The Best Poised Alternative in 2026 (After the Poised Shutdown)
Poised (acquired by Deepgram in June 2024) officially shut down on October 8 to 9, 2026 and deleted historical call data to redirect users to Deepgram's Saga dictation app. If you were one of the 100,000+ communicators relying on Poised for live, bot-free in-call speech feedback, UmmLike is built specifically for you.
Why This Habit Is So Hard to Break Alone
- Poised shut down on October 8 to 9, 2026 and wiped user history, leaving a gap for live, in-call communication coaching.
- Deepgram's replacement (Saga) focuses on voice dictation workflows rather than live filler-word, hedging, and pacing alerts during meetings.
- Other tools like Yoodli require an invasive meeting bot to join your live calls or focus only on pre-call roleplay rehearsals.
How UmmLike Coaches You in the Moment
- Zero Meeting Bots: Captures only your microphone locally on macOS, no awkward 'AI Coach Notetaker' ever joins your Zoom, Google Meet, or Slack Huddle.
- Sub-Second Native macOS Notifications: Fires crisp macOS Notification Center banners (rate-limited to 3.5s) and a 440px Compact HUD the moment you spike on 'um/like', rush past 175 WPM, or monologue past 60 seconds.
- Live Hedging Rewrites: Catches weak qualifiers ('I think maybe', 'just wanted to', 'does that make sense') and flashes executive rewrites while you're still speaking.
See How Real-Time Coaching Feels
Step through a sample call habit right here, or open the Live Voice Coaching Studio to test with your own microphone.
How UmmLike Compares to Poised, Yoodli & Cluely (Oct 2026)
| Platform | Status (Oct 2026) | Live In-Call Speech Coaching | Meeting Bot Required? | Core Focus & Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UmmLike (ummlike.app) | Active (macOS + Web Studio) | Yes: Sub-second macOS notifications + 440px Compact HUD | No (100% Bot-Free, Local Mic) | Live filler, hedging rewrites, WPM (130 to 160 target), & 60s monologue alerts |
| Poised (poised.com) | Shut Down (Oct 8 to 9, 2026) | Discontinued (users redirected to Deepgram Saga dictation) | Was Bot-Free Desktop App | Was $19/mo ($13/mo annual); historical call data deleted Oct 2026 |
| Yoodli (yoodli.ai) | Active ($300M+ Enterprise L&D) | Pre-call AI Roleplays; post-call report for meetings | Yes (for real call recording) | Starter Free (5 lifetime roleplays), Pro $8/mo, Advanced $20/mo annual |
| Cluely (cluely.com) | Active (Pivoted Nov 2025) | AI Meeting Notes & Answer Prompts (not vocal coaching) | No (Desktop Overlay) | Starter Free, Pro $19.99/mo, Undetectability $149.99/mo ($44.99/mo annual) |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Poised shut down in October 2026?
After Deepgram acquired Poised in June 2024, Deepgram retired the Poised platform on October 8 to 9, 2026, deleting stored user content and redirecting users to its Saga voice dictation product.
Does UmmLike join my Zoom or Google Meet calls as a bot?
Never. Like Poised, UmmLike runs locally on your Mac and listens only to your microphone stream, so nobody on the call knows you are using a real-time speech coach.
Can I test UmmLike without installing anything?
Yes, you can run our interactive Live Mic Coaching Studio and 60-second speech simulator right in your browser at ummlike.app/app.