Can You Use AI in Online Tests? What UK Employers Say (2026/27)

AI rules at a glance

Employers checked

312 UK employers, 2026/27

With a statement

68 employers

Online tests

Stated rules limit AI and outside help

Interviews

Stated rules limit AI help

Prep sites

Deloitte and KPMG do not endorse some outside providers

Acumen Logic

For practice before a test, never during one

Where the quotes come from

Each line below is the employer’s own words, cut short and linked to the page it came from. We read each one between 10 and 12 October 2026, and group them by what the rule covers, not by sector.

• Where a quote comes from a list of things to avoid, we say so in front of it, for example “To avoid” or “Warns against”.
• “Via” means another site repeats the rule, such as a job board or a news report. Six of the 68 statements come from a site like this.

To see which test an employer sends, use our find your test provider tool.

Online tests and assessments

These employers state a rule for their online tests or assessments. Some rules bar AI tools. Others bar help from another person. Several bar both, and some also cover interviews.

Employer rules that cover online tests and assessments

Employer	What they say	Applies to
Accenture	“use of external AI tools is not permitted”	Online assessment
Aon	“do not use AI tools when completing online assessments”	Online tests
Bain & Company	“The use of AI tools are strictly prohibited”	Online assessment
Bank of England	“do not discuss the questions or answer options with other people”	Assessments
BDO	“Don’t use AI to complete the actual tasks”	Online tasks
Brattle Group	“generative AI or other external assistance may not be used”	Interviews and assessments
Civil Service Fast Stream and HMRC	“you must not ask for help from anyone”	Online tests
Deloitte	“must be completed independently and without AI assistance”	Online assessments
EY	“You alone must complete all assessments independently, without any assistance”	All assessments
Financial Conduct Authority	“not allow another person to complete any parts of the assessment”	Assessment
Fidelity International	Bars “Using AI tools or third parties to cheat, bypass controls”	Aptitude and coding tests
Forvis Mazars	“we ask that you refrain from using AI”	Whole process
Hazlewoods	To avoid: “Using dual screens during the interview or online assessments”	Online tests and interview
HM Treasury	“you must not use AI during the assessment process itself.”	Assessments
Hudson River Trading (via The Muse)	“Use of AI tools … during interviews or assessments is strictly prohibited”	Interviews and assessments
Lloyds Banking Group	To avoid: “Using AI to answer questions in an assessment”	Assessments and interviews
M&G	“should not use AI tools or other forms of external assistance”	Interviews and assessments
Macquarie	“You will not be allowed to use AI during your psychometric assessment.”	Online test
Marshall Wace	“not permitted to use any resources outside of it”	Technology online lab
Maven Securities	“must be completed without assistance from any other person”	Assessments
Nomura	“Third-party assistance (human or AI tools) is prohibited during any online assessments”	Online tests
Oxera (via a university jobs page)	“use of AI during any interviews or written exams”	Written exams and interviews
Rothschild & Co	Please do not: “Use AI tools during online assessments or interviews”	Online tests and interviews
RSM UK	“AI must not be used during any online or in-person assessment”	Assessments
Saffery	“complete these without the use of GenAI”	Online assessments
Scotiabank	“The use of AI is prohibited”	Whole process
T. Rowe Price	Warns against: “Having AI complete the assignment for you.”	Skills assessment
UBS	“should be completed only by the applicant”	Online tests

The Civil Service line is cross-government guidance on gov.uk for the Civil Service online tests that the Fast Stream and HMRC use. ONS and the Government Economic Service are not counted: their own pages carry no statement.

A few of these need a word of context:

• Marshall Wace: “it” is the locked virtual desktop used for its technology online lab. Its guide says you must work inside it.
• Saffery: “these” are its online assessments.
• Rothschild & Co: the full line ends “unless explicitly stated otherwise”.

Video and live interviews

These rules are about interviews: recorded video answers, live video calls and in-person interviews. Several ban AI that writes or prompts answers live. Capital Group also names transcription and recording software.

Employer rules that cover video and live interviews

Employer	What they say	Applies to
Barclays	“third-party AI tools are not permitted during your Barclays interview”	Interview
Baringa Partners	“generating live interview responses using AI undermines both fairness”	Live interview
Bishop Fleming	“AI shouldn’t be used to generate live answers”	Interview
BlackRock	“BlackRock does not permit the use of AI tools during any part”	Interview process
Bloomberg (via TargetJobs)	“do not use AI tools at any point during the interview process”	Interviews
Capgemini Invent	“Please avoid relying on AI-generated responses, scripts or prompts”	Application and digital interview
Capital Group	“AI tools — including transcription or recording software — are not allowed during interviews.”	Interviews
Deutsche Bank	“do not use AI tools to answer these questions”	Video interview
Experian	“Don’t use AI tools to generate answers”	Video interview
Goldman Sachs (via Fortune, Jun 2025)	“prohibits the use of any external sources, including ChatGPT”	Interviews
IMC Trading (US page)	“without the aid of AI tools, code generation platforms, online forums”	Interviews
Johnston Carmichael	“we discourage the use of AI generated notes or scripting during interview”	Interview
Legal & General	“Do not use AI live during your interview”	Interview
Mastercard	“participate in interviews without using AI to develop your responses”	Interviews
Monzo	“please do not use AI live in the interview”	Interview
Moore Kingston Smith	“AI should not be used during interviews.”	Interviews
PA Consulting	“that no AI tools … are used by candidates during interview sessions”	Interviews
Wise	“Deploying live AI assistants/prompters during video interviews is prohibited.”	Video interviews
Zopa	“please don’t use AI”	Behavioural interview

Fortune quoted a Goldman Sachs recruiting email in June 2025. IMC’s rule is on its US code of conduct.

Deutsche Bank’s “these questions” are the questions in its video interview. Zopa’s job page places its line under behavioural interviews, not tests. PA Consulting’s rule is about interviews only, and it names AI note takers and meeting assistants as examples.

Applications and written answers

These statements are about your application form, CV or written answers. Some say no AI at all. Others accept AI as a helper, as long as the experiences and the thinking are yours.

Employer statements on AI in applications

Employer	What they say	Applies to
AlixPartners	“Using others’ work and submitting it as your own is not acceptable”	Application
Baillie Gifford	“Just make sure the thinking is your own.”	Application
Grant Thornton UK	“Don’t copy and paste responses from AI”	Application
HSBC	“any use of technology that misrepresents your true abilities”	Application
Hymans Robertson	On AI-written answers: “we would consider this to be cheating”	Application form
Old Mill	“your experiences, ideas and answers are your own”	Application
PKF Francis Clark	“AI should support your application, not replace your own experiences”	Application
Point72 (via StudySmarter)	“any use of GenAI is strictly prohibited when completing this application”	Application
Quilter	“your application and responses in interview tasks should reflect your authentic thoughts”	Application and interview tasks
S&W	“Please avoid using AI tools (like ChatGPT) when applying to us.”	Application
St James’s Place	Warns against: “Generate entire responses which effect the sincerity and individuality”	Application
Wells Fargo Securities	“requires you to directly represent your own experiences”	Application
Zurich UK	“Applications that use AI-generated responses will not be considered.”	Application

Capgemini Invent’s rule covers its application too; it is in the interview table.

Prep sites and practice material

A few employers speak about preparation sites and practice material. Two of them, Deloitte and KPMG, say they do not endorse some outside providers. Acumen Logic is a prep site too.

What employers say about prep sites and practice

Employer	What they say	About
Deloitte	Paid insight sites are “not endorsed by Deloitte”	Paid prep sites
Deloitte	Using third-party answers “breaches our Integrity Guidelines”	Answers from other websites
Jane Street	“There is a lot of information on the internet—some true, some not.”	Information online
KPMG	“no relationship with, and do not endorse, any of those providers”	Outside providers (not named)
Macquarie	The recruiter’s practice link is “the only authentic practice assessment for Macquarie”	Recruiter’s practice link

Macquarie’s line is on its UK recruitment-process page.

Deloitte’s guidance covers both: it does not endorse paid assessment-insight sites, and it says using answers from third-party websites breaches its rules. IBM’s careers FAQ, as recorded in our research, points candidates to LeetCode, Pramp and HackerRank for coding practice.

Our advice: where an employer offers its own practice test or guide, use that first. Use outside practice to learn a format and build skill. Never look for, share or use real test questions or answers.

What employers say will happen

Some statements also say what follows if you break the rule. These are their words:

What employers say happens if you break their rule

Employer	What they say	Applies to
HSBC	“misrepresents your true abilities could impact the outcome”	Application
Hymans Robertson	“we would consider this to be cheating”	AI-written application answers
IBM Consulting (UK)	“may result in disqualification from the recruitment process”	Assessments and coding tests
Oxera (via a university jobs page)	“will also result in rejection”	AI in interviews or written exams
Zurich UK	“will not be considered”	AI-written applications

IBM’s AI rules, as recorded in our research, say AI must not be used to complete assessments, technical tests or coding challenges. Fidelity International’s candidate code of conduct warns that breaking its rule may lead to disqualification.

On detection. None of the statements in our research says how an employer checks for AI use.

Honesty statements that are not AI rules

Four of the 68 statements are about honesty or tools, but not about AI or outside help:

Other honesty statements

Employer	What they say	About
Lazard	“NOT permitted to use calculators or any other problem-solving device”	Calculators in its online test
Lloyd’s of London	“Navigate through our assessment process honestly and authentically”	Whole assessment process
Standard Chartered	“Just answer honestly and instinctively.”	Behavioural questions
XTX Markets (via OpenQuant)	“we work on an honour policy”	Time on its take-home test

Lazard’s rule is about calculators, so it is covered in our guide to whether calculators are allowed in aptitude tests.

Where Acumen Logic stands

Acumen Logic is for learning and preparation. It is never for use during a live assessment. That is our own rule, set out on how we work:

• Never use Acumen Logic during a live assessment.
• Never share live test content with us. We do not accept it, and we do not build from it.
• Always follow your employer’s own rules. Where an employer publishes official preparation, use it.

If you want to practise the formats before your real test, the free Acumen Logic Benchmark is 20 questions in 17 minutes across numerical, verbal and logical reasoning. To see which test an employer uses, try find your test provider. How we check each employer is on how we check employer tests. For firm-by-firm detail, see the Big Four guide and the investment bank guide. Last checked: October 2026.

Common questions

Can I use ChatGPT or other AI during an online aptitude test? +

Not where the employer has said no. Of the 312 UK employers in our 2026/27 research, 68 have a statement on AI, outside help or honesty. The ones that cover online tests bar AI tools, help from other people, or both, and a few instead bar sharing questions, outside resources or dual screens. Examples include EY, Deloitte, Nomura, Aon, Bain & Company, RSM UK and HM Treasury.

Can someone else help me with an online test? +

The employers that address this say no. EY says you alone must complete all assessments independently, without any assistance. The Civil Service's online test guidance says you must not ask for help from anyone. Nomura prohibits third-party assistance, human or AI, during any online assessment. Maven Securities says its assessments must be completed without assistance from any other person, and UBS says its online tests should be completed only by the applicant.

Can I use AI in a video interview? +

Several employers set rules in their own words. Wise prohibits live AI assistants or prompters during video interviews. Deutsche Bank strongly recommends that you do not use AI tools to answer its video interview questions. Legal & General says do not use AI live during your interview to help you answer questions, and Barclays says third-party AI tools are not permitted during its interviews. BlackRock and Capital Group also say AI tools are not allowed in their interviews.

Can I use AI to write my application? +

It depends on the employer. Zurich UK says applications that use AI-generated responses will not be considered, and S&W asks you to avoid AI tools such as ChatGPT when applying. Others accept AI as a helper: PKF Francis Clark says AI should support your application, not replace your own experiences.

What do employers say about prep sites? +

Deloitte says paid assessment-insight sites are not endorsed by Deloitte, and that using answers from third-party websites breaches its integrity guidelines. KPMG's careers FAQ says it has no relationship with, and does not endorse, certain outside providers, without naming them. Macquarie says its recruiter's practice link is the only authentic practice assessment for Macquarie.

Can I use Acumen Logic during a live test? +

No. Acumen Logic is for learning and preparation before a test, never for use during a live assessment. Do not share live test content with us. Follow your employer's own rules, and use any official practice material it publishes.