Google Interview Warmup shut down? What happened and what to use now (2026)

2026-10-26 · Interview Copilot · 8 min read

Quick answer: Yes, for practical purposes Google Interview Warmup is gone. Its address on grow.google stopped showing the tool in mid-December 2025: the Internet Archive's last snapshot of the tool is from 14 December 2025, and from 16 December 2025 the address redirects to other Grow with Google pages. We could not find a Google announcement of the shutdown, so the March or April 2026 dates repeated in other articles are not confirmed by Google. Google's own interview article now points to Gemini Live for spoken practice. Free alternatives with published limits include Aced Practice (peer mock interviews, the service that used to be Pramp) and Yoodli's free plan; Big Interview is the closest paid course-plus-practice tool.

What happened to Google Interview Warmup

Interview Warmup was announced on the Google Keyword blog on 2 June 2022 by Jesse Haines, Director of Grow with Google. The post described a tool for practising answers to questions picked by industry experts: you spoke your answer, it was transcribed in real time, and the tool highlighted job-related terms, words you used often and talking points such as experience, skills and goals. The post was explicit that “your responses aren’t graded or judged”. It was built for Google Career Certificates learners, with question sets for each certificate, plus general questions, and it was open to everyone.

Here is what we could check about its end, on 26 October 2026:

The tool page redirects. In the Internet Archive, grow.google/certificates/interview-warmup/ loads the tool up to a snapshot on 14 December 2025. The snapshot on 16 December 2025 is a permanent redirect to the course page “Accelerate Your Job Search with AI”, whose interview module says to “use Gemini Live to practice for an interview”.
Since at least March 2026 the same address redirects to the Grow with Google article “How to Prepare for an Interview” (published 11 December 2025), which suggests the Gemini app’s Gemini Live for a real-time, conversational practice interview.
Today, from our location, the address sends you to Grow with Google’s regional “courses and tools” catalogue, which no longer lists Interview Warmup, and the US-English address returns 404.
No announcement. Google’s 2022 launch post is still online with no update note, and we did not find a retirement notice on grow.google or blog.google. Reddit and LinkedIn threads describe the tool disappearing, and several review sites give March or April 2026; those dates come from third parties, and the archive suggests the tool page was already redirecting earlier.

One more thing that confuses searches: a site at interview-warmup.com ranks for the name. It is not on a Google domain, and we did not review it.

Checked Oct 2026: every price and limit read from the vendor’s own pages on 26 October 2026. Yoodli figures are its annual-billing prices. “Not published” means the page we read does not state it.
Tool	Free option	Paid price	What you practise	Where it runs
Gemini Live (Google)	Voice chat in the Gemini app; some features need a subscription	Not published on the Gemini Live page	Any interview you describe to it, spoken back and forth	Gemini app
Yoodli	Starter: up to 5 roleplays in total, no card	Pro 8 $ / month, Advanced 20 $ / month (billed annually)	Spoken AI roleplays, including interview prep, with feedback	Browser
Big Interview	A free course	39 $ / month, 99 $ for 3 months, or 299 $ lifetime; 30-day refund	Video lessons, answer builder, practice interviews	Browser
Aced Practice (formerly Pramp)	5 peer mock interviews a month	Pro 79 $ / month, or 12 $ / month billed annually	Live mock interviews with another candidate, behavioral included	Browser, desktop only
interviewing.io	AI Interviewer for coding and system design	Mock interviews with engineers from 179 $	Technical interviews, anonymous, audio and chat	Browser
Interview Copilot (ours)	5 minutes of live recognition and 3 screenshot solutions, no card	25 $ for 30 days, paid once, no auto-renewal	Not a practice tool: help during the real call	macOS, Windows, Linux (beta)

What Interview Warmup did, and what you actually need to replace

Before picking a replacement, decide which part of Warmup you used. It did three things well: it asked realistic questions one at a time, it let you answer out loud, and it showed your words back with the job terms you covered. It did not score you, did not simulate follow-up questions and did not cover live coding. So the right replacement depends on the gap:

You want a spoken back-and-forth for general questions such as “tell me about yourself”: Gemini Live, which Google itself now points to, or Yoodli’s roleplays.
You want structure and feedback: Big Interview’s lessons and practice interviews, or Yoodli’s feedback on your answers.
You want a human on the other side: Aced Practice, the peer mock interview service that used to be Pramp.
You are preparing for a technical interview: Aced’s data structures and system design sessions, interviewing.io, and our technical interview preparation plan.

1. Gemini Live: Google’s own suggestion

Google’s interview-prep article now recommends Gemini Live, the voice mode of the Gemini app, to “simulate a real-time, conversational interview” and get feedback on your responses. Unlike Warmup, it has no fixed question sets: you have to tell it the role, the kind of interview and how strict to be. Gemini’s overview page says some features require setup or a subscription and does not print a price for Live itself, so check what your account includes. A useful prompt is to give it the job description and ask for one question at a time, with a follow-up question after each answer, because follow-ups are the part Warmup never practised.

2. Yoodli: spoken roleplays with feedback

Yoodli has moved its marketing towards teams, but individual plans remain on its pricing page. Starter is free for up to 5 roleplays in total with no card; Pro is 8 $ a month billed annually for up to 10 roleplays a week (unused ones do not roll over); Advanced is 20 $ a month billed annually with unlimited roleplays. Each plan lists live AI roleplays and feedback on uploaded recordings, so it is the closest to Warmup’s “speak, then review” loop, with the added pressure of a conversation partner.

3. Big Interview: a course with practice built in

Big Interview is the paid option if you want lessons as well as practice. On its personal pricing page it costs 39 $ a month, 99 $ for a 3-month subscription, or 299 $ for lifetime access, and it offers a full refund within 30 days of purchase if you email its support. Its page also lists a free course. It suits people who want a structured path for behavioral questions; pair it with our guides to the STAR method and common behavioral questions.

4. Aced Practice: a real person, free a few times a month

Warmup never talked back. Aced Practice, the service Pramp’s peer mock interviews moved to, pairs you with another candidate on video; each of you interviews the other for about half an hour. The Basic plan is 0 $ with 5 peer mocks a month, and Pro (79 $ a month, or 12 $ a month billed annually) makes them unlimited. Behavioral is one of the supported interview types, alongside data structures and algorithms, system design and product management. Mobile devices are not supported. Details and the full history are in our Pramp alternatives guide.

5. interviewing.io: for technical rounds

If your Warmup practice was for a software role, the gap is bigger: Warmup had no coding at all. interviewing.io offers a free AI Interviewer for coding and system design and paid, anonymous mock interviews with senior engineers; its FAQ says interviews start at 179 $ depending on the subject and the interviewer’s company. For the habits that matter in a live coding round, see how LeetCode practice translates to a real interview.

6. Interview Copilot: not a practice tool

This one is ours, and it is a different kind of product, so read it with that in mind. Interview Copilot is not a trainer and has no question bank or mock interviews. It is a desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux (beta) that listens to the call audio during your real interview and shows a suggested answer when the interviewer finishes the question; coding tasks can be solved from a screenshot. Practice tools prepare you before the call; we help during it. Many people need both. It costs 25 $ for 30 days, paid once, with no auto-renewal, and the free tier is 5 minutes of live recognition and 3 screenshot solutions, no card. Check the rules of each interview before using any AI help in it. What the free tier includes.

Where Interview Copilot is weaker

It does not replace practice. There are no question sets, no feedback on your delivery and no mock interviewer, which is exactly what Warmup offered.
A short free tier. 5 minutes is enough to test transcription, not to rehearse.
Desktop only. No phone app for practising on the go, although answers can be mirrored to your phone during a call.
Payments are final, so try the free tier first.

How we checked

For Interview Warmup we read Google’s 2022 launch post, requested the tool’s grow.google addresses on 26 October 2026, and looked at the Internet Archive’s capture history for the tool page, including where each redirect led. We treat third-party reports of a shutdown date as unconfirmed unless Google said it. For the alternatives we read each vendor’s own pricing or FAQ page on 26 October 2026 and quote only figures printed there. We did not test answer quality, and we make a competing product in a neighbouring category. For a checklist that applies to any AI interview tool, see how to choose an AI interview assistant.

A practice routine without Warmup

Warmup’s best habit is easy to keep with any tool: answer out loud, read back what you said, answer again. Pick five questions you expect, starting with “tell me about yourself”. Record or roleplay each one, check that your answer names the result and your own part in it, then repeat with a follow-up question you did not prepare for. Once a week, do one session with a person, because a real interviewer interrupts and asks “why?” in ways a script does not.

Sources

All pages checked on 26 October 2026. Prices change, so check again before you pay.

FAQ

Is Google Interview Warmup still available?

No. On 26 October 2026 its grow.google address redirected to other Grow with Google pages, and the US-English address returned 404. The Internet Archive shows the tool page up to 14 December 2025 and a redirect from 16 December 2025.

When did Google shut down Interview Warmup?

We could not find a date from Google. The archive suggests the tool page has redirected since mid-December 2025. Other articles give March or April 2026, but we did not find a Google statement behind those dates.

What did Google replace Interview Warmup with?

Google did not name a direct replacement. The address first redirected to the "Accelerate Your Job Search with AI" course, and later to the article "How to Prepare for an Interview". Both suggest Gemini Live, the voice mode of the Gemini app, for spoken practice.

Is there a free alternative to Google Interview Warmup?

Yes. Aced Practice, which used to be Pramp, includes 5 peer mock interviews a month on its free plan. Yoodli's free Starter plan gives up to 5 AI roleplays in total, and interviewing.io has a free AI Interviewer for coding and system design.

Is interview-warmup.com the Google tool?

No. It is a separate site and not on a Google domain. The Google tool lived at grow.google/certificates/interview-warmup/. We did not review interview-warmup.com.

Did Interview Warmup grade answers?

No. Google's 2022 launch post said responses "aren't graded or judged". It transcribed your answer and highlighted job-related terms, words you used often and talking points.

Is Interview Copilot an Interview Warmup alternative?

Not for practice. Interview Copilot is a desktop helper for the real call: it listens to the interviewer and shows a suggested answer. It has no question sets or mock interviews, so use a practice tool before the interview and check each interview's rules on AI help.

How the app helps here

An AI interview assistant for jobs that have nothing to do with code

The STAR Method, and How to Use It Without Sounding Rehearsed “What Is Your Greatest Weakness?” “What Are Your Salary Expectations?” “Why Are You Leaving Your Current Job?”