Candidates appearing for the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2026 will undergo AI-based facial recognition at all examination centres, with the technology being introduced as an additional identity check alongside the existing physical verification process.
IIM Indore Director Himanshu Rai said the system would be used for the first time in CAT to match candidates' faces with the photographs submitted during registration. The institute is organising the examination, scheduled.
“It is being introduced for the first time for CAT. The procedure will be implemented across all examination centres,” Rai said.
Candidates will still have to undergo the usual admit-card verification by examination officials. Rai said they would not be denied entry if the AI system failed to recognise their faces or encountered a technical problem.
“So, students need not to worry about denial of entry into the centres due to any glitches or the AI system failing to recognise the candidate’s face,” he said.
IIM Indore is testing the technology to assess its accuracy and identify changes that may be required before any wider or continued use. The institute will compare the system's performance with the existing human verification process.
Rai said the facial recognition mechanism would be used only to match candidates at examination centres with the photographs provided in their applications. He also clarified that the institute would not store a database of students through the system.
“The facial recognition mechanism will be used solely to match the candidate present at the examination centre with the photograph submitted at the time of application,” he said.
He added that decisions on CAT's examination procedures and technological interventions are taken by the CAT Committee, rather than by the organising institute independently.
The 2026 examination has recorded 2,89,961 registrations, marginally lower than the 2.95 lakh candidates who registered last year. CAT will be conducted in three sessions across more than 350 examination centres in around 170 cities.
The test is the principal admission examination for the Indian Institutes of Management and is also accepted by several other management institutions for admission to postgraduate programmes. CAT scores are used by 22 IIMs for their admission processes.
The introduction of facial recognition comes amid wider efforts to strengthen identity verification and examination security in large-scale entrance tests. IIM Indore will assess the results of the trial before deciding whether the technology needs modification or further use in future CAT examinations.
Rai also said IIM Indore was integrating artificial intelligence into its academic programmes. “AI has become an integral part of most courses across our programmes,” he said, adding that the institute wanted students to understand and adapt to emerging technologies.