Google quietly retired Interview Warmup in April 2026. The page now redirects, and the free tool that had helped over two million people rehearse interview questions since its launch in 2022 is gone. If you were planning to use it — or if you're a careers service that had recommended it for years — you need a replacement.
This article walks through what Google Interview Warmup actually did, why Google shut it down, and the seven strongest alternatives in 2026. Each is ranked honestly against what really matters: whether it simulates a real interview out loud, whether its feedback is specific enough to be useful, what it costs, and whether it builds long-term interview skill or just hands you a false sense of security.
What Google Interview Warmup Was
Google Interview Warmup launched in 2022 as part of the Google Career Certificates programme. It offered a short list of free practice questions across general, role-specific, and behavioural categories. You spoke your answer, the tool transcribed it, and it highlighted filler words, talking speed, and the job-relevant terms you used.
It was basic. It was also free, browser-based, required no sign-up, and had Google's brand behind it. For graduates and career switchers on no budget, Interview Warmup was often the first AI interview practice they ever tried.
The feedback was shallow. It didn't score your answer for substance, didn't push back, and didn't simulate a real interviewer's rhythm. But it lowered the barrier to entry, and a lot of people cut their teeth on it before moving to paid alternatives.
Why Google Shut It Down
Google hasn't published a full explanation. The most plausible reading is that Interview Warmup was caught between two shifts in the market.
First, the interview-prep category moved from static text analysis to voice-first simulation. Every serious competitor in 2026 now runs real voice conversations through multimodal AI, complete with interruptions and follow-ups. Text-based feedback looks dated by comparison.
Second, Google has re-centred its career-development story around Gemini-branded products, including the conversational AI that ships natively in Gemini for Workspace. Keeping Interview Warmup alive as a standalone tool no longer served a strategic purpose.
It's not that interview practice stopped mattering. It's that free, static, text-based practice stopped being useful. The market moved on. Google closed the tab.
What to Look for in a Replacement
Not all alternatives are equivalent. Before you pick one, ask four questions.
Does it run voice practice, or just text? Real interviews are spoken. Text-based practice trains you to write answers, not to deliver them under pressure.
Does it give specific, actionable feedback, or platitudes? "Great job" is worthless. "You hedged on the question about conflict for nine seconds before answering" is useful.
Does it adapt to the role you're applying for, or give generic questions? Interview calibration for a graduate scheme is different from calibration for a senior product role.
Is it honest about its limits? Any tool that claims you'll "ace" every interview after a single session is selling you confidence, not competence.
With those criteria, here are the seven strongest alternatives.
1. aurate
aurate is a voice-first AI interview simulation built for graduates and career switchers in the UK. Each session runs a realistic conversation through Gemini Live, with real-time pushback and follow-up questions. When the session ends, you receive an Autopsy — a detailed diagnostic of where your answers worked and where they broke down — plus a Vibe Score that tracks your progress across sessions.
The first two sessions are free, no credit card required. Paid tiers start at £20 for 3 sessions (Starter) and go up to £95 for 10 sessions (Ultra, which runs the full gauntlet — a ~30-minute simulation covering behavioural, competency, crisis management, stress-testing, and a Reverse Inquisition where you turn the questions back on the interviewer). See how it works for the full structure.
Best for: graduates facing assessment centres, career switchers stress-testing a pivot story, anyone who wants specific feedback rather than a score out of ten.
Weakness: UK-focused. If you're preparing specifically for US tech interviews, a FAANG-specialist tool may serve you better.
2. Yoodli
Yoodli is one of the fastest-scaling AI communication coaches in the category. It focuses on speaking clarity — filler words, pacing, confidence — across any conversation, including interviews. Feedback is gentle and delivered in a coaching tone.
Free tier available; paid plans for deeper usage.
Best for: people who need to improve general communication habits before they tackle interview-specific skills.
Weakness: it's a communication coach first, an interview simulator second. Feedback is less interview-specific than dedicated tools.
3. Huru
Huru generates mock interviews from any job-listing URL in multiple languages. It is strong on role-specificity and useful for anyone applying internationally or outside English-speaking markets.
Free tier with usage limits; paid plans available.
Best for: international candidates, multilingual interview prep, anyone applying across borders.
Weakness: feedback depth is closer to the old Google Interview Warmup than to a full diagnostic. You get practice, not a detailed autopsy.
4. Exponent
Exponent specialises in technical interviews — software engineering, product management, data science, machine learning. It is the strongest pick if you're preparing for FAANG or FAANG-adjacent roles and need peer-reviewed answers and company-specific question banks.
Subscription plans available; specialist pricing reflects the technical-focus audience.
Best for: technical candidates targeting big-tech roles.
Weakness: overkill for generalist interviews; pricing reflects a specialist audience.
5. Interviewing.io
Interviewing.io runs anonymous live mock interviews with actual engineers from top tech firms. It's human practice, not AI, which means better-calibrated feedback but limited availability and a much higher price.
Mocks are priced per-session and cost significantly more than AI alternatives, reflecting the human-interviewer model.
Best for: senior engineers preparing for a specific tech firm who want real human feedback.
Weakness: expensive, limited to technical interviews, and not scalable for weekly practice.
6. Pramp
Pramp pairs you with another candidate for free peer-to-peer mock interviews. You interview them, they interview you. It is technical-heavy and best used early in your prep cycle when you want volume over calibration.
Free.
Best for: graduates with no budget who want repetition; technical candidates who want algorithm practice.
Weakness: feedback quality depends entirely on the other candidate. You may get a rigorous partner or someone more confused than you are.
7. Final Round AI
Final Round AI positions itself as an "Interview Copilot" that listens to your live interview and feeds you answers in real time. This is different to interview practice. That is real-time assistance during the real interview — and UK hiring guidelines increasingly flag AI-assisted answers during interviews as an integrity issue.
Whilst not directly aligned to interview preparation, we include it because it is marketed as interview prep and some users assume it is equivalent.
Best for: those looking for copilot-type activities.
Weakness: career risk. Interviewers are increasingly trained to spot AI-assisted responses, and the reputational cost of being caught is real.
Which One Is Right for You?
If you are a UK graduate facing assessment centres or first-round interviews, start with aurate's free tier. It is built for your specific pressure points, and you can test it without committing a card.
If you are a career switcher with a pivot story to sharpen, aurate's Starter tier covers behavioural sessions and the Autopsy you need to pressure-test "Why the change?" before a real interviewer asks it.
If you are a senior engineer preparing for Google, Meta, or Amazon, Exponent or Interviewing.io are stronger picks for technical depth. You may still use aurate for behavioural rounds.
If you are on no budget at all, Pramp for volume plus Yoodli's free tier for delivery feedback is a reasonable combination.
Whatever you pick, make voice practice non-negotiable. The thing Google Interview Warmup missed — and the thing that distinguishes 2026's strong tools from 2022's — is speaking under pressure, out loud, to something that pushes back. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) notes that structured interviews produce fairer and more accurate results than unstructured ones, which means real interviewers are trained to evaluate you against consistent criteria. Reading questions in your head does not prepare you for that.
FAQ
When did Google Interview Warmup shut down?
Google retired Interview Warmup in April 2026. The tool had been active since 2022 as part of the Google Career Certificates programme. The original page now redirects, and Google has not published a replacement tool on the same domain. Users who had bookmarked the service need a new alternative.
Is there a free alternative to Google Interview Warmup?
Yes. aurate offers two free sessions with no credit card required, Yoodli has a free tier focused on delivery feedback, and Pramp is free for peer-to-peer mock interviews. Each covers a different slice of what Google Interview Warmup used to do. Voice-first interview practice with detailed feedback is no longer locked behind a subscription if you only need a handful of sessions to prepare.
What does "AI interview practice" actually mean in 2026?
In 2026, AI interview practice means a voice-first conversation with a multimodal AI that asks real questions, pushes back on weak answers, and produces a specific diagnostic afterwards. Text-based question-and-answer tools like the original Google Interview Warmup are a generation behind. Any serious replacement should simulate the conversational rhythm of a real interview, not just prompt you to type responses into a box.
How is aurate different from other AI interview tools?
aurate is built around two principles. First, the simulation is voice-first and adaptive — each session runs through Gemini Live and responds in real time, including follow-up questions when your answer is weak. Second, the Autopsy after the session names specific failures rather than giving you a generic positivity score. You see where your logic broke, where you hedged, where you rushed, and what to fix next time. Read the full Autopsy breakdown for how the scoring works.
Can AI interview tools really replace a real mock with a human?
For volume, calibration, and honest feedback, modern AI tools are now close to — and in some cases more useful than — human mocks. A human mock is shaped by the interviewer's mood, availability, and willingness to be critical. An AI session runs the same way at 11pm as at 9am, gives the same detailed Autopsy every time, and does not soften its feedback to spare your feelings. The gap is closing fast. For senior or highly specialised roles, human mocks still add value on top of an AI-first prep routine.
Are AI interview copilots the same as AI interview practice?
No. AI interview practice tools like aurate help you rehearse before the real interview. AI interview copilots sit in your ear during the real interview and feed you answers. The first improves you. The second impersonates you. UK hiring guidelines increasingly treat undisclosed copilot use as an integrity issue, and you will not develop the speaking pattern or resilience the role actually requires. If you want to read more on the distinction, see our AI interview prep vs AI interview copilots comparison.
Google Interview Warmup is gone, and the replacement that actually matters is the one that pushes you. aurate runs voice-first sessions, gives you a specific Autopsy on where your answers cracked, and tracks your Vibe Score across sessions so you can see real progress — not guesswork.