• Early concerns over costly coaching
• April launch of the AI practice tool
• How it fits into McKinsey’s broader AI shift
• Competing views on access and pressure

McKinsey Launches Free AI Tool for Interview Practice McKinsey is reshaping how aspiring consultants prepare for its famously tough interviews, betting that a free AI tutor can undercut a booming industry of pricey private coaches.

§Early concerns over costly coaching

In recent years, a niche market has emerged around helping candidates land jobs at top consulting firms, with courses and one-on-one coaching often costing from a few hundred dollars to more than $2,000, and some coaches charging up to $500 per hour. McKinsey recruiters say some services “overprepare” candidates, leaving them polished but less authentic in interviews.

§April launch of the AI practice tool

In April, McKinsey rolled out a free AI-based practice tool for applicants to its entry-level business analyst and associate roles worldwide. The system lets candidates run unlimited quantitative case-study simulations that mirror the kind of hypothetical business scenarios they will encounter in real interviews. The firm says it is designed to “democratize” preparation by giving everyone the same starting point and full access to practice at no cost, rather than relying on external prep services.

§How it fits into McKinsey’s broader AI shift

The practice tool is part of a wider overhaul of McKinsey’s recruiting and day-to-day work around artificial intelligence. Internally, the firm has built an AI assistant called Lilli and now runs about 25,000 AI agents to support some 60,000 human employees, up from 3,000 agents just 18 months earlier.

Since January, McKinsey has also been piloting final-round interviews in which business-school candidates must use Lilli to analyze a case and refine their recommendations. Interviewers evaluate how applicants prompt the system, interpret its outputs, and apply them to specific client problems, focusing on curiosity and judgment rather than rote “prompt engineering.”

§Competing views on access and pressure

McKinsey frames the new tool as a way to reduce inequality in preparation and discourage unnecessary spending on external coaches. At the same time, integrating AI so deeply into hiring raises the bar: candidates are now expected not only to master quantitative casework but also to work effectively with AI, reflecting a broader shift toward AI fluency as a baseline skill in top-tier consulting roles.

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