The BCG Casey chatbot assessment: complete guide

What the Casey chatbot assessment is

The BCG Online Case, known to candidates as the Casey chatbot or Online Case Experience, is BCG's digital case screening assessment. Instead of a live interviewer, a chatbot called Casey walks you through a single client problem: it presents context, you answer questions in the chat window, exhibits appear alongside the conversation, and the case builds from framing through analysis to a final recommendation. It was introduced around 2020 as BCG moved away from the multiple-choice Potential Test, and it is now a standard early screen in many offices.

The format is closest to a live case interview of any of the big digital screens, but with one structural difference: it is interviewer-led. Casey asks, you answer, the case moves on. You will sometimes be asked what you would analyse next or what data you would need, but you are following a predetermined path rather than driving the case the way you would across two live interviews. Candidates report webcam proctoring and a single continuous session: once you start, there is no pause and no going back to earlier questions.

It is one assessment with two parts: the chatbot case itself, and a short recorded video recommendation at the end. Both count. Skipping the video, or fumbling it, costs you the easiest marks in the whole test.

Where it sits in BCG's process

The Casey chatbot is an early screen, typically in first round. A common sequence looks like this:

1. Application and CV review, sometimes alongside an earlier screening step such as the Consulting Career Assessment or a maths test depending on the office.
2. The online case assessment (this guide), either before first-round interviews or paired with them, depending on the region and role.
3. First-round live case and fit interviews.
4. Final round with senior partners, then the offer decision.

Usage varies: some offices substitute their own quantitative test, and some flows pair the chatbot with a one-way video screen like the one covered in our BCG Spark Hire video interview guide. BCG has also stated that candidates who have already taken the online case will not be asked to take it again, so treat your first attempt as the one that matters. Your invitation email is the authoritative source for which screen your process uses.

Format and timing

Candidate reports cluster around one shape: one case, 8 to 10 questions, 25 to 35 minutes of chatbot time, then the video.

Two practical notes from candidate reports. First, the questions get progressively harder to finish rather than easier: time pressure is designed into the format, and running out of time on the last questions is the most common self-reported failure mode. Second, once you click through a question it is gone. There is no reviewing your answers at the end, so treat every submission as final.

Question types, with examples

Across candidate accounts, six question families show up repeatedly:

1. Data-source selection (the usual opener)

Casey presents a set of possible data sources and asks which ones you would want before starting the analysis. This is a structuring signal dressed as a checkbox exercise: pick the sources that speak to the case objective, not the ones with the biggest numbers. Tying every selection back to the client's stated goal is what earns the marks.

2. Quantitative questions

Multi-step arithmetic under time pressure: percentages, growth rates, margins, breakevens, simple projections. Candidates consistently say the arithmetic itself is easy and the setup is not; the hard part is deciding which numbers matter and building the right calculation. Expect more than one maths question per case. Answer formats are usually multiple choice or a numeric field, and plausibly wrong answers (a revenue figure where profit was asked, a margin misapplied) are the designed traps.

3. Exhibit and chart interpretation

Tables and charts with a question attached. The weak answer describes the chart; the strong answer states the insight and its implication. Reading "revenue rose for four years" is an observation; "revenue rose but profit fell in year 4, so margins are compressing and cost growth is the issue" is an insight. Start from the question being asked and pull only the cells you need.

4. Structuring and brainstorming

Short written answers asking what the team should investigate, which issues matter most, or what could explain a trend. Typing replaces talking, so your structure has to be visible in the text: short labelled categories (revenue side vs cost side, internal vs external, short term vs long term) beat an unorganised list, and MECE grouping is scored, not decorative.

5. Business judgment

Which option should the client pick, which risk matters most, what is the best next step. The right answer is rarely the biggest market or the safest option by default; it is the one that follows from the evidence the case has already given you.

6. Synthesis

Toward the end, a short written answer or the video asks you to compress the case into a client-ready message: recommendation, two or three supporting reasons, key risk. Decision-oriented language wins; hedging and recaps of everything you did lose time and credit.

The 1-minute video recommendation

After the chatbot section ends, you record a short video, around 1 minute, delivering your final recommendation to the client. Most candidates report about a minute of preparation before recording begins, though reports vary on the exact prep window, and you get one attempt: whatever is captured when the clock runs out is what gets sent. One candidate's widely shared lesson is worth internalising: assume the recording starts the moment the timer starts, not after a grace period.

A reliable 60-second structure:

1. Objective (one sentence): restate the question the client asked.
2. Findings (two or three): the numbers and insights that actually drive the answer.
3. Recommendation: one clear sentence, decision included.
4. Risk or next step: the one caveat a partner would ask about.

Rehearse this pattern on every case you practise, not just Casey-style ones, so that the skeleton is automatic on the day. A calm 55-second delivery beats a rushed 90-second ramble that gets cut off.

What BCG is assessing

Coaches who have sat on the BCG side describe the online case as grading the same parameters as a traditional case interview, in a different format: structured reasoning, quick maths, data analysis, logical filtering of information, and communication under pressure. The case content varies by candidate and cycle (market entry, cost pressure, growth, partnerships have all been reported), but the scoring logic does not.

The chatbot format changes the marginal skill. In a live case you can ask clarifying questions and get nods of encouragement; here the transcript is the entire signal. That rewards candidates who can write the way good consultants talk: answer first, structured, quantified, and short.

How to prepare

The chatbot is a delivery format, not a different discipline. The highest-leverage preparation is standard case interview work aimed at the format's specific pressures:

• Drill mental maths with a hard clock. Percentages, growth rates, margins and market sizing at roughly two minutes per question. Most candidates report the maths as the hardest part, and there is no calculator.
• Practise exhibit reading in the right order. Question first, then title and axes, then only the relevant cells. Say the insight out loud, not the observation.
• Write structures by hand under time. Take any brainstorming prompt and produce three to five MECE categories in 60 seconds. Typing speed matters less than the habit of labelling buckets before listing items.
• Do full timed cases end to end. A complete practice case, timed, with a video recommendation recorded at the end, builds the stamina and pacing the real test demands. Our BCG Casey chatbot practice simulates the chatbot flow, the question mix and the timed video, which is exactly the adaptation most candidates lack when they arrive from live-case prep, and it states its real menu: 4 playable cases today, with more in verification.
• Rehearse the video separately. Record yourself delivering 60-second recommendations until the structure is reflexive. Candidates who drill written questions but wing the recording lose marks on the most predictable section of the test.
• Pair with case partners. Live case practice keeps your commercial reasoning sharp; the chatbot only changes the interface, not the standard.

Community consensus (from candidate threads on r/consultingcareers and PrepLounge forums) is that there is no large public library of authentic Casey cases, since BCG keeps the content proprietary. Most successful candidates prepare with regular case material, timed drills, and at least a few chatbot-format runs to remove the novelty factor before test day.

Test day checklist

• Take it on a computer, not a phone. Exhibits, typed answers and timers all assume a desktop browser.
• Stable internet and a working webcam. Proctoring via webcam is reported; grant browser permissions before you start.
• Scratch paper and pen. You will want them for multi-step calculations.
• Quiet room with no interruptions. The session does not pause; a knock on the door costs real questions.
• Do the tech check. Whatever setup or practice prompt the platform offers, complete it properly.
• Watch the clock per question, not just overall. Progress beats perfection; an unanswered question is a guaranteed zero while a rushed answer rarely is.
• Before the video: pause mentally. The chatbot is over; take the offered prep window to outline your recommendation before the recording starts.

Casey vs BCG's other screens

BCG runs several early screens, and candidates often mix them up:

If your invitation names a maths test rather than a case, our BCG Quantitative Reasoning Test guide covers that screen instead. If it names a recorded video step, see the Spark Hire interview guide.

FAQ

How many questions does the BCG Casey chatbot have?

Usually 8 to 10 questions for one business case. The mix varies by candidate and cycle, but every account includes a blend of quantitative work, exhibit analysis and at least one written or spoken synthesis.

How long is the BCG online case assessment?

The chatbot section runs about 25 to 35 minutes, and the video recommendation adds roughly a minute of delivery (plus a short prep window in most reports). Plan for roughly 35 to 45 minutes end to end.

Can you pause or go back to previous questions?

No. Candidate reports agree that once the case starts you cannot pause it, and once you submit a question you cannot return to it. Treat every answer as final and pace the clock accordingly.

Can you use a calculator?

Candidate reports consistently say no calculator is provided. Practise mental maths and scratch-paper arithmetic until percentages, growth rates and margins are fast under pressure.

How hard is the maths in Casey?

The operations themselves are straightforward; the difficulty is doing them quickly, on multiple steps, while the clock runs and the next question waits. Set the calculation up cleanly on paper, make your best attempt, and move on rather than freezing on one number.

How long until you hear back?

Reports range from a couple of days to a couple of weeks, with around a week the most common. A pass brings an invitation to case interviews; a rejection brings a standard email without performance feedback.

Do you get feedback on your performance?

No. BCG does not share scores or question-level feedback for the online case. If you are rejected and reapply in a later cycle, expect to retake the assessment.