No. McKinsey's Solve FAQ bans "applications, websites, AI tools, or pre-prepared notes" during the assessment, and asks you to "participate in this assessment alone, without assistance from others". ChatGPT, Claude, Excel and a phone calculator all fall under that. What you can do is use AI before the test, to learn and plan, then sit Solve with blank paper and a pen.
Can you use ChatGPT on McKinsey Solve?
No. ChatGPT is an AI tool, a website and an application, and McKinsey's Solve FAQ bans all three during the assessment. The same FAQ asks you to take Solve alone, without help from others, and bans recording or capturing any part of it. The one exception McKinsey describes is an accommodation for a disability that it has approved in writing.
The rule is about the sitting, not about AI in general. McKinsey's Solve FAQ says no preparation is needed, and nothing on its Solve page limits how you study beforehand.
Which tools does McKinsey ban during Solve?
Every outside tool that could do the thinking or the arithmetic for you is banned; blank paper and a pen are the only aids McKinsey names. The table sorts the tools candidates ask about by the rule and the page it comes from.
| Tool | Rule | Where the rule comes from |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT, Claude or any other AI chatbot | Banned | Solve FAQ: AI tools, websites and applications |
| AI software installed on your computer | Banned | Integrity page: installed software that could assist or record |
| Excel, Google Sheets or a solver template | Banned | Solve FAQ: applications and websites |
| A handheld or phone calculator | Banned | Integrity page: no calculator |
| Notes or a cheat sheet prepared in advance | Banned | Solve FAQ: pre-prepared notes |
| Another person helping | Banned | Solve FAQ: take it alone |
| Blank paper and a pen | Allowed | Integrity page: the only note tools it names |
| A calculator inside the game itself | Use it as the game provides it | Reported for Redrock; check the tutorial |
The integrity page is general: it covers any McKinsey assessment or interview and does not name Solve. Your invitation and the on-screen instructions decide the setup for your own sitting.
Can you use Excel or a calculator on McKinsey Solve?
No outside spreadsheet or calculator is allowed: Excel is an application, and McKinsey's integrity page bans calculators. Candidates report a calculator built into the Redrock game, which is part of Solve itself, so use it as the game provides it and confirm it in the tutorial.
A Sea Wolf "Excel solver" is the same case. The Sea Wolf Excel solver guide shows the by-hand sum check that does the same job on paper, and the Redrock math guide covers the calculations worth practising without a spreadsheet.
Does McKinsey Solve detect ChatGPT or AI use?
McKinsey does not say. Its sources describe no camera rule for Solve itself, no list of what the software records and no detection method, and this guide makes no claim about any of them. What the FAQ does say is that scenarios vary so that "no two individuals have the same parameters and combinations of data", and that you may be "asked at random to take an additional task in person and/or to explain your logic used".
- Said: AI tools, websites, applications and pre-prepared notes are banned, and you take Solve alone.
- Said: scenarios differ between candidates.
- Said: you may be picked at random to explain your logic or do an extra task in person.
- Not said: whether a webcam runs during Solve, what is logged, or how a breach is found.
Silence about detection is not permission. The published rule is the boundary. For camera and desk rules in detail, read is McKinsey Solve proctored.
What happens if you break the Solve rules?
McKinsey's Solve FAQ and Solve page list four possible outcomes, with no scale between them: exclusion from consideration, a rescinded offer, restrictions on future applications and legal action. The FAQ also describes failing to follow the rules as a breach of McKinsey's values.
The only exception is an accommodation. If a condition means you rely on a tool, ask through the route in the Solve accommodations guide and get the approval in writing before you sit.
How can you use AI to prepare for McKinsey Solve?
Use it as a tutor before the test, never as a helper during it. A chatbot is useful for explaining a concept you keep missing, quizzing you on your own mistakes or laying out a study calendar; it is unreliable at arithmetic, so check every number it gives you by hand.
| Ask it to | Check |
|---|---|
| Explain a concept you keep missing, such as percentage points versus percent change | Rework one example by hand; chatbots can get arithmetic wrong |
| Quiz you on your own error log after a practice run | The log is yours; the questions only point you back to it |
| Turn your invitation length and test date into a study calendar | Compare it with the game times in your invitation |
| Make up extra numbers for a calculation type you have already learned | Verify every answer it gives before you trust the drill |
- Weeks before: learn each game's format and the calculation types; AI can explain and quiz.
- Days before: timed runs of each game, then an error log; AI can turn the log into drills you verify.
- Test day: one screen, blank paper, a pen and nothing else, unless an accommodation was approved in writing.
For the full sequence, read how to prepare for McKinsey Solve. To practise the games under time, the McKinsey Solve game practice page lists one free run of each format, and the McKinsey Solve sample questions give one worked item per game.
Sources and evidence boundaries
- Official, checked October 11, 2026: McKinsey's Solve page and the Solve FAQ (August 2025 PDF): banned aids including AI tools, taking Solve alone, no recording, scenario variation, the random follow-up and the consequences.
- Official, checked October 11, 2026: assessment integrity expectations, which apply to any McKinsey assessment or interview: one screen, blank paper and a pen, no calculator, no installed software that could assist or record. The disability accommodations page is the route for written exceptions.
- Reported: an in-game calculator in Redrock.
- Not published: whether a webcam is used during Solve, what the software records and how a breach is detected. This guide offers no way around any rule.
