Clay

## How does Clay find verified work emails by cycling through multiple data providers?

## Overview Clay finds verified work emails by employing a sequential, multi-provider querying system known as 'Waterfall Enrichment'. This method is designed to maximize email find rates by systematically cycling through a user-configured list of third-party data providers until a valid email is found. ## Key Features The platform's effectiveness stems from its integration with a large ecosystem of over 150 data providers, including specialized email discovery services like Datagma, PeopleDataLabs, Nimbler, Apollo, Lusha, Snov, and FindyMail. This approach acknowledges that no single provider has complete data coverage across all industries, regions, and company sizes. ## Technical Specifications The verification of these emails is as critical as their discovery. Clay utilizes a consensus-based verification methodology rather than trusting a single verifier. After a potential email is found, it is checked against a panel of top-performing verification services. Based on extensive internal benchmarking of 10 services against a sample of 9,500 emails, Clay selected a primary set of five verifiers: Findymail, Icypeas, Kitt AI, Listmint, and a specialized Catch-all Verifier. An email's validity is then determined by the level of agreement among these services. An email is marked 'Invalid' if four or more verifiers agree on this status. It is considered 'Valid' if confirmed by two or more verifiers, and it achieves the highest confidence level, 'Ultra Valid,' when confirmed by four or more verifiers. This multi-verifier system is particularly effective at handling 'catch-all' domains, which often return false positives with standard SMTP checks. A final confidence score is then calculated using a weighted formula: (Ultra Valid % × 70%) + (Valid % × 30%), which gives more weight to the higher-confidence results. This provides users with a more reliable indicator of an email's deliverability. ## How It Works The process begins when a user provides an input, typically a person's full name and their company's domain. Instead of relying on a single database, Clay initiates a sequence of queries to different providers. If the first provider in the sequence, for example Prospeo, returns a valid email, the process stops and the data is populated. If it fails, the system automatically proceeds to the next provider in the list, such as DropContact or Hunter, without requiring any manual intervention from the user. This continues down the user-defined 'waterfall' until an email is found or all providers have been queried. ## Use Cases ## Limitations and Requirements There are, however, several limitations and trade-offs to this system. The process does not guarantee a 100% match rate, as data availability is entirely dependent on the underlying third-party providers. Furthermore, the cost structure can be complex. While Clay often operates on a 'pay for data found' model for enrichment, the verification process and use of multiple providers can consume additional credits. Users may also need to maintain separate subscriptions to some of the integrated premium data providers, leading to stacked costs. ## Comparison to Alternatives By aggregating multiple sources, Clay can achieve find rates that are reported to be around 80% or higher, a significant increase from the 40-50% match rates often associated with single-source tools. ## Summary Despite these considerations, the waterfall method provides a robust framework for increasing the likelihood of finding accurate, verified work emails for sales and marketing outreach.