Poised alternatives, now that Poised is closing

The banner on Poised's homepage says it is shutting down on 10/8/2026, October 8 written the US way, and thanks users for the last few years. So if you used it, you need something else, and if you're reading old reviews, it's no longer an option.

Poised was an AI communication coach for Mac and Windows. During calls it gave you live feedback, privately: its site lists speakshare, clarity measured by filler words, and confidence measured by hedging words, and its pricing page adds conciseness and interruptions. It also brought up your meeting notes and ticked items off as you covered them, and after the call it wrote a summary and action items, without a bot joining. Pro was listed at $19 a month, or $13 a month billed yearly.

No single app does all of that now, so it helps to split it into the three jobs Poised did, and pick per job:

• Live coaching while you speak on a call.
• Practice and feedback on how you speak, over time.
• Notes, a summary and to-dos from the call, with no bot.

We make Koi, one of the apps below, so read this with that in mind. Koi covers the third job well and the first two only narrowly; we say exactly how. Facts about the others come from their own sites and help pages, checked October 21, 2026.

1. In Koi's Settings, open the Koi tab and turn on the offer to record calls. Turn on Coach how I speak too if your calls are in a second language.
2. Give Koi Screen Recording in System Settings, so it can hear the other side of the call.
3. When a call starts, tap Record on the dock's offer, or tap Fn + ⌃ and pick Online call.
4. When it ends, say yes to Summarize this call? for the summary, your to-dos, the follow-up email and, if on, the coaching.

From each company's own pages. “Not listed” means they don't say.

If you want Poised's live coaching and its notes back, you'll likely use two tools. One option: Yoodli for nudges during the call and practice before it, and Koi to record the call on your Mac and write the summary, to-dos and follow-up. If you live in Teams, its Speaker Coach replaces Yoodli for meetings there, at no extra install. If you mostly gave presentations, PowerPoint's Speaker Coach for rehearsal may be all you need.

Whatever you pick, recording people may need everyone's consent where you or they are, and Koi doesn't announce itself to the call, so say so at the start. Our guide to recording a Zoom meeting on a Mac covers the setup, and our list of call recorders for Mac has more options.

Poised's pitch was feedback in the moment: a nudge while you're talking too long. That has a cost: something on screen competing for your attention during the call. Notes afterwards cost nothing during the call, but you only fix things next time.

Yoodli and Teams Speaker Coach are in-the-moment tools. Koi is an after tool: it stays out of the way while you talk (the dock shows it's recording, and never appears in a screen you share), then gives you the summary, the to-dos, the follow-up and, with the coach on, a few of your own sentences put more naturally. If your calls are in a second language, its live captions are the one live thing it adds: the others' words in your language at the bottom of the screen.

A live coach has to hear you, so check where that audio goes. Microsoft's Teams Speaker Coach streams your audio and transcription to its service during the meeting, and says only you see the results. PowerPoint's Speaker Coach sends your speech to Microsoft too. Yoodli says Starter and Pro session data may be used to improve the platform, and Advanced keeps it out of AI training.

Koi turns the call into text on your Mac, and the audio or video stays there. Only with a yes to notes does the transcript's words go to Koi's AI, and nothing of the notes is kept on Koi's server. Koi's server is asked whether you have a plan before a recording starts, and keeps nothing about it.

Koi is Mac only. On Windows, Teams Speaker Coach works in Teams meetings, Yoodli lists Zoom, Meet and Teams among its integrations, and PowerPoint's Speaker Coach runs on Windows for rehearsals. For bot-free notes on Windows, our Otter AI alternatives page lists desktop recorders that work there.

Poised also promoted Shortcut, a Mac app for dictation with AI-polished rewrites, listed as free for a limited time on its pricing page. The shutdown banner doesn't say what happens to it. If you used it for dictation, Koi dictates in any Mac app too, on your Mac and offline; see Koi's dictation or our list of dictation apps for Mac.

• You want feedback while you speak, not after. Try Yoodli or Teams Speaker Coach.
• You want filler word counts, pace and scores over time.
• You're on Windows.
• You want practice before the call more than notes after it.

• Bot-free call notes on your Mac, plus coaching for second-language calls? Koi.
• Live nudges and a speaking report, plus roleplays? Yoodli.
• Private feedback in Teams meetings? Teams Speaker Coach.
• Rehearsing slides, free? PowerPoint Speaker Coach.
• Practice on your phone? Orai.

See Koi's plans, or AI note takers for Mac.