How does the BCG Casey Chatbot work, and what is the best free way to prepare for it?

Hi there, 

I would start by asking the recruiter for more information. They should already give you a clear starting point. 

Then there are plenty of free and paid resources online, including some simulations. The more you practice, the better you'll do, so start early. 

Adding here a resource of the most common formulas and terms that pop in interviews:

• • Cheatsheet: The Must-Know Consulting Terms for Interviews

Best,
Cristian

That's a really common question, and it's smart to differentiate Casey from a traditional case interview. You're right to think about the specific skills it's designed to assess.

Here's the reality: Casey is an automated pre-screening tool. It's less about a nuanced, back-and-forth dialogue and more about your ability to demonstrate structured thinking, data interpretation, and clear, concise written communication under time pressure. It tests your capacity to digest information, make logical recommendations, and articulate them effectively, almost like writing a brief email or a slide headline to a senior client. The main difference from a traditional case is precisely that: there's no live interviewer to guide you or ask clarifying questions; you're driving the analysis and synthesis purely through your written responses. Common mistakes include over-analyzing, getting bogged down in calculations, or failing to prioritize and synthesize findings succinctly within the tight timeframes.

For free preparation, you can break it down by skill. For mental math, any online drill site or even just practicing calculations in your head will suffice. For charts and data interpretation, go to the source: look at public case studies from BCG, McKinsey, or Bain (they often have free PDFs online with charts), or even just read business articles that present data and practice quickly pulling out the key insights and implications. Business judgment and case thinking is fundamental, so resources like Victor Cheng's "Look Over My Shoulder" recordings (many are freely available on YouTube or older forums) are excellent for understanding structured problem-solving. Finally, and crucially, for written communication and synthesis, practice summarizing articles, business news, or even just simple scenarios into 2-3 bullet points or a short paragraph that clearly states the problem, your analysis, and a recommendation. Time yourself rigorously on all these exercises, as time management is a critical component of Casey's assessment.

What often surprises candidates is just how quickly you need to process information and how much precision is required in your written answers, especially given the lack of real-time feedback. If I were to start again, I'd focus heavily on timed written practice – taking any free case interview example I could find and forcing myself to type out all my responses, recommendations, and calculations, treating it like a chatbot interface.

Hope this helps! All the best.

hey!

It's an interactive, time pressured case simulation where you move through exhibits, answer quantitative and qualitative questions, and submit short written responses, so it tests structured thinking, mental math, data interpretation, prioritization, and concise synthesis more than creativity or free flowing discussion. Unlike a traditional live case, there is no interviewer to guide you, which means time management, clear hypotheses, and strong written communication become critical, and many candidates struggle because they overanalyze, spend too long on early questions, or write answers that are too long and not sharply synthesized. For free prep, use daily mental math drills with GMAT style questions from GMAT Club, practice chart interpretation with investor presentations and annual reports from public companies, refine business judgment by doing standard case prompts from free PrepLounge or consulting club materials, and train written synthesis by forcing yourself to answer case questions in three to five crisp bullet style sentences with a clear recommendation first. If I had to start again, I would focus most on speed with exhibits and concise writing under time pressure, as that is where most strong candidates still lose points.

Alessa

Here is what I see in practice.

Casey is a timed, solo, written case. You read exhibits, do math, interpret charts, and write short recommendations. No interviewer, no hints. It tests structured thinking, clean math, sharp data interpretation, concise writing, and strict time management.

The biggest difference from a live case is this. You cannot talk through messy thinking. Your structure must be clear before you type. Most candidates fail because they overwrite, overanalyze charts, or run out of time. Not because they lack intelligence.

If you are using mostly free resources, keep it simple. Do daily mental math using free GMAT style questions. Practice chart reading with real investor presentations and give yourself 2 minutes per slide to write one key insight. Take standard case PDFs and answer them in written, timed format. After every case, write a 5 sentence CEO email in 5 minutes.

What surprises people most is how fast the clock moves. If I had to start again, I would do fewer cases but always under strict time and in full written format. That is what actually prepares you for Casey.