AI-901 Exam Guide 2026: Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-900 Has Retired)

Searching for how to pass the AI-900 exam? Here’s the update that changes everything: AI-900 retired on June 30, 2026, and if you’re reading this today, the exam you’ll actually be sitting is called AI-901.

AI-901 is Microsoft’s current entry-level certification exam that validates foundational knowledge of AI concepts and hands-on skills using Microsoft Foundry, replacing the older, purely conceptual AI-900 exam. This guide covers what changed, the exact domain breakdown, how to prepare, and what stays true if you already hold the AI-900 certification.

TL;DR Summary

• What changed: AI-900 retired on June 30, 2026. AI-901 is now the only way to earn the Azure AI Fundamentals certification.
• If you already passed AI-900: your certification stays valid for life. You don’t need to retake anything.
• What’s different: AI-901 has just 2 domains instead of 5, and roughly 55-60% of it is hands-on implementation using Microsoft Foundry, including reading some Python.
• Exam basics: around 50-60 questions, 60 minutes, a passing score of 700 out of 1000, roughly $99 USD.
• Prep time: 2 to 4 weeks for complete beginners, 1 to 2 weeks if you already work in IT or cloud.

AI-900 Has Retired: What That Actually Means

If you started researching this certification a few months ago, you may have bookmarked guides built entirely around AI-900. Here’s the situation as it actually stands today.

The certification itself didn’t disappear. “Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals” is still the credential you earn. What changed is the exam you take to get there.

AI-900 is gone. Microsoft retired it on June 30, 2026. You can no longer register for or sit this exam through Pearson VUE or Certiport. Its official Microsoft Learn learning path and free practice assessment are also being phased out.

AI-901 is the only path now. If you’re starting fresh today, you study for and sit AI-901, not AI-900.

If you already passed AI-900, nothing changes for you. Microsoft fundamentals certifications don’t expire. Your credential stays valid permanently, exactly as it was the day you earned it.

What Is the AI-901 Exam?

AI-901 is Microsoft’s current foundational certification exam for validating your understanding of core AI concepts and your ability to work with Microsoft Foundry, the company’s unified portal, SDK, and model catalogue for building AI apps and agents.

It’s still designed for beginners. No coding background or data science experience is required, though basic familiarity with Python syntax helps with a handful of Foundry-specific topics.

Why Microsoft Replaced AI-900

AI-900 was built for a version of “Azure AI” that mostly meant pre-built services: vision, speech, language, and some classic machine learning. The exam asked you to describe those workloads and match the right service to a scenario, a describe-and-identify test.

The way organizations actually use AI has shifted hard toward generative AI, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and agents that can take real actions.

Microsoft consolidated its tooling into Microsoft Foundry to match, and the fundamentals exam needed to catch up. Microsoft published the refreshed objectives on April 15, 2026, opened AI-901 in beta on April 21, 2026, and set AI-900’s retirement for June 30, 2026.

AI-900 vs AI-901: Side-by-Side Comparison

The Two AI-901 Exam Domains

AI-901 trades the old five describe-style domains for two, a deliberate shift toward depth over breadth.

Domain 1: Identify AI Concepts and Responsibilities (40-45%)

This is the conceptual half, and if you’ve already looked at AI-900 material, much of it will feel familiar.

• Core AI workloads: machine learning, computer vision, natural language processing, and generative AI
• Responsible AI principles: fairness, reliability, privacy, transparency, and accountability
• How generative models like OpenAI‘s and large language models behave at a high level, including prompts, tokens, and grounding

Domain 2: Implement AI Solutions Using Microsoft Foundry (55-60%)

This is the new center of gravity for the exam, and the larger share of your score.

• Navigating the Microsoft Foundry portal, its models, and its tools
• Choosing the right model and grounding approach for a given scenario, including RAG
• Building generative AI apps and agents, and understanding memory, tools, and knowledge within an agent solution
• Hands-on style topics, like creating a lightweight chat client using the Foundry SDK

Python syntax helps here since a few topics touch the Foundry SDK directly, but you don’t need to be a developer. Focusing on concepts and workflow, rather than memorizing syntax, is enough to pass.

To build a genuine foundation in AI concepts before diving into Foundry specifics, HCL GUVI’s MS Office Apps Using AI course is a practical starting point.

Exam Format and Question Types

Expect roughly 50-60 questions across a mix of formats in a single 60-minute session.

• Multiple choice and single-select for direct factual recall
• Multiple-select and drag-and-drop for matching concepts to services or scenarios
• Hotspot and scenario-based questions that test real-world mapping, not just definitions

Sections run in a linear flow, so once you move forward, you generally can’t go back. Flag anything you’re unsure of if the section allows it, read each question carefully since subtle wording often flips the correct answer, and manage your time so you’re not stuck dwelling on one question.

How Hard Is the AI-901 Exam?

AI-901 sits at roughly the same fundamentals-level difficulty as AZ-900 and MS-900, but it asks you to actually understand how things get built, not just name them. The concept questions are comparable in difficulty to the old AI-900, but the Foundry implementation domain expects real workflow understanding.

With consistent hands-on practice, it remains very manageable for a fundamentals-level candidate.

The honest challenge is less about difficulty and more about coverage: memorizing Azure service names, understanding Foundry’s actual workflow, and staying current since generative AI content here shifts quickly.

Aim for at least 85% on the official practice assessment before booking your exam. Consistent practice-test scores are a better readiness signal than how confident you feel after simply reading through material.

How Long Does Preparation Actually Take?

Most candidates with no prior background can be exam-ready in 2 to 4 weeks of steady study. If you already work in IT or cloud roles, a focused 1 to 2 weeks is realistic.

The honest driver isn’t just how much time you have, it’s how deliberately you use it. Studying concepts passively for a month gets you less far than two focused weeks that include actually clicking around inside Microsoft Foundry.

How to Study for AI-901

Because AI-901 leans much harder into Foundry than its predecessor did, your study plan needs to be more hands-on than simple reading and flashcards.

1. Lock in the concepts first, using the official AI concepts learning path. Responsible AI principles and the four core workload types are fast, high-value revision, and cover roughly 40-45% of your score.
2. Actually open Microsoft Foundry and click around, guided by the Foundry apps and agents learning path. You’ll learn the portal far faster by using it than by reading about it. Create a project, browse the model catalogue, run a simple prompt.
3. Build one small thing. Stand up a basic chat experience or simple agent using the Foundry SDK. You don’t need production-quality code, just an understanding of how the model, prompt, grounding data, and tools fit together.
4. Drill exam-style practice questions. Fundamentals exams reward pattern recognition. Practicing realistic questions trains you to quickly spot what a scenario is actually asking, especially once drag-and-drop and hotspot formats show up.

Generative AI concepts, prompt engineering, and grounding are worth extra attention here since they carry real weight in Domain 2. HCL GUVI’s free guide on prompt engineering best practices is a useful companion resource.

Career Impact and Salary: What This Certification Is Actually Worth

Here’s what AI literacy on Azure is actually worth in India, based on real, current pay data.

AI-901 alone gets you into AI-literate roles at the entry end of this table. The real jump in pay comes once you progress toward implementation-focused, technical AI Engineer roles, which is exactly why this fundamentals certification is usually treated as a starting point rather than a destination.

After AI-901: Where It Takes You

Passing AI-901 is a starting point, not an end goal in itself.

• It’s a natural stepping stone toward Azure role-based certifications like Azure Data Scientist Associate or Azure AI Engineer Associate, though it isn’t a formal prerequisite for either.
• The conceptual foundation you build here, understanding what different AI workloads do, how Microsoft Foundry organizes AI development, and how responsible AI principles apply, gives you useful context once you move into more technical, hands-on certifications.
• For career positioning, it signals that you’ve taken a structured, verifiable step toward understanding modern AI development, not just AI theory from a few years ago.
• As AI becomes embedded across every industry, both technical and non-technical professionals benefit from a shared vocabulary and baseline understanding, which is exactly what this certification demonstrates on a resume or LinkedIn profile.

If you’re serious about building real skills beyond the exam itself, covering AI workloads, Microsoft Foundry, generative AI, and responsible AI principles, HCL GUVI’s Intel & IITM Pravartak Certified Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning Course, co-designed by Intel, is a strong next step.

Final Thoughts

AI-901 remains one of the most accessible entry points into AI certification today, no coding background, no data science prerequisites, and no prior Azure experience required.

What’s changed is that “accessible” now includes some genuine hands-on exposure to how AI solutions actually get built with Microsoft Foundry, not just which service name matches which use case.

Start with the official Microsoft Learn path for AI-901, get your hands on Microsoft Foundry directly rather than just reading about it, and aim for 85%+ on practice questions before booking your exam date.

If you already hold AI-900, take a moment to appreciate that you’re already done, your certification carries the same weight it always did, permanently.

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