BT Online Assessment: Sapia Chat Interview
BT’s early careers assessment is not a reasoning test. It is a Sapia chat interview, which we do not simulate and will not pretend to. Here is what BT and Sapia publish about it, and how to prepare for each part
What BT sets
BT’s graduate and apprenticeship pages describe the same first stage: an untimed online assessment designed to understand your potential and your approach to learning and work. It has two parts, five written questions reviewed using AI technology and one video question reviewed by a recruiter. BT links a document called Sapia Online Assessment, Competencies, dated June 2026, and Sapia’s own candidate explainer, which is how we know who runs it.
Who reviews what
BT is specific about where AI is used. It reviews the written answers only. A recruiter assesses the video and every stage after it, hiring managers make the final decision, and BT says you have the right to ask for a review. If you are worried about how the written answers were judged, that is the route to use.
What Sapia says about the chat interview
Sapia’s candidate explainer calls the written part a Chat Interview. It is a text conversation, usually five to seven questions and sometimes multiple choice, though BT’s own pages say five. It is untimed and Sapia suggests allowing 20 to 30 minutes. Sapia reads personality traits from the language of your answers using the HEXACO model, and emails you a personality profile of your own afterwards, which it says is not shared with the employer. Your answers themselves are still what BT’s assessment is built on.
How to prepare without a practice copy
There is no Sapia simulation on CogniPrep, and we would rather say so than send you to a reasoning test that BT does not set. The chat questions ask about you, so the preparation is having your own examples ready. Start with the competencies document BT links on its programme pages, then build an example for each one.
Our guide to the STAR method covers structuring the examples, and competency-based interviews covers the questions BT returns to at the final stage. For the video, see how to pass a video interview. Because Sapia reads personality from your writing, our personality test guide explains what that kind of assessment looks for.
Programmes that use it
BT’s graduate programmes cover Software Engineering, Engineering, Transformation and Delivery, and Data and AI. The apprenticeship programmes cover the same areas plus Service. Both pages describe the same Sapia stage, and apprenticeship interview questions is worth reading if you are applying straight from school or college.
After the online assessment
The final stage is face to face or virtual, with a competency-based interview and a group exercise. BT’s graduate FAQ says the day typically lasts three hours in person and that some programmes add a group exercise focused on AI. You hear the outcome within two weeks, and BT says every candidate gets one. The FAQ also says you can make only one application, so choose the programme before you apply.
Frequently asked questions
Does BT use SHL or Kenexa tests?
Third-party lists have put BT under one or the other. BT’s own careers pages name Sapia for the graduate and apprenticeship online assessment, and that is what to prepare for. SHL’s published BT story is about developing existing sales staff, not selecting new joiners.
Is the BT online assessment timed?
No. BT says there is no time limit and that you can pause and resume within the five days. The video answer is capped at 90 seconds.
Is there a numerical or verbal reasoning test?
Not in what BT publishes for its graduate and apprenticeship programmes. The online stage is the written questions and the video.
Do you have a BT or Sapia practice test?
No. The chat questions are about your own experience, so there is no question bank to learn. Your prepared examples are the preparation.