{
  "name": "Who Gets In? AI and Candidate-Owned Performance Tracker",
  "publisher": "Elite Careers Strategy",
  "research_lead": "Hassan Akram",
  "canonical_url": "https://www.accessecs.com/who-gets-in/trackers/ai-policy/",
  "updated": "2026-09-13",
  "release": {
    "governed_signals": 202,
    "official_source_records_minimum": 56
  },
  "denominator": {
    "N": 8,
    "definition": "Eight institutions in the current governed corpus for which an official current source explicitly addresses candidate AI use or AI/human decision controls: McKinsey & Company, UBS, PwC UK, Clifford Chance UK, Deloitte UK, HSBC, BCG and A&O Shearman UK.",
    "institutions": [
      "McKinsey & Company",
      "UBS",
      "PwC",
      "Clifford Chance",
      "Deloitte",
      "HSBC",
      "BCG",
      "A&O Shearman"
    ]
  },
  "findings": [
    "8/8 publish an explicit boundary or control around candidate or employer AI use in at least one part of recruitment.",
    "7/8 explicitly protect at least one assessment or interview context through an AI restriction or candidate-owned-performance requirement in the reviewed sources; BCG is not coded into this numerator because its reviewed guidance does not establish a stage-specific live-assessment prohibition.",
    "7/8 explicitly permit or encourage some form of AI-supported preparation or application assistance in the reviewed source set; PwC UK was not coded as permitting preparation because the reviewed source addresses assessment responses rather than general preparation.",
    "Human involvement is explicit at all 8 institutions, but the control differs materially across recruiter review, people making decisions, human assessment review, application reading, live assessor interviews and assessment centres/Super Days."
  ],
  "limits": [
    "N=8 is a defined evidence subset, not a prevalence estimate for elite employers.",
    "Policies are institution-, market-, programme- and stage-specific and may change.",
    "Absence of a coded permission or prohibition is not evidence that no such policy exists.",
    "A general authenticity requirement is not automatically coded as a prohibition on AI during every assessment stage."
  ],
  "dimensions": [
    "candidate preparation or application",
    "protected assessment or interview",
    "employer AI",
    "human authority"
  ],
  "records": [
    {
      "id": "WGI-AI-001",
      "institution": "McKinsey & Company",
      "market": "Global",
      "candidate_preparation_or_application": "encouraged for responsible preparation such as resume polishing and interview practice",
      "protected_assessment_or_interview": "prohibited for real-time interview answers and assessments unless specifically permitted",
      "employer_ai": "AI-assisted interview exists as a voluntary route/policy architecture",
      "human_authority": "AI-assisted interview assessments are reviewed by a human recruiter before a rejection decision",
      "official_source": "https://www.mckinsey.com/careers/interviewing",
      "observed_through": "2026-09-13"
    },
    {
      "id": "WGI-AI-002",
      "institution": "UBS",
      "market": "Global",
      "candidate_preparation_or_application": "permitted for application documents where output genuinely reflects the candidate",
      "protected_assessment_or_interview": "assessment tasks and recorded/virtual video responses must be completed independently without AI-generated responses",
      "employer_ai": "not inferred from candidate-use policy",
      "human_authority": "UBS states people make decisions on submissions",
      "official_source": "https://www.ubs.com/global/en/careers/search-jobs/faq/ai-usage.html",
      "observed_through": "2026-09-13"
    },
    {
      "id": "WGI-AI-003",
      "institution": "PwC",
      "market": "United Kingdom",
      "candidate_preparation_or_application": "not coded as permitted from the reviewed assessment-policy source",
      "protected_assessment_or_interview": "AI or third-party generation, editing, rewriting, summarising or coaching of assessment responses is prohibited unless authorised",
      "employer_ai": "PwC states it does not use AI to assess Early Careers candidate performance",
      "human_authority": "on-demand video answers are reviewed by a human assessor",
      "official_source": "https://www.pwc.co.uk/careers/early-careers/applying/assessment-selection-process.html",
      "observed_through": "2026-09-13"
    },
    {
      "id": "WGI-AI-004",
      "institution": "Clifford Chance",
      "market": "United Kingdom",
      "candidate_preparation_or_application": "AI tools may support application preparation but overreliance is discouraged and authentic voice is emphasised",
      "protected_assessment_or_interview": "AI is not permitted in the Watson Glaser test",
      "employer_ai": "The Challenge separately uses AI tools inside a trainee-style simulation; this is not treated as general recruitment AI",
      "human_authority": "the firm states its team reads every application",
      "official_source": "https://jobs.cliffordchance.com/guide-to-application-london",
      "observed_through": "2026-09-13"
    },
    {
      "id": "WGI-AI-005",
      "institution": "Deloitte",
      "market": "United Kingdom",
      "candidate_preparation_or_application": "responsible AI use is permitted for selection-process preparation, final-stage topic research and interview practice, while candidate interview responses must remain based on their own experiences",
      "protected_assessment_or_interview": "AI is prohibited in named online assessments and in both in-person and virtual interviews; those stages must be completed independently",
      "employer_ai": "not inferred from candidate-use guidance",
      "human_authority": "the Early Careers process ends with live assessor discussion and/or a skills and motivation interview depending on programme",
      "official_source": "https://www.deloitte.com/uk/en/careers/early-careers/integrity-guidance.html",
      "observed_through": "2026-09-13"
    },
    {
      "id": "WGI-AI-006",
      "institution": "HSBC",
      "market": "Global",
      "candidate_preparation_or_application": "GenAI may be used to research HSBC and roles, structure a CV or application, prepare for interviews and organise or draft ideas where the final content remains accurate and genuinely the candidate's own",
      "protected_assessment_or_interview": "GenAI must not generate responses during live or recorded interviews; candidates must not submit work they cannot personally explain, validate or replicate",
      "employer_ai": "not inferred from candidate-use guidance",
      "human_authority": "the student and graduate process publishes an assessment centre/Super Day after the online assessment for applicable programmes",
      "official_source": "https://www.hsbc.com/careers/application-hints-and-tips",
      "observed_through": "2026-09-13"
    },
    {
      "id": "WGI-AI-007",
      "institution": "BCG",
      "market": "Global",
      "candidate_preparation_or_application": "GenAI may support brainstorming, structuring resumes and responses, source-finding, clarity checks and interview practice, while the candidate remains responsible for authentic content and validation",
      "protected_assessment_or_interview": "the reviewed candidate guidance requires authentic candidate-owned application content but does not establish a blanket prohibition for live interviews or assessments; those stages remain not yet evidenced for this coding field",
      "employer_ai": "BCG describes limited AI support including job recommendations and drafting interview questions, while stating AI is never used to make hiring decisions",
      "human_authority": "BCG states applications are reviewed by experienced recruiters and hiring decisions are made by experienced recruiters and hiring managers",
      "official_source": "https://careers.bcg.com/global/en/careers-in-ai/using-ai-application-process",
      "observed_through": "2026-09-13"
    },
    {
      "id": "WGI-AI-008",
      "institution": "A&O Shearman",
      "market": "United Kingdom",
      "candidate_preparation_or_application": "AI may complement candidate skills and help refine CVs, applications and written responses, but should not substitute the candidate's voice or misrepresent skills or experience",
      "protected_assessment_or_interview": "the candidate charter states that applications and assessments should reflect the candidate's own thinking, experience and abilities",
      "employer_ai": "A&O Shearman's London early-careers FAQ states it does not use AI at any point during recruitment",
      "human_authority": "the same FAQ states all assessments and decisions are made by the firm's team; the London training-contract route also publishes two one-to-one interviews after the online experience",
      "official_source": "https://careers.aoshearman.com/en/how-to-use-ai-responsibly-application-process",
      "observed_through": "2026-09-13"
    }
  ],
  "citation": {
    "preferred_attribution": "According to the Who Gets In? AI and Candidate-Owned Performance Tracker, published by Elite Careers Strategy, …",
    "url": "https://www.accessecs.com/who-gets-in/trackers/ai-policy/"
  },
  "version": "1.0.0"
}