AI/ ChatGPT for Case Practice

Links: 
- https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/guidance/skills/ai-study
- https://www.oneusefulthing.org/p/assigning-ai-seven-ways-of-using
- https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4391243
 

You can use AI for several things:

1. Generating ideas
2. Summarizing information or concepts (i.e. industry summary)
3. Sharpening communication skills (tell you how to make a phrasing more concise)

For all of the above, you should be careful on the accuracy of the data. AI uses whatever is public, but to be honest there are few materials that are really great out in public and most of the knowledge is kept within the consulting firms. 

The more important bottom line is that AI still cannot replace human thinking. Thats what the link to the oxford website literally says

• "AI tools cannot replace human critical thinking or the development of scholarly evidence-based arguments and subject knowledge that forms the basis of your university education."

Human based critical thinking / developing evidence based arguments -> this is literally what you are tested in the interview though...

So, use it as a supporting tool, but it cannot replace actual in-person practice and quality feedback and coaching. If that were the case, then all firms will be firing a lot more of their managers and trainers because thats how juniors learn - by apprenticeship from project leadership. 

Hi, using AI tools like ChatGPT can definitely be a helpful addition to your consulting prep; you can simulate case interviews by asking it to generate frameworks, practice questions, or even to role-play as an interviewer, but remember that while it’s a great resource for ideas and structure, it shouldn't replace real interactive practice with peers or mentors who can provide nuanced feedback on your communication and problem-solving approach—it's a tool to complement your practice and help you explore different angles, so feel free to experiment and see what methods work best for you. Best, Alessa

Hi there!

I have tried to use AI tools to craft cases and to solve others and the result was poor, specially for structuring (superficial) and math (it would give a long winded answer). So I definitely wouldn’t recommend you to use it as if it was a case buddy. However, it works well for brainstorm exercise, specially if you provide the structure, and to collect general knowledge from different industries - in this case, always ask for the reference, or it may hallucinate/make up information.

If your goal with AI is to have more flexibility when studying, I would recommend for you to do drills from good case books instead and to watch good videos of case resolution that you can pause, come up with yours and compare the answers. Be mindful and use only good material such as those from people who used to be consultants, or became consultants.

Best,

Mari