Aon smartPredict (2026): Grid, Switch, Digit & Motion Challenges
By the Game Assessment Prep research teamUpdated July 28, 2026How we research
If your invitation mentions Aon, cut-e, or smartPredict, you are facing some of the most game-shaped cognitive challenges in hiring: four short, timed mini-tests usually reported at five to nine minutes each. Aon (which acquired the German assessment firm cut-e in 2017) does not publish a candidate-facing spec for each challenge, so the mechanics below are consistent candidate and prep-industry reports, reviewed July 2026 — labeled accordingly. Your invitation and each challenge's own instructions are the final word.
The good news: unlike behavioral batteries, smartPredict challenges are skill tests with right answers. Working memory, mental arithmetic, attention, and planning are all trainable, so format familiarity plus targeted drills genuinely raises scores.
The four challenges
| Challenge | Reported mechanics | What it measures | Reported timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| gridChallenge | Memorize highlighted dot positions on a grid while answering interleaved symmetry questions, then recall the dots in order | Working memory / executive attention | ~5–9 min |
| switchChallenge | Match a scrambled symbol row back to its original order by picking the correct numeric operator; difficulty ramps | Deductive-logical reasoning | ~3–6 min |
| digitChallenge | Reverse arithmetic: the answer is given, you fill in the missing digits to complete the equation | Fast numeracy | ~5 min |
| motionChallenge | Slide blocks to free a path — Rush-Hour-style planning puzzles with minimal-move pressure | Planning / executive function | ~5–9 min |
Not every employer sends all four; some add other Aon modules (scales numerical/verbal tests, or the chat-style chatAssess situational exercise). The invitation lists your exact set.
gridChallenge: the dual-task memory test
The hard part is not the symmetry questions or the dot positions alone — it is doing both at once. You hold a growing sequence of dot locations in memory while a second task keeps interrupting. That is a classic dual-task working-memory paradigm, and it responds well to practice: the interruptions stop feeling destructive once your memory encoding becomes deliberate (fix each dot's position verbally or spatially before moving on) rather than passive. Train the underlying span with our free Digitspan simulator — the skill of holding ordered items under pressure transfers directly, though the interface differs.
switchChallenge: deduction under a ramp
You see symbol rows and must work out which numeric operator re-maps the bottom row to the top. It starts easy and ramps — later items add rows and longer operators. The trap is spending too long on one hard item when scoring rewards throughput; candidates consistently report it as answer-as-many-as-you-can within the limit. Work systematically: match the first symbol, eliminate operators, confirm with the second symbol, move on.
digitChallenge: arithmetic in reverse
Ordinary addition, subtraction and multiplication — but inverted, so you reason from the result back to the missing digits. Speed matters more than depth. This is the most directly trainable of the four: timed mental-arithmetic drills are exactly the preparation, and our Numerosity simulator trains the same fast target-arithmetic reflex.
motionChallenge: plan before you touch
Sliding-block puzzles where efficient solutions score better than eventual ones. The single biggest improvement for most candidates: plan the full move sequence before touching anything, because undoing exploratory moves burns the clock. Our Pathfinder simulator trains the same plan-ahead spatial discipline.
Who uses Aon smartPredict?
Aon's assessment platform runs tens of millions of tests a year across a large client base. Candidates consistently report smartPredict-family challenges at Procter & Gamble (whose online assessment is the most widely reported gridChallenge deployment), and prep-industry sources also list Morgan Stanley, Deloitte member firms, KPMG, Johnson & Johnson, and Capgemini among users. Airlines and aviation recruiters (easyJet, Ryanair, and pilot-selection funnels) are heavy users of the broader Aon/cut-e catalogue. Employer lineups change by role, country and year — treat every list, including this one, as a snapshot and your invitation as authoritative.
How scoring works
Aon does not publish scoring rubrics or pass marks. Candidate-facing reports consistently describe percentile-style comparison against a norm group, with employers setting their own thresholds per role. SwitchChallenge is explicitly adaptive in reports — the difficulty you reach matters, not just raw correct counts. As with every assessment in this category: nobody selling a "guaranteed pass score" knows the employer's threshold.
Honest preparation
- Identify your set. Check the invitation for which challenges (and any scales tests or chatAssess) you will face. Five focused sessions on the right formats beat twenty on the wrong ones.
- Drill working memory for grid. Ordered-recall practice under interruption — memory-span games, dual n-back — directly targets the gridChallenge demand. Start with Digitspan and add distraction.
- Rebuild timed arithmetic for digit. Ten minutes of daily reverse-equation drills for a week is usually enough to stop the clock feeling hostile. Numerosity covers the same reflex.
- Practice planning for motion. Any Rush-Hour-style puzzle app plus Pathfinder builds the look-ahead habit. Count moves; efficiency is the metric.
- Do the official practice items. Aon's platform typically offers example items before each challenge starts. Never skip them — they are the only rehearsal of the real interface you get.
These are HireVue-style simulators, not Aon replicas — what transfers is the cognitive skill and time-pressure composure, not the exact interface.
Aon vs the other game-based assessments
smartPredict sits at the pure-skill end of the spectrum alongside Criteria Cognify and HireVue games: short, scored, right answers exist, practice works. pymetrics and Arctic Shores are behavioral batteries where most tasks profile preferences instead. If you are mapping several employers' processes at once, our game-based assessments guide compares the major vendors.
FAQ
How long does Aon smartPredict take?
Each challenge is commonly reported at five to nine minutes; a four-challenge set typically fits inside 30–40 minutes including instructions and practice items. Your invitation gives the binding figure.
Is there a pass mark?
No published one. Results are compared against norm groups and each employer sets its own bar per role. Ignore anyone quoting a universal passing percentage.
Can I retake a challenge if I do badly?
Generally no — one attempt per application is the reported norm, and retake rules belong to the employer. If a technical failure interrupts you, contact the recruiter or the support route in the invitation immediately rather than restarting on your own.
Are these the same as the P&G assessment?
P&G's online assessment is the most widely reported deployment of the Aon grid/switch/digit family, so P&G-specific guides largely describe the same challenges. Confirm your exact set from the invitation rather than assuming P&G's configuration.
Is smartPredict an IQ test?
Not in the traditional sense. Each challenge isolates a narrow cognitive skill — working memory, deduction, numeracy, planning — under time pressure. That narrowness is why practice works: you are training specific, well-defined formats, not general intelligence.