McKinsey adds AI-simulated client conversation to interviews

According to The Wall Street Journal, McKinsey will add a 10-minute AI-simulated client conversation to its interview process. The simulation is "designed to cover 80% of the scenarios a McKinsey consultant might encounter in their daily work" and is not meant to "mimic an out-of-control client." The AI does not score candidates itself; human interviewers still evaluate how candidates handle the simulated situations. The tool will be piloted this fall in "some" North American offices for undergraduates applying for business analyst roles, with the WSJ saying "hundreds" of people may use it. The report also notes that other companies are building tools that use AI avatars in interviews. For undergraduates preparing for McKinsey entry-level interviews, the focus shifts from written case analysis to real-time communication with a simulated client; for consulting recruiting teams, it adds a screening step that must be paired with human evaluation.