Charlie App shut down. Here's the best alternative.
If you relied on Charlie for pre-meeting research, you're not alone. Thousands of sales reps, recruiters, and consultants lost their go-to tool when Charlie shut down in 2023. Briefd picks up where Charlie left off — and goes further.
What was Charlie App?
Charlie was one of the first AI-powered meeting prep tools. Before every call, it would scan your calendar, look up the person you were meeting, and send you a one-page brief with their LinkedIn summary, recent tweets, mutual connections, and company overview.
Sales teams loved it because it eliminated the 15-minute scramble before calls. Recruiters used it to personalise outreach. Consultants relied on it to walk into client meetings with context. At its peak, Charlie had tens of thousands of active users.
In late 2023, Charlie App officially shut down. The team cited scaling challenges and changes to data access. The website went dark, the Chrome extension stopped working, and users were left scrambling for a replacement.
How Briefd does the same thing — but better
Briefd was built for people who missed Charlie. We studied what Charlie got right — instant pre-meeting research, clean one-page briefs, zero manual effort — and rebuilt it with modern AI and better data sources.
Enter a name or LinkedIn URL, and Briefd delivers a comprehensive brief in 8 seconds. You get LinkedIn activity and career history, recent company news, personalised icebreakers, suggested talking points, and mutual connection highlights — everything Charlie offered, plus more.
Unlike Charlie, Briefd also offers a Chrome extension that works directly on LinkedIn profiles, CRM integrations with HubSpot and Salesforce, and calendar-based auto-prep so your briefs are ready before you even think to check.
Charlie App vs Briefd — Feature Comparison
| Feature | Charlie App | Briefd |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-meeting research brief | ||
| LinkedIn profile analysis | ||
| Company news & updates | ||
| Personalised icebreakers | ||
| Suggested talking points | ||
| Chrome extension | ||
| Calendar auto-prep | ||
| CRM integration (HubSpot, Salesforce) | ||
| PDF & shareable link export | ||
| Research speed | ~30s | 8s |
| Still operational |
Pricing: Charlie App vs Briefd
Charlie App
$25/mo
Was the only plan available
- Shut down — no longer available
- No free tier
- Limited feature set
Briefd
$0 to get started
Free tier + plans from $19/mo
- 5 free briefs/month — no card required
- Solo plan: $19/mo for 100 briefs
- Pro plan: $39/mo for unlimited
I was gutted when Charlie shut down — it was part of my daily routine before every sales call. A colleague recommended Briefd and honestly, it's better. The briefs are more detailed, the icebreakers actually work, and the Chrome extension saves me even more time. Wish I'd found it sooner.
Ready to replace Charlie?
Briefd gives you everything Charlie did — plus company news, icebreakers, talking points, and CRM integrations. Your first 5 briefs are free.
Generate My First Brief — FreeNo credit card required · Learn more about Briefd