BCG Online Case (Casey Chatbot): Format, Scoring, and How to Prepare (2026)

BCG's Casey chatbot is a 30-minute digital case assessment with 8-10 questions plus a 60-second video recommendation, used as a pre-screening gate before live interviews. You cannot pause, skip, or revisit answers. According to BCG's interview preparation page, Casey evaluates the same core skills as a traditional case interview — data interpretation, quantitative reasoning, structured thinking, and communication — through a chat interface.

Casey Format: Exact Structure

Casey presents a single business case through a chat interface where a virtual interviewer walks you through the problem step by step with data exhibits. Some BCG offices use Casey as their sole first-round filter — performance alone determines whether you speak to a human interviewer (Source: IGotAnOffer 2025).

Scenarios typically mirror real BCG engagements: growth challenges, profitability declines, market entry decisions, or operational issues. BCG's official practice materials include climate strategy, digital banking, and cloud migration cases.

The 4 Question Types

Casey tests four distinct skill areas through different formats. Structuring questions appear early: you select 2-4 relevant datasets from 8 options, then justify your choices in writing. This mirrors the consulting skill of scoping a problem — choosing what to investigate and what to ignore (Source: CaseBasix 2025).

Quantitative questions (~2 per assessment) require mental math on growth rates, market shares, or break-even points. Data interpretation questions (3-4 per assessment) present charts and graphs requiring key business insight extraction. Critical thinking questions evaluate logical reasoning about strategic options.

How Casey Scoring Works

Casey uses asymmetric scoring: +3 points for correct and -1 for incorrect on multiple-choice, making random guessing negative expected value (Source: MConsultingPrep 2025). You cannot skip — every question must be answered to proceed.

Written answers are scored on reasoning quality, not just correctness. BCG assesses whether you identified the right approach, showed structured thinking, and connected answers back to the business question. According to Prepmatter, overall criteria include:

• Problem-solving skills and analytical capability
• Business acumen and critical thinking
• Communication and time management
• Structured reasoning throughout

Video Recommendation: 60-Second Structure

After all chatbot questions, you get 60 seconds of prep and 60 seconds to record your recommendation. This is the only spoken component and it is scored on communication clarity, logical structure, and executive presence.

Lead with the answer — state your recommendation in the first 10 seconds. According to MyConsultingCoach, structuring and business intuition are weighted most heavily.

Worked Example: Casey Math Question

Scenario: A consumer electronics company is considering the smartwatch market. Total market: $18B, growing 8%/year. Estimated Year 1 capture: 3% share. Fixed entry costs: $120M. Variable cost/unit: $85. Average selling price: $250.

Question: How many units to break even in Year 1?

Solution:

1. Contribution margin = $250 - $85 = $165/unit
2. Break-even units = $120,000,000 / $165 = 727,273 units
3. Sanity check: Year 1 revenue at 3% share = $18B x 0.03 = $540M. At $250/unit = 2.16M units — well above break-even, so market entry appears viable

State the formula, plug in numbers, and connect the result to the business question. Casey evaluates the reasoning process, not just the final number.

2-Week Preparation Strategy

Week 1 — Foundations. Days 1-2: Complete all BCG official practice cases at careers.bcg.com. Days 3-4: Drill chart interpretation 2 hours daily using financial news charts, writing insights in under 60 seconds. Days 5-7: Mental math — percentages, growth rates, break-even calculations.

Week 2 — Simulate. Days 8-10: Timed 30-minute sets of 8-10 mixed questions. Days 11-12: Record 5+ video recommendations daily. Days 13-14: 2-3 full end-to-end mock assessments.

Common Mistakes That Kill Scores

Spending too long on early questions is the most frequent error — candidates spend 5+ minutes on straightforward structuring questions, leaving insufficient time for harder math later. Budget 2-3 minutes maximum per question.

Guessing without eliminating options has negative expected value at +3/-1 scoring. But if you can narrow to 2-3 options, expected value turns positive. Writing unstructured answers scores poorly — lead with the recommendation, cite the data point, state the implication.

Casey in the Full BCG Pipeline

Casey is step one — passing gets you to live interviews. The skills transfer directly to live BCG cases, which are interviewer-led and exhibit-heavy by design. BCG's overall acceptance rate is approximately 1-2%, with first-round pass rates estimated at 30-40%.

Related Guides

• BCG case interview guide — full BCG process, live case format, interviewer scoring
• Case interview data interpretation — chart-reading skills Casey tests heavily
• Mental math for case interviews — calculation speed Casey requires
• Case interview math practice — drills for Casey quantitative questions
• Case interview communication tips — video recommendation preparation
• Case interview synthesis — the skill the video tests most directly
• How to practice case interviews — structured prep beyond Casey

Test Your Knowledge

Sources (checked March 20, 2026)

• BCG case interview preparation (official): https://careers.bcg.com/global/en/case-interview-preparation
• IGotAnOffer BCG Casey chatbot guide: https://igotanoffer.com/en/advice/bcg-online-case-assessment
• CaseBasix BCG Casey chatbot guide: https://www.casebasix.com/pages/bcg-online-case-casey-chatbot-guide
• MConsultingPrep BCG online case chatbot guide: https://mconsultingprep.com/bcg-online-case-chatbot-interview
• Prepmatter BCG online case assessment: https://prepmatter.com/online/bcg-online-case-assessment-chatbot
• MyConsultingCoach Casey guide: https://www.myconsultingcoach.com/casey