diff --git a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/__init__.py b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/__init__.py
index bb67c6c9d..5737aa25e 100644
--- a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/__init__.py
+++ b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/__init__.py
@@ -352,7 +352,7 @@ Examples:
   List all the machines managed by clan.
 
   $ clan machines update [MACHINES]
-  Will update the specified machine [MACHINE], if [MACHINE] is omitted, the command
+  Will update the specified machines [MACHINES], if [MACHINES] is omitted, the command
   will attempt to update every configured machine.
 
   $ clan machines install [MACHINE] --target-host [TARGET_HOST]
diff --git a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/machines/cli.py b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/machines/cli.py
index 7e98b21d0..0d323227f 100644
--- a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/machines/cli.py
+++ b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/machines/cli.py
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ def register_parser(parser: argparse.ArgumentParser) -> None:
 
     update_parser = subparser.add_parser(
         "update",
-        help="Update a machine",
+        help="Update one or more machines",
         epilog=(
             """
 This subcommand provides an interface to update machines managed by clan.
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ This subcommand provides an interface to update machines managed by clan.
 Examples:
 
   $ clan machines update [MACHINES]
-  Will update the specified machine [MACHINE], if [MACHINE] is omitted, the command
+  Will update the specified machines [MACHINES], if [MACHINES] is omitted, the command
   will attempt to update every configured machine.
   To exclude machines being updated `clan.deployment.requireExplicitUpdate = true;`
   can be set in the machine config.
diff --git a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/machines/update.py b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/machines/update.py
index 60b1eeabb..1f84ad347 100644
--- a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/machines/update.py
+++ b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/machines/update.py
@@ -278,7 +278,7 @@ def register_update_parser(parser: argparse.ArgumentParser) -> None:
         nargs="*",
         default=[],
         metavar="MACHINE",
-        help="Machine to update. If no machine is specified, all machines will be updated.",
+        help="Machine to update. If no machines are specified, all machines that don't require explicit updates will be updated.",
     )
     add_dynamic_completer(machines_parser, complete_machines)