Poised is shutting down. Here's what to use instead.

We make ChadFlow, so it is on this list. Where another tool does a job better, we say so, and every price below was checked on the vendor's own site on September 25, 2026.

What happens to Poised, and what to do before October 8

Poised's homepage now reads: “Poised is shutting down on 10/8/2026.” Deepgram, which bought Poised in June 2024, is pointing users to Saga, its dictation app for Mac.

• The last day. The homepage says October 8, 2026. The notice inside the app says October 9. Plan around the earlier date.
• Your data will be deleted. Poised's notice says recordings, feedback and progress history are deleted when it retires. Use “Request a data export” in the app, which emails [email protected], and do it well before the last day.
• Billing stops on its own. No further payments are taken, your plan keeps working until the shutdown, and annual subscribers get a prorated refund without asking.
• Saga uses your Poised login. Its dictation is live now, a meeting recorder is on the way, and it is free during early access.

What Poised did, and what replaces each part

Poised combined four jobs in one app. Most people relied on one or two of them, so start with the part you will actually miss.

The 7 alternatives

1. ChadFlow: live help during calls, with no bot

ChadFlow runs on your own computer and hears the call through your microphone and system audio, so nothing joins the meeting. It transcribes both sides live, labels speakers, and can suggest what to say next in an overlay that stays out of screen shares. After an interview it writes a debrief: a score, a breakdown of talk time and filler words, and rewrites of the answers that ran long. Meetings get a summary and notes, like Poised's, without a bot in the room.

What it doesn't do: ChadFlow doesn't flash a filler-word warning while you talk. Its coaching comes after the call, and it is built for interviews and meetings rather than presentations.

Platforms: macOS 13+, Windows 10 and 11, iPhone (iOS 26+). Price: $9.99 a week, $29.99 a month (12 hours of interview help and 20 hours of meeting recording), or $499 a year. More on how the live help works: the AI interview assistant, explained.

2. Saga by Deepgram: Poised's own successor, for dictation

Saga is a dictation app for Mac from Deepgram, the company that owns Poised, and it is where Poised's shutdown notice sends you. You sign in with your Poised account. Right now it is a dictation tool with a meeting recorder on the way; Deepgram hasn't said whether Poised-style speaking feedback will follow. If Shortcut was the part of Poised you used most, start here, or compare it with the other options in our guide to dictation on Mac.

Platforms: Mac. Price: free during early access.

3. Yoodli: AI roleplay practice with feedback

Yoodli is built for rehearsal. You practise pitches, interviews or difficult conversations with an AI roleplay partner and get feedback on how you did. It can also analyse real video calls, but to do that it joins the call as a participant and reports afterwards, so it isn't the invisible live coach Poised was.

Platforms: web. Price: Starter is free with 5 sessions in total; Pro is $8 a month and Advanced $20 a month, both billed annually.

4. Orai: a speaking coach on your phone

Orai analyses your delivery live while you practise a talk or an answer into your phone or browser. It doesn't run during meetings, so it suits people who want to fix habits between calls.

Platforms: iOS, Android, web. Price: 7-day free trial, then $12 a month or $49.99 a year.

5. Speeko: structured speech training

Speeko is a speech-coaching course with exercises and feedback on your voice and speech patterns. Real-time guidance is part of the paid plan. Like Orai, it is for building habits between calls, not for use during them.

Platforms: iOS, macOS, Android, web. Price: 7-day free trial, then $29.99 a month, $8.33 a month billed annually, or $299.99 for lifetime access.

6. Read AI: a coaching report after every meeting

Read AI's meeting reports can include a coaching section with talking speed, filler words, bias and charisma. It usually joins meetings as a notetaker, and its Windows and Mac apps can also record from your computer. The feedback arrives after the meeting, not during it.

Platforms: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android. Price: free for 5 meetings a month; Pro is $15 per user a month billed annually, or $19.75 monthly.

7. Granola: bot-free meeting notes, no coaching

If the part of Poised you liked was the meeting summary without a bot, Granola does that job well. It captures your device's audio and writes notes you can edit afterwards. It gives no feedback on how you spoke.

Platforms: macOS, Windows, iOS, Android. Price: Basic is free; Business is $14 per user a month.

Also worth knowing

• PowerPoint Speaker Coach gives free feedback on pacing, pitch and filler words, but only while you rehearse a slide presentation.
• Speaker Coach in Microsoft Teams is gone. Microsoft retired it in late August 2025.
• Otter.ai and Fireflies transcribe meetings with a bot by default (Fireflies also has a Chrome extension that records without one). Neither coaches your delivery.

Side by side

How to choose

1. Do you need help while you're talking? The choice is narrow: ChadFlow during calls, Orai or Speeko while you practise.
2. Is a bot joining the call a dealbreaker? Then skip Yoodli's call analysis, Otter and Read AI's notetaker, and look at ChadFlow, Granola or Saga.
3. Do you want to see yourself improve over weeks? A practice app (Yoodli, Orai or Speeko) tracks progress better than a meeting tool.
4. Was Poised mostly a dictation tool for you? Try Saga while it's free, and compare it with other Mac dictation apps before you pay for anything.

Poised shutdown FAQ

When does Poised shut down?

Poised's homepage says it is shutting down on October 8, 2026. The notice inside the Poised app gives October 9, 2026. Export anything you want to keep before October 8 to be safe.

Will I get a refund for my Poised subscription?

Poised says no further payments will be taken, plans keep working until the shutdown, and annual subscribers receive a prorated refund for the remaining months automatically, without having to ask.

How do I export my Poised data?

Use “Request a data export” in the Poised app, which sends a request to [email protected]. Poised says recordings, feedback and progress history are deleted when it retires.

Is there a free Poised alternative?

Saga by Deepgram is free during early access but covers dictation, not coaching. PowerPoint Speaker Coach is free for rehearsing presentations. Yoodli's Starter plan includes five free practice sessions, and Granola's Basic plan is free for bot-free meeting notes.

Does anything give live filler-word feedback during calls like Poised did?

Not among the tools we checked. Orai and Speeko give live feedback while you practise, not during calls. ChadFlow reports filler words and talk time after an interview, and Read AI adds filler words to its meeting reports after the meeting.

Method: Checked September 25, 2026 against each vendor's public pages: the Poised homepage and pricing, Poised's in-app shutdown notice, Saga, Yoodli pricing, Orai pricing, Speeko subscriptions, Read AI pricing, Granola pricing, Microsoft's Speaker Coach retirement notice, and Otter and Fireflies pricing. ChadFlow details come from our own pricing. Vendors change plans often; check the vendor's page before you buy.