McKinsey & Company will soon have some entry-level job candidates talk with an AI client before they get anywhere near a real one. The Verge AI reports that the consulting giant will add a 10-minute conversation with an AI-simulated client to its interview process. The Wall Street Journal broke the story. It’s a small pilot, but it shows how quickly AI is moving from the work itself into the process of deciding who gets hired.
What McKinsey Is Testing
According to the WSJ reporting cited by The Verge AI, the simulation “aims to reflect 80% of the scenarios McKinsey consultants might encounter in their day-to-day work.” So this isn’t a trick exercise built to rattle anyone. The WSJ notes it isn’t designed to “mimic an unhinged client.” It’s meant to feel like an ordinary client conversation.
Here’s what we know so far:
- It’s a short, focused conversation. Candidates get 10 minutes with the AI client. That’s long enough to show how someone frames a problem, asks questions, and handles pushback. It’s too short to wear a candidate down.
- Humans do the scoring. The AI won’t grade anyone. Human assessors will be in the room watching how candidates deal with the simulated situations. This matters because automated scoring in hiring is a legal and reputational minefield, and McKinsey seems to be avoiding it on purpose.
- It’s aimed at undergrads. The pilot covers undergraduates applying for business-analyst roles, McKinsey’s classic entry point for new grads.
- It’s limited to North America for now. The tool will be tested in “some” North American offices this fall. The WSJ says “hundreds” of candidates may use it.
- It’s still a test. McKinsey hasn’t said whether the simulation will expand to more offices, more roles, or replace any existing interview stages.
Why This Matters
What stands out is the division of labor. The AI plays the client, and the humans do the judging. That’s a smart design choice. The AI gives every candidate a consistent scenario, which is hard to pull off with human role-players who get tired or improvise differently each time. People still make the hiring call.
It also tests something that case interviews have always struggled to capture. A traditional case interview checks whether you can structure a problem on paper. A live client conversation checks whether you can do that while someone is talking back to you, asking follow-ups, and maybe misunderstanding you. That’s much closer to the actual job.
There’s an irony here too. Consulting firms are among the loudest advocates for AI adoption in their clients’ businesses. Now McKinsey is using that same technology on its own front door.
Not the Only Player
McKinsey isn’t alone. As The Verge AI points out, other companies are building tools that use AI avatars in job interviews. The outlet’s Hayden Field tested several of them for a video published in March. AI-powered interviewing has become a crowded category, with vendors pitching everything from automated screening calls to full avatar-led interviews.
The difference is in how McKinsey frames it. Many tools on the market lean toward replacing human interviewers to save time. McKinsey’s version keeps humans in the evaluation seat and uses AI only to stage the scenario.
Caveats Worth Watching
A few open questions remain:
- Fairness across candidates. Talking to an AI is a skill in itself. Candidates who already use chatbots daily might feel more at ease than those who don’t.
- Scenario realism. Covering “80%” of everyday situations is an ambitious claim, and we don’t yet know how McKinsey measured it.
- Scale. With only hundreds of candidates in a limited pilot, it’s too early to tell whether this becomes standard practice.
What Comes Next
If the pilot goes well, expect other big consulting and professional services firms to follow quickly. Recruiting at these firms is high-volume and very standardized, which is exactly where AI simulations make sense. For students heading into recruiting season, practicing conversations with AI tools might soon be as normal as practicing case math.
You can find more details in the original coverage from The Verge AI.