise only
• Watch out: refunds are at Writer's discretion, and ACH, invoicing and PayPal are not accepted

Glean Assistant

• There is no published price or free trial; access starts with a demo request.
• Several features, including proactive AI, shared chat and cross-system workflows, are marked beta.
• It is sold to organizations, not individuals.
• The pages read do not list phone or desktop apps; Slack and Teams are named as places it works.

Writer

• Neither plan shows a price, so the Starter cost per seat has to be requested or seen at sign-up.
• Starter caps users at 5, playbooks at 5 and active connectors at 3.
• SSO, SCIM, audit logs and HIPAA coverage are Enterprise features.
• Refunds are at Writer's discretion, and it does not accept ACH, invoicing or PayPal.

Glean Assistant

Answers from company context

Responses draw on connected apps and are tied to what each person is permitted to see.

Proactive suggestions

In beta, it surfaces items that need attention, such as updates and blockers, and prepares next steps.

Shared chat

A beta feature lets teammates join one chat to work on shared artifacts, with voice available for real-time conversation.

Content and analysis

It generates documents, decks, dashboards and podcasts, and analyzes data from warehouses and BI tools.

Work execution

Skills and actions automate recurring work, and multi-step workflows across systems are in beta.

Writer

WRITER Agent

One interface for chat and for running multi-step work, with outputs such as documents, presentations and spreadsheets.

Playbooks and routines

Playbooks capture repeatable multi-step workflows, and routines run them on a schedule. Starter allows 5 playbooks.

Knowledge Graph

Company content is connected so the agent can ground its answers; Starter includes 50 GB in a single graph.

Brand voice profiles

Personality profiles and style guides shape the tone of output, with one team profile on Starter and departmental profiles on Enterprise.

Governance and security

Enterprise adds audit logs, role-based access, SAML SSO, SCIM and agent observability. The plans page lists SOC 2 Type II.

Glean Assistant

Pricing could not be confirmed. See glean.com.

Writer

• StarterCustom

  Up to 5 users, 5 playbooks, up to 3 scheduled routines and 3 active connectors. Price not shown; seats are monthly or annual.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Unlimited users, playbooks and connectors, with governance, SSO and SCIM, and priority support. Sold through sales.

Glean Assistant

No public discounts listed.

Writer

• Nonprofit

  20% off for nonprofits and schools

  Writer's plans page offers a 20% discount on Starter and Enterprise to non-profits and educational institutions, requested by email from a qualifying address.