The Ultimate Guide to the BCG Casey Chatbot Interview

Most candidates walk into the BCG Casey chatbot interview expecting a casual screening step and walk out rattled. There is no interviewer to read, no chance to ask a clarifying question, and a clock that never stops. You are solving a real case against a text box, and roughly seventy percent of what it asks you is quantitative. That is the part that catches people. Casey is not a personality quiz dressed up as a game. It is a full case interview compressed into about thirty-five minutes, scored by software, with a one-minute video recommendation at the end.

I went through MBB on-cycle recruiting myself, so I know the case bar from the candidate side. For BCG specifically, I'm relying on what I see from the WSG candidates we coach into the firm every cycle. The pattern is consistent: the people who pass Casey treat it like a case, not like a test.

What is the BCG Casey chatbot interview?

Casey is BCG's pre-interview online assessment. After you submit your application, you get a window to complete it on your own, usually one to two weeks. A chatbot named Casey presents a business case, then walks you through a sequence of questions tied to it. BCG built the tool with an outside assessment vendor, and as of mid-2026 it has fully replaced BCG's older written test and is the standard screen at the large majority of BCG offices worldwide.

The assessment has two parts. First the chatbot case, which runs roughly twenty-five to thirty minutes across eight to ten questions. Then a video recommendation, where you get about a minute to prep and a minute to record your answer. Total time is around thirty-five minutes.

How is Casey different from a live case interview?

The thinking is the same. The conditions are not. In a live case you read the interviewer, ask clarifying questions, and adjust as they nudge you. Casey gives you none of that. The clock runs continuously, you cannot return to a question once you submit it, and there is nobody to ask "can I take a second to structure this?"

Casey rewards the candidate who can structure fast and commit, because the format strips away every signal you would normally use to course-correct. That is the single biggest adjustment from live-case prep.

1. Casey is a case interview, not an aptitude test

The most expensive mistake is treating Casey like a generic numerical reasoning test. It isn't. The questions are built around one continuous business problem, and they move through the same arc a live case does: understand the situation, structure the problem, run the numbers, interpret the data, and recommend.

The content maps to the standard case types. Expect market sizing, profitability analysis, competitive analysis, and a chunk of data interpretation off charts and tables. If you have drilled the five canonical case types for a live BCG round, you have already done most of the prep that matters.

None of this is exotic if you have prepped for a live case. The difference is that Casey forces you to do it without the scaffolding of an interviewer's questions, so your own structure has to carry the whole case.

2. The first question is usually a data-selection task

Casey often opens by handing you a problem and a set of around eight possible data sources, then asks which ones you would actually use to solve it. This is a structuring question disguised as a multiple-select.

It is testing whether you can identify what is relevant before you start calculating. Weak candidates grab everything that looks vaguely related. Strong candidates pick the two or three datasets that directly drive the answer and ignore the noise.

Treat this question as your structure step. Decide what the problem actually requires, then select the data that feeds it.

3. Around seventy percent of Casey is quantitative

According to candidate-reported data aggregated on Glassdoor (not an official BCG figure), roughly seven of every ten Casey questions involve math or data interpretation. You will be computing market sizes, working through profitability breakdowns, reading two charts at once, and converting between units under time pressure.

A physical calculator or calculator app is typically allowed during Casey, unlike in a live BCG case interview. That's a real advantage, but don't lean on it too hard — the questions tend to be more calculator-aware, meaning the setup and judgment matter more than the arithmetic itself. Bring one and know it well, but the difficulty is in solving cleanly while the clock runs, not in doing the multiplication.

If your mental math is shaky, that is the highest-return thing you can fix before test day. Twenty minutes a day of timed arithmetic for two weeks moves your Casey score more than any framework review.

4. The question formats rotate, so practice all of them

Casey mixes single-select multiple choice, multi-select multiple choice, short numerical entry, and long free-text answers. The free-text questions are where you explain your reasoning or structure a recommendation in writing.

Each format wants something different. Multiple choice rewards elimination. Numerical entry punishes careless rounding. The long-text answers are graded on logic and clarity, so write in a structured way: lead with your answer, then give the two or three reasons behind it.

Do not write a paragraph of throat-clearing before you get to the point. The assessment is looking for the same crisp synthesis a partner wants in a live round.

5. The one-minute video is a real cut, not a formality

After the case, Casey asks you to record a short video recommendation. You typically get about a minute to prepare and a minute to deliver. You are summarizing your recommendation as if you were briefing a client.

Most candidates underprep this because it comes at the end when they are tired. That is a mistake. Deliver it like the synthesis at the close of a live case: state your recommendation in the first sentence, give two or three supporting reasons, then name one risk or next step. Practice recording yourself answering a "what would you recommend and why" prompt in sixty seconds until it feels natural.

6. The clock is the hardest part, so build a time budget

There is no pausing and no going back. Candidates fail Casey not because they cannot solve the questions but because they spend nine minutes on one calculation and run out of time for the rest.

Going in, set a rough budget. With eight to ten questions in roughly twenty-five to thirty minutes, you have about three minutes per question on average, less once you account for the data-selection opener and the longer free-text items. If a calculation is dragging, make your best-supported choice and move on.

A wrong answer on one question costs you one question. Freezing on it costs you three.

7. Prep with BCG's own materials before you pay for anything

BCG publishes interactive case practice on its careers site, and it is the most accurate free preview of how the firm wants you to think. Start there.

For broader case reps, the standard resources hold up. Case in Point by Marc Cosentino is the most-cited entry-level book. IGotAnOffer and Management Consulted both run detailed Casey-specific walkthroughs. Paid Casey simulators exist, and they are worth it only if you need the timed reps to settle your nerves, not for the content.

A two-week Casey prep plan

Two weeks, fifteen to twenty hours total.

Week one is foundation. Read BCG's official prep materials and do two or three full practice cases focused on the five canonical types. Run mental math drills thirty minutes a day, every day. The goal is to make the arithmetic automatic so it does not eat your time budget on test day.

Week two is simulation. Take at least one timed Casey-style run to feel the continuous clock. Practice the one-minute video recommendation five or six times on different prompts. Drill chart-reading where you have to combine two visuals before answering. Rest the day before. Take the assessment on a large screen, with stable internet, in a closed room.

Say this, don't say that

Why does BCG use a chatbot assessment instead of a live first round? 

Don't say: "Because it's cheaper and faster to screen people."

Say: "It standardizes the first cut. Everyone solves the same case under the same conditions, so the structuring and quantitative judgment get measured consistently before BCG spends partner time on live rounds."

What did Casey test about you? 

Don't say: "Whether I'm good at online tests."

Say: "Whether I can structure a problem, find the data that matters, and reach a defensible recommendation under a hard time constraint, without anyone guiding me."

Frequently asked questions

Can I retake Casey if I do badly? 

No. You get one attempt per application cycle, so do your prep before you start, not after.

Do McKinsey and Bain use Casey too? 

No. Casey is BCG's. McKinsey runs the Solve game, and Bain runs the Bain Online Test or a SOVA assessment depending on the office. The underlying skills overlap, but the formats differ and you should prep for the specific one you are sitting.

Is there a passing score I can target? 

BCG has never published a Casey threshold, and the scoring is not disclosed. Treat it as pass-fail and aim to demonstrate clean structure and accurate math rather than chase a number that does not exist publicly.

Should I pay for a Casey simulator? 

Only for the timed reps if the format makes you anxious. The content you need is in BCG's own practice materials and the standard case books. Buy simulation to calm your nerves, not to learn the material.

How much does the video matter compared to the case? 

Both count. The case carries most of the weight because it is most of the assessment, but the video is a genuine evaluation point, not a throwaway. A strong case with a rambling video is a worse outcome than a strong case with a crisp one.

What to do this week

If you already have a Casey invitation, block the live test on your calendar, then schedule two weeks of prep ahead of it. Front-load the mental math and the case structure. Practice the video. Treat the format as a case interview that happens to be scored by software, because that is what it is.

The candidates who pass Casey are not the ones who found a secret pattern in the game. They are the ones who walked in already able to structure a case and run clean numbers under pressure. Casey just measures whether that ability is real yet.

Stephen Turban is the co-founder of Wall Street Guide and Lumiere Education. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard College in Statistics and worked as a Business Analytics Fellow at McKinsey & Company. He founded WSG to give ambitious students the same insider access to finance and consulting recruiting that top-school students take for granted.