How to Use Clay for GTM 2026: Complete Sales & Marketing Data Enrichment Guide

Clay is a data enrichment and automation platform that helps go-to-market teams build targeted prospect lists, enrich leads with data from 75+ providers, and automate personalized outreach at scale. In 2026, Clay has become essential for modern sales and marketing teams doing outbound, account-based marketing (ABM), and revenue operations. This guide covers how to use Clay effectively for your GTM strategy.

Whether you are new to Clay or looking to build more sophisticated data workflows, this guide walks through the essential features, use cases, and strategies for GTM success in 2026.

What Is Clay 2026?

Clay is a data enrichment and workflow automation platform designed for go-to-market teams. Founded in 2017, Clay has grown rapidly and in 2026 is used by thousands of sales and marketing teams worldwide. Unlike traditional data providers that offer a single database, Clay aggregates data from 75+ providers and lets you build custom enrichment workflows in a spreadsheet-like interface.

Clay Core Capabilities 2026

Capability	What It Does	GTM Use Case
Data Enrichment	Add data to leads from 75+ providers	Complete lead profiles with emails, company data
Waterfall Enrichment	Try multiple data sources in sequence	Maximize data coverage, reduce costs
AI Enrichment	Use AI to research and qualify leads	Personalization, lead scoring
List Building	Find prospects from various sources	Build targeted outbound lists
Automations	Trigger actions based on data	CRM updates, outreach triggers

Why GTM Teams Use Clay 2026

• Data flexibility: Access 75+ data providers through one platform
• Waterfall logic: Try cheaper sources first, fall back to premium ones
• AI-powered research: Automate manual research tasks
• Spreadsheet interface: Familiar UX, no code required
• Integration ecosystem: Connect to CRMs, outreach tools, and more

Getting Started with Clay 2026

Setting up Clay correctly ensures you can build effective data workflows from day one. Follow these steps in 2026:

Step 1: Create Your Account 2026

1. Go to clay.com and sign up
2. Start with the free plan to explore
3. Complete the onboarding flow
4. Access your workspace

Step 2: Understand the Interface 2026

Clay uses a spreadsheet-like interface:

• Tables: Each table is a dataset (like a spreadsheet)
• Rows: Individual records (leads, companies)
• Columns: Data fields (email, company size, etc.)
• Enrichments: Actions that add data to columns

Step 3: Add Your First Data 2026

Multiple ways to get data into Clay:

Method	Best For	How To
CSV Import	Existing lead lists	Upload CSV file directly
CRM Sync	Enriching CRM data	Connect Salesforce, HubSpot
Find People/Companies	Building new lists	Use built-in prospecting tools
Webhooks	Real-time data ingestion	Send data via API

Data Enrichment 2026

Enrichment is Clay's core functionality. Add data to your leads from multiple providers in 2026.

Available Data Providers 2026

Clay integrates with 75+ data providers including:

• Contact data: Apollo, Hunter, Lusha, RocketReach, Clearbit
• Company data: Clearbit, ZoomInfo, Crunchbase, BuiltWith
• Email verification: ZeroBounce, NeverBounce, Debounce
• Social data: LinkedIn, Twitter, GitHub
• Intent data: Bombora, G2
• Technographics: BuiltWith, Wappalyzer, SimilarTech

Basic Enrichment Workflow 2026

1. Import your lead data (company domain, name, etc.)
2. Add an enrichment column
3. Select the data provider and field to enrich
4. Run the enrichment
5. Review and export results

Waterfall Enrichment 2026

Waterfall enrichment tries multiple data sources in sequence until data is found:

• Set up primary, secondary, tertiary sources
• Clay tries the first source
• If no data found, automatically tries the next source
• Continues until data is found or all sources exhausted

Waterfall Strategy Example 2026

Priority	Provider	Cost per Lookup	Coverage
1st	Hunter.io	Low	Medium
2nd	Apollo	Medium	High
3rd	Lusha	Medium	High
4th	ZoomInfo	High	Very High

This approach minimizes cost while maximizing data coverage.

Building Prospect Lists 2026

Clay offers multiple ways to build targeted prospect lists in 2026.

Find Companies 2026

Search for companies matching your ICP:

• Filter by industry, size, location, technology
• Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator integration
• Import from Crunchbase or other databases
• Scrape company lists from websites

Find People 2026

Find contacts at target companies:

• Search by title, department, seniority
• Pull from LinkedIn profiles
• Use Apollo or other contact databases
• Find verified email addresses

List Building Workflow 2026

1. Define your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
2. Find companies matching ICP criteria
3. Enrich with company data (size, tech stack, funding)
4. Find decision-makers at each company
5. Enrich contacts with email and phone
6. Verify email addresses
7. Score and prioritize leads
8. Export to CRM or outreach tool

AI Features in Clay 2026

Clay's AI features automate research and personalization tasks in 2026.

Claygent (AI Research Agent) 2026

Claygent is an AI agent that can research leads:

• Visit websites and extract information
• Answer questions about companies
• Find specific data points
• Summarize content

Claygent Use Cases 2026

Prompt	Output	Use Case
"What does this company do?"	Company description	Personalization context
"Find their main competitors"	List of competitors	Competitive positioning
"What CRM do they use?"	CRM name	Technographic targeting
"Any recent news or funding?"	Recent events	Trigger-based outreach

AI Personalization 2026

Use AI to generate personalized content:

• Write personalized opening lines
• Generate custom value propositions
• Create tailored email copy
• Summarize relevant pain points

AI Lead Scoring 2026

Use AI to score and qualify leads:

1. Define scoring criteria (ICP fit, engagement signals)
2. Use AI to evaluate each lead against criteria
3. Generate fit scores (1-10 or A/B/C/D)
4. Prioritize outreach based on scores

Automation Workflows 2026

Automate repetitive GTM tasks with Clay workflows in 2026.

Workflow Triggers 2026

• New row added: When data comes in via webhook or import
• Field updated: When specific data changes
• Scheduled: Run at specific times
• CRM trigger: When CRM records update

Workflow Actions 2026

• Enrich: Run enrichment on new data
• Score: Apply lead scoring
• Push to CRM: Update Salesforce, HubSpot
• Send to outreach: Trigger sequences in Outreach, Apollo
• Webhook: Send data to any tool

Example Automation: Inbound Lead Enrichment 2026

1. Trigger: New lead in HubSpot
2. Pull lead data to Clay
3. Enrich with company data
4. Score lead based on ICP fit
5. If score > 8, add to "Hot Leads" list
6. Push enriched data back to HubSpot
7. Notify sales rep in Slack

Integrations 2026

Clay connects to your GTM stack for seamless data flow in 2026.

CRM Integrations 2026

• Salesforce: Bi-directional sync, custom objects
• HubSpot: Full integration with contacts, companies, deals
• Pipedrive: Sync leads and enrichment data

Outreach Integrations 2026

• Outreach: Add leads to sequences
• Apollo: Sync enriched contacts
• Instantly: Push to email campaigns
• Lemlist: Trigger personalized campaigns

Other Integrations 2026

• Slack: Notifications and alerts
• Zapier/Make: Connect to 1000+ tools
• Webhooks: Custom integrations
• Google Sheets: Export and sync

GTM Use Cases 2026

Common ways GTM teams use Clay in 2026.

Outbound Prospecting 2026

1. Build targeted account list
2. Find decision-makers at each account
3. Enrich with email and phone
4. Research for personalization
5. Generate personalized opening lines
6. Push to outreach sequences

Inbound Lead Enrichment 2026

1. Capture inbound leads from forms
2. Enrich with company and contact data
3. Score and qualify leads
4. Route to appropriate sales rep
5. Trigger personalized follow-up

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) 2026

1. Build target account list
2. Enrich with technographics and intent data
3. Identify buying committee members
4. Research account-specific pain points
5. Create personalized campaigns

CRM Data Hygiene 2026

1. Export stale CRM records to Clay
2. Re-enrich with fresh data
3. Update job titles, companies, emails
4. Flag churned contacts
5. Push clean data back to CRM

Clay Pricing 2026

Clay uses credit-based pricing in 2026. Credits are consumed when using enrichments and AI features.

Clay Plans 2026

Plan	Price	Credits/Month	Key Features
Free	$0	100	Basic enrichment, limited providers
Starter	$149/mo	2,000	All providers, basic automations
Explorer	$349/mo	10,000	CRM integrations, AI features
Pro	$800/mo	50,000	Advanced automations, API access
Enterprise	Custom	Custom	SSO, dedicated support, custom limits

Credit Consumption 2026

Different actions consume different credits:

• Basic enrichments: 1-5 credits
• Premium data providers: 5-25 credits
• AI/Claygent: 5-10 credits per request
• Email verification: 1-2 credits

FAQs: Clay GTM 2026

What is Clay used for in 2026?

Clay is a data enrichment and automation platform used for go-to-market operations in 2026. It helps sales and marketing teams enrich leads with data from 75+ providers, build targeted prospect lists, score and qualify leads, personalize outreach at scale, and automate data workflows. Clay is popular for outbound sales, ABM, and revenue operations.

How much does Clay cost in 2026?

Clay pricing in 2026 is credit-based. Free plan includes 100 credits/month. Starter is $149/month for 2,000 credits. Explorer is $349/month for 10,000 credits. Pro is $800/month for 50,000 credits. Enterprise has custom pricing. Credits are consumed when enriching data or using AI features. Most active GTM teams need Explorer or Pro plans.

How is Clay different from ZoomInfo in 2026?

Clay differs from ZoomInfo in 2026 in several ways. ZoomInfo is a data provider with its own proprietary database. Clay is a data orchestration platform that aggregates data from 75+ providers including ZoomInfo. Clay offers more flexibility with waterfall enrichment (trying multiple sources), AI-powered features, and spreadsheet-like interface. ZoomInfo is better if you only need one data source.

Can Clay integrate with my CRM in 2026?

Yes, Clay integrates with major CRMs in 2026 including Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive. You can pull leads from your CRM into Clay for enrichment, then push enriched data back. Clay also integrates with outreach tools like Outreach, Apollo, and Instantly. Use webhooks or Zapier for additional integrations not natively supported.