CRM of the Future: Clarify

I’m pumped to dive into the CRM we just implemented at VibeScaling, Clarify, in today’s sponsored post.

Background

When it comes to CRMs, I’ve always had very specific POVs on best practices.

This stems from my start in the tech industry in late 2016 at Salesforce in NYC. It was an awesome ~5-year ride, but there was always one thing that stood out to me:

Why are we upgrading most of the tech we use, yet our CRM user interface (and how it works with us) looks like it was revamped in 2004?

We have Superhuman for email. Slack for chat. Notion for docs. Granola for notes. The list goes on; all beautifully designed - but when it comes to a core system of record (potentially THE core system for GTM), the CRM - the UIs of the top two players looks like it was made 20 years ago.

Old, slow, need an implementation partner, overly salesy sales team, etc. Just isn’t ideal in the modern way of using/buying software.

Salesforce/Hubspot/etc can be incredibly powerful, no doubt. But it always surprised me that this came at the cost (or lack of focus) of the design of the tool.

When we were looking for a new CRM for VibeScaling (a place to house our customer and recruiting conversations, mainly) - I remember telling my partner, Cailen, “using Hubspot just wipes my energy - let’s try something else.”

I’ve known about the Clarify team for a little over a year now; they reached out a little while ago, and I agreed to test it to see the difference. I’ve been happy using it so far, and it’s going to be our default CRM moving forward.

I wanted a tool:

• That looked at itself as AI-native; shipping fast, and making sure to have LLMs embedded in it to keep up with the model improvements to help with common CRM tasks

• Cared about design and how the product looked/felt

• Started to take low-level tasks off my plate

I wanted to use something that was pioneering a new type of CRM.

Many of the thoughts in their 2024 manifesto aligned with how I like to use software, so I was interested in giving it a try.

Why AI-Native For CRM Matters (And For Any Startup)

Every CRM vendor is discussing AI these days, especially the major ones mentioned above.

However, there's a fundamental difference between adding AI to an existing system (a legacy system) and building with AI from the outset.

Traditional CRMs were designed around manual data entry. They assume humans will update records, log activities, and maintain data quality.

AI features help with predictions and insights, but the core workflow remains the same.

An interesting analogy I saw online - it's like putting a Tesla engine in a horse-drawn carriage - sure, it moves faster, but you're still dealing with wooden wheels.

I just wanted something that was solely focusing on CRM and that was incorporated post-ChatGPT.

AI-native systems flip this model entirely. They assume AI will handle data capture and updates, building a system that looks to free up humans to focus on better stuff.

This isn't just a feature difference - it's an architectural one.

I’ve just seen these teams to ship faster and have better software - so I was willing to place a bet on this for the CRM.

The Manual Entry Problem

Austin Hay, Clarify's co-founder, calls it the "CRM paradox."

If your CRM requires humans to update it, it will always run the risk of being out of date. Yet every GTM function relies on this imperfect data for forecasting, territory planning, and attribution.

It got me thinking of my time in startups (Metronome/Celonis) and BigCo (SFDC). When was the last time your pipeline data was actually accurate? When was the last time a rep updated their opportunity stages in real-time? When was the last time your activity data matched reality?

And sure, we’re seeing a component of Clay help with this data enrichment (along with other tools) - but Clay doesn’t have a CRM, and still requires you to use the clunky, big ones.

Features I Found Cool

When a CRM is built AI-first, the feature set looks fundamentally different. Here's how that looks when you actually start using the tool:

Automatic Data Capture 

Emails, meetings, and interactions are logged automatically (since it’s connected to gmail). Connect your calendar and email, and watch your CRM build itself. Cuts out some of the "I'll update Salesforce after this call."

What I also like is their local recording tool (similar to Granola) - which allows for an increased WPM and auto-updates the record(s) after the call.

Intelligent Enrichment 

Company and contact data are automatically pulled and updated from multiple sources. When someone changes jobs, it can ping. When a company raises funding, it's in your account record. The system stays current without manual research.

As someone who runs a firm that does a significant amount of GTM engineering work, this abstraction is great to have at the CRM layer.

Ambient Intelligence 

Clarify's approach works quietly in the background. No popups asking you to log calls. No reminders to update opportunities. No weekly cleanup sessions. The system just knows what happened and updates accordingly.

I also like a world where the CRM works in the background for you. Obviously we’re still figuring out how AI can take some of these tasks off our plate autonomously, but I would bet on Clarify figuring this out since they’re already ahead of the game.

My favorite tool of this is the “daily meeting digest” it sends me every morning at 7am, giving me prior context to how the meeting was booked and past conversations that I might have had - you can also tweak these to include data of how you like it.

Natural Language Interface 

The command palette understands how you think. Type "stalled deals" or "meetings next week" and get instant results. No query builders, no SQL knowledge required.

I am able to just ask in real time for different lists I want it to build for me with different filters, and then can save those down as bookmarks. Way easier than the experience with SFDC.

Also, I like that I can ask it questions on certain records to get a quick update on what we chatted about last. This screenshot below was for the meeting record but they are working toward getting this ask function rolled out to more of the CRM.

Usage-Based Pricing 

Instead of per-seat licensing, you pay for what the AI actually does - enriching contacts, analyzing meetings, generating insights. Unlimited users means your entire team can access customer data without budget constraints.

I can’t tell you how many companies would buy so many licenses at SFDC then like use 30% of them - usage-based pricing is the future (it’s why I joined Metronome) and like that I’ll only pay for what I use (and right now, don’t have to deal with a sales or implementation team).

Roadmap Forward

Clarify's got some solid stuff coming down the pipeline in the next few months. The team is basically turning this thing into a full outbound machine while doubling down on the AI intelligence that makes it actually useful.

What's dropping soon: 

• Email sequencing tool (Q3-Q4) - so you can ditch tools like Apollo and run sequences right from Clarify

• AI fields - think Clay-style prompts where you can tell a field

  • go research this contact and categorize them, or

  • find me this specific info and drop it here

• Automatic nudges - the CRM will actually tap you on the shoulder when you haven't followed up on a deal in 4+ days

• Chat with Deal - ask questions about deal status and blockers, and it'll pull from all your meeting transcripts and emails to give you the real story

• Chat with entire CRM - by end of year, you'll be able to ask it anything about your whole database

• LinkedIn integration: Get contact and connection data natively in Clarify.

The big picture here is they're moving away from CRMs being these passive databases where you dump info, and instead building something that actually gives you leverage and helps move deals forward.

Pretty much the "autonomous CRM" vision where you choose what you want automated but keep control over everything else.

I am also pumped to look forward to using my CRM as it mimics other types of software I use (Notion, Superhuman, etc).

cheers 🫡,

Chris

Interested in learning more about AI-native CRM? Clarify offers a free tier to get started. Check it out at clarify.ai and see if it's right for your team, or shoot me a DM/email me to ask me more about my expereince