Build your confidence. Find your voice.
Meet Ascend, the AI coach who listens not only to what you say, but to how you say it. Learn to think and speak more positively, train your voice like a performer, and practise real conversations out loud until confidence feels natural.
Start free with your first lesson, “Confidence is a skill”.
A breakthrough in how AI helps you grow
Ascend is not a chatbot. She is a new kind of AI, made for self-development, and she does something ordinary AI cannot. She listens to your voice itself, not just your words. Built around Cognitive Pragmatic Training, she hears how you really sound, shows you exactly what to change and cheers you on as you become the speaker you want to be.
What Ascend hears every time you speak
Tap each one to find out more.
Example feedback from the app.
Every answer is analysed for tone, pace, pauses, filler words and volume, so your feedback covers how you sounded as well as what you said.
Ascend welcomes you in a warm, natural British voice and talks you through each tutorial, so you never feel as though you are practising alone.
You see what worked, what to remove and what to add, with a stronger version of what you said, so every attempt is better than the last.
After real-life challenges, you tell Ascend how it went. She scores your attempt out of ten and writes personal notes on your account.
Cognitive Pragmatic Training, the science of speaking with confidence
Cognitive Pragmatic Training brings together how you think before you speak and how you say it in real situations. It is taught like a real course, level by level, with every lesson turning into practice you speak out loud.
Learn
Short, clear lessons teach one skill at a time, with examples of what works and what does not, and a quick check to lock it in.
Practise out loud
Speak Lab gives you realistic scenarios to answer aloud, with instant feedback from Ascend and a fresh situation every time.
Take it into real life
Each lesson unlocks a small real-world challenge, on the phone, at work or out with friends, where lasting confidence is built.
Debrief with Ascend
Tell Ascend what happened. She asks considered questions, scores your attempt out of ten and recommends what to revisit.
Foundations
Getting ready to speak, presence and body language, and the basics of speaking well.
Everyday situations
Conversations, never being boring, groups, the phone, work and dating.
Bigger moments
Public speaking, presentations, job interviews and difficult conversations.
Leading
Interviewing others, speaking to staff, negotiating and persuading.
More than 140 lessons across 18 modules, with more levels on the way. Every module ends with a quiz and a surprise.
Confidence starts with the words you say to yourself
Positive Outlook Training teaches fairer, more flexible thinking, not forced cheerfulness. You learn to question the unhelpful thought, notice what went well and speak to yourself like an ally, so you walk into every conversation ready rather than anxious.
- Catch the negative thought, check it against the facts and find a fairer version
- Swap the conversation-killing “downer” reply for one that keeps people talking
- Unwind in the Positivity Lounge with guided sleep sessions and uplifting affirmation music
Your private place to practise out loud
Speaking an answer is completely different from thinking it. Speak Lab is where you say it, hear Ascend’s feedback and say it better, as often as you like, with no audience and no judgement. Everything is voice activated, so there is nothing to type. You simply speak, and Ascend listens.
Recording your answer…
Your main point came in the first sentence.
Pause after your opening line to let it land.
“Basically” came up three times. Try a short pause instead.
Much clearer. The pause after your opening line made people want to hear more.
Example screens from the app.
Practise every lesson, again and again
Every lesson you complete unlocks its own practice scenarios, from introducing yourself at a wedding to answering “Why should we choose you?” in an interview. Each session brings a fresh situation, so practice never becomes a script.
Games
Quick, competitive games that sharpen your speaking and your voice, with personal bests to beat and some you can play with friends.
Tap a game to find out more.
Karaoke Lab
Sing along as the melody plays and the words light up. Land on every note for points and, if you choose, share your score on the members’ leaderboard.
Free practice
Warm up with a random everyday topic whenever you have a spare two minutes.
Positivity Lounge
Wind down for sleep with guided sessions, or relax with uplifting affirmation music created for the app.
A complete vocal training course, inside the app
If you want to speak in public, you need to train your voice, just as singers and actors do. Vocal Coach is a real vocal training programme with forty classes, a daily warm-up and a practice room. As you practise, your voice is drawn live on screen, so you can see exactly what it is doing and adjust it in the moment.
- See your pitch move on screen as you speak and sing
- Hit the note and watch the points float up in colour
- Hold a steady note longer as your breath control improves
- Measure your range and watch it grow week by week
- Keep a daily warm-up streak before important calls and presentations
Now sing it back and hold it in the gold band.
Example screen from the app.
Foundations
How your voice works, posture and releasing tension.
Breath
Low, supported breathing and a steady out-breath.
Warm-ups
Humming, lip trills, sirens and a daily routine.
Resonance
A richer, fuller tone with warmth and carry.
Pitch and range
Matching notes, scales and extending your range safely.
Articulation
Crisp consonants, clear vowels and tongue twisters.
Expression and projection
Intonation, emphasis, pauses and filling a room.
Vocal health
Hydration, rest and protecting your voice.
Be the first on the stage
Nervous at karaoke nights? Quiet when it is your turn to give a toast? Vocal Coach builds the breath, pitch and projection that let you step up first, knowing your voice will carry.
Sound as capable as you are
Research shows that people judge your intelligence and competence from your voice itself. A steadier, more expressive voice helps your ideas land with the weight they deserve.
A personal vocal coach, without the price or the pressure
There is no need to pay over the odds for private vocal coaching, and no need to feel embarrassed about using your voice in front of a stranger. Ascend takes vocal coaching into the future. She was designed to listen to the voice itself, including your pitch, tone, breath, pace and volume, so you can train in private, at any hour, and hear yourself improve week by week.
It is all included in the app
You do not pay extra for vocal coaching. The full Vocal Coach course comes with your membership, alongside everything else Ascend offers.
- The complete Vocal Coach course, with your voice drawn live on screen
- Speak Lab, for practising out loud with instant feedback from Ascend
- The Social Experiment, where you connect and talk with other members by voice
- Games, challenges and personal notes that track your progress
Measured progress, compared only with you
Your Journey shows how much of each level you have completed, and the percentage rises gradually by design, because this is a real course. Your account holds your scores, your streaks and the personal notes Ascend writes for you.
Built on what the evidence says
We take this seriously. Every part of the app draws on published research into how confidence, voice and practice work.
In studies at the University of Chicago, employers and professional recruiters rated job candidates as more competent, thoughtful and intelligent when they heard the candidate’s pitch than when they read the very same words, and were more likely to want to hire them.
Harvard research found that people who told themselves “I am excited” before a public speech, a karaoke song or a maths test performed better than those who tried to calm down, because they approached the moment as an opportunity rather than a threat.
A review of thirty-two studies found that deliberate, positive self-talk has a meaningful effect on performance, with the strongest benefits for skills that need precision and focus.
Acoustic analysis of Steve Jobs’s presentations found that he stood out in almost every vocal feature linked to charisma, including melody, loudness, tempo and fluency. These are features you can train.
In a randomised study across several hospitals, medical students who received feedback on recordings of their presentations felt less anxious presenting than those who did not.
The NHS recommends building social confidence through small, gradual steps and challenging unhelpful thoughts, the same approach that runs through every level of Cognitive Pragmatic Training.
Your questions, answered
Who is Ascend?
Ascend is the AI coaching system at the heart of the app. She speaks to you, listens to how you speak, gives you specific feedback and keeps track of your progress. She was built specifically around Cognitive Pragmatic Training rather than being a general chatbot.
What is Cognitive Pragmatic Training?
It is our method for building speaking confidence. It combines how you think before you speak with how you say it in real situations, taught level by level through lessons, practice out loud, real-life challenges and debriefs with Ascend.
What is Vocal Coach?
Vocal Coach is a complete vocal training course inside the app, with eight modules covering breath, warm-ups, resonance, pitch, articulation, projection and vocal health. Your voice is shown live on screen as you practise, with points for every note you hit.
Do I have to speak out loud?
Yes, and that is the point. Speaking an answer is different from thinking it, and practising aloud is what makes the real moment feel familiar.
Can I try it for free?
Yes. Everyone can start with the first lesson, “Confidence is a skill”, including its Speak Lab practice and a chance to hear what Ascend can do.
Who hears my recordings?
Your practice in Speak Lab and Vocal Coach is private to you. In The Social Experiment, your voice notes are shared only with the members in that room, and you can report or block anyone at any time.
Is this therapy?
No. Verovascend is confidence and speaking training. It is not a treatment for anxiety or any other condition. If fear is seriously affecting your life, please speak to your GP or a qualified professional.
Your next conversation starts here
Build your confidence, think and speak more positively, and train a voice people want to listen to. Join the early access list and be the first to meet Ascend.
Illustrative scenes.
Test your skills on real people
When you are ready, step into The Social Experiment and put everything you have learned to the test with other members. It is completely voice activated, so there is no typing. You simply talk, just as you would in real life, and Ascend listens to how you sound as well as what you say. It is the safest place in the world to practise being sociable.
An open room where members chat together by voice, just like at a bar or a party. It is the perfect place to try out your new skills on real people.
Take turns as interviewer and candidate, with Ascend or with a friend you invite. Question and answer ideas guide you, and afterwards Ascend scores your tone, pace and confidence as well as your answers.
Two strangers at a wedding or a party, practising the small talk that turns into a real conversation. Ascend then tells you exactly how you came across and what to try next time.