{
  "title": "Who Gets In? AI selection comparison",
  "as_of": "2026-09-13",
  "status": "governed_comparative_snapshot",
  "denominator_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.",
  "N": 8,
  "institutions": [
    {"institution":"McKinsey & Company","market":"Global","preparation_ai":"encouraged for responsible preparation such as resume polishing and interview practice","protected_stage_ai":"prohibited for real-time interview answers and assessments unless specifically permitted","employer_ai":"AI-assisted interview exists as a voluntary route/policy architecture","human_review":"AI-assisted interview assessments are reviewed by a human recruiter before a rejection decision","source":"https://www.mckinsey.com/careers/interviewing"},
    {"institution":"UBS","market":"Global","preparation_ai":"permitted for application documents where output genuinely reflects the candidate","protected_stage_ai":"assessment tasks and recorded/virtual video responses must be completed independently without AI-generated responses","employer_ai":"not inferred from candidate-use policy","human_review":"UBS states people make decisions on submissions","source":"https://www.ubs.com/global/en/careers/search-jobs/faq/ai-usage.html"},
    {"institution":"PwC","market":"United Kingdom","preparation_ai":"not coded as permitted from the reviewed assessment-policy source","protected_stage_ai":"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_review":"on-demand video answers are reviewed by a human assessor","source":"https://www.pwc.co.uk/careers/early-careers/applying/assessment-selection-process.html"},
    {"institution":"Clifford Chance","market":"United Kingdom","preparation_ai":"AI tools may support application preparation but overreliance is discouraged and authentic voice is emphasised","protected_stage_ai":"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_review":"the firm states its team reads every application","source":"https://jobs.cliffordchance.com/guide-to-application-london"},
    {"institution":"Deloitte","market":"United Kingdom","preparation_ai":"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_stage_ai":"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_review":"the Early Careers process ends with live assessor discussion and/or a skills and motivation interview depending on programme","source":"https://www.deloitte.com/uk/en/careers/early-careers/integrity-guidance.html"},
    {"institution":"HSBC","market":"Global","preparation_ai":"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_stage_ai":"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_review":"the student and graduate process publishes an assessment centre/Super Day after the online assessment for applicable programmes","source":"https://www.hsbc.com/careers/application-hints-and-tips"},
    {"institution":"BCG","market":"Global","preparation_ai":"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_stage_ai":"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_review":"BCG states applications are reviewed by experienced recruiters and hiring decisions are made by experienced recruiters and hiring managers","source":"https://careers.bcg.com/global/en/careers-in-ai/using-ai-application-process"},
    {"institution":"A&O Shearman","market":"United Kingdom","preparation_ai":"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_stage_ai":"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_review":"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","source":"https://careers.aoshearman.com/en/how-to-use-ai-responsibly-application-process"}
  ],
  "denominator_backed_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."
  ]
}