Wait... is Clay better than what you already use for lead enrichment and outbound?

I didn’t get Clay at first.
It looked like a Google Sheets with an attitude.

Then I fed it a list of job titles.
Added a few prompts.
Connected some enrichment sources.

A few hours later, I had an AI-powered outreach engine running inside rows of what looked like… a spreadsheet.

It scraped.

It enriched.

It personalized.

It even sent messages.

I was impressed—and also a little overwhelmed.

So… is Clay worth it?

Here’s the good, the bad, the ugly, and my verdict.

✅ The Good

• Search filters for lead generation are wildly deep - number of followers, certifications, keywords in bio, current and past roles. You can even limit how many people you pull per company to keep your results balanced. (Pro tip: go easy on filters, Clay gives you power, but also lets you filter yourself into zero results.)

• Behaves like a directory meets spreadsheet - once you get it, it feels like magic.

• Prebuilt templates - really useful for ramping up fast, especially if you’re not trying to reinvent the wheel.

• Local business search - this isn’t just for cold outbound, Clay can help with market research and customer development too.

• Waterfall enrichment - Clay pulls from multiple data sources and merges the results, so you get higher-quality enrichment across the board.

• Clay University + Slack = excellent support - the just-in-time learning model is genius: short 3–8 minute videos on each feature, no long courses or gated masterclasses. Add a 24/7 Slack community and help docs, and onboarding feels manageable.

• Claygent (AI + Prompt Variables) - lets you ask questions like “Is [company] B2B or B2C?” across an entire list. You can use prebuilt prompts or write your own, but be warned: prompt engineering is a skill, and results vary based on the model you choose. Best used when you have volume + team support (not great for SMBs with short lead lists).

• Workflow automation — update your CRM, trigger campaigns, enrich leads, all based on triggers, without manual work.

• Generous freemium model — you can try most features for free, and the more you use it, the more credits you earn. Great onboarding incentive.

• Transparent pricing — no contract required. Just sign up, add a credit card, and go. Compared to most sales intelligence tools? That’s rare.

❌ The Bad

• Intent signals are basic - without AI, you’re limited to job changes, promotions, fundraising. Nothing nuanced or product-specific unless you build that logic yourself.

• Data quality varies - especially when using AI enrichment. Always double-check the dataset, some answers look smart but aren’t always accurate.

🤡 The Ugly

• Credit system = confusing AF — easy to burn through credits without realizing it, especially if you’re exploring features or testing workflows.

• Great power = great overkill — Clay shines for teams with resources. For lean startups or scrappy operators? It may be too much unless you’re ready to commit.

• Prompting is a real skill — to make Claygent work, you’ll need someone who knows AI prompting, understands your ICP, and can iterate hard. Otherwise, you’ll burn time and get mediocre results.

• The hype is real, and maybe too real - Clay’s marketing team is top-tier. But let’s be honest: the product won’t 10x your pipeline on its own. You’ll still need to:

  • Know your ICP

  • Ask the right questions

  • Dedicate time to learn the system

  • Build workflows

  • And probably assign a RevOps-type human to manage it

⚖️ The Verdict

Clay is quickly becoming one of the most powerful tools in the outbound stack.

Powerful, yes. Plug-and-play? Not quite.

If you have someone on your team who loves building systems, isn’t afraid to learn, and can think like RevOps meets biz analyst, this tool can change the way you work.

It’s not cheap to unlock all the power.

But what you can unlock might actually be worth it.

🎁 Bonus: Real Use Cases I Ran in Clay

You can read feature lists all day, but here’s what it actually looks like to use Clay in the wild:

The “Techie” Use Case: Targeting Sales Dev Leaders

I wanted a list of Sales Development leaders at mid-market B2B software companies in the U.S.

Here’s how I did it:

• Pulled a company list based on industry + size

• Used Clay to find the right contacts inside each company (SDR Managers, Director of Sales Development, etc.)

• For each contact, enriched with LinkedIn signals like:

  • Recent promotions

  • New job titles

  • Awards or recognition

That let me start outreach with:

instead of

Huge difference.

🍽️ The “Not-So-Techie” Use Case: Local Biz Intelligence

I wanted a list of restaurants in New York City. No fancy filters, just public businesses.

Clay scraped Google and gave me:

• Name

• Address

• Website

Then I got curious.

So I had Claygent:

• Pull phone numbers and emails

• Scrape the website for menu items

• Tag the restaurants based on food types (meat, vegetarian, etc.)

After about 20–30 minutes of refining prompts and testing models in Claygent… I had it.

If I were selling food supplies to restaurants, I could now:

• Segment by cuisine

• Reach out with personalized offers

• Filter based on menus and dietary offerings

This wasn’t enrichment. This was market intelligence and automation. On demand.

This shows off Clay’s range - and also its complexity.

But if you’re willing to build, test, tweak, and think like an operator, Clay isn’t just a tool. It’s a platform that can help you win your market.