Last checked against Microsoft Learn on October 26, 2026

Microsoft AI certification changes in 2026

Microsoft rebuilt its Azure AI certifications in 2026 around Microsoft Foundry and agents. Here's what changed, what it means if you already hold a certification, and which exam to take now.

At a glance

AI-900 → AI-901: Azure AI Fundamentals

The certification is still called Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals, but the exam behind it changed. Microsoft's AI-900 page says the exam "was retired on June 30, 2026, and has been replaced by AI-901. To earn this certification, candidates must now pass AI-901."

The biggest difference is hands-on content. AI-901 has two parts:

• Identify AI concepts and capabilities (40–45%): responsible AI, how generative models work, and the main AI workloads.
• Implement AI solutions by using Microsoft Foundry (55–60%): prompts, deploying models, chat clients, agents, speech, vision and information extraction.

So more than half the exam is about building things in Microsoft Foundry, not just recognizing concepts. The passing score is 700.

Practice AI-901 (171 free questions) Read the AI-901 study guide

AI-102 → AI-103: from AI Engineer to AI Apps and Agents Developer

Microsoft retired the Azure AI Engineer Associate certification (exam AI-102) on June 30, 2026. Its page now says the certification and its renewal assessment are retired.

The closest current exam for the same role is AI-103: Developing AI Apps and Agents on Azure, which leads to Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Apps and Agents Developer Associate. Its study guide describes the candidate as "an Azure AI engineer who builds, manages, and deploys agents and AI solutions that take advantage of Microsoft Foundry." The skills measured are:

• Plan and manage an Azure AI solution (25–30%)
• Implement generative AI and agentic solutions (30–35%)
• Implement computer vision solutions (10–15%)
• Implement text analysis solutions (10–15%)
• Implement information extraction solutions (10–15%)

Generative AI and agents now make up the largest share of the exam. If you studied for AI-102, the vision, language and extraction topics will feel familiar, but expect much more on Foundry agents.

AI-103 practice questions are coming soon.

I already have a retired certification. Is it still valid?

Yes, until it expires. Microsoft says: "If you earned or renewed a Certification before it was retired, it will remain on your transcript in the Active Certifications section until it expires." After that, it moves to the Historical Certifications section. You can't renew a retired certification, so plan to take the replacement exam before yours expires.

Other recent retirements

From Microsoft's credential retirement page. Retired certifications are no longer offered.

Scheduled to retire:

Microsoft says its retirement schedule is subject to change. Check the credential retirement page for the full list, including Applied Skills.

How renewal works

• Fundamentals certifications, such as Azure AI Fundamentals, don't expire.
• Role-based certifications, such as Associate and Expert, are renewed every year for free. You pass a short, unproctored, open-book online assessment on Microsoft Learn.
• You can take the renewal assessment any time during your six-month eligibility window, as many times as you need, as long as you pass before the certification expires. Passing extends it by one year.

Sources

• Exam AI-900 page (retirement notice) (Microsoft Learn)
• Exam AI-901 page (Microsoft Learn)
• Study guide for Exam AI-103 (Microsoft Learn)
• Credential retirement (Microsoft Learn)
• Renew your Microsoft Certification (Microsoft Learn)

CertPrep Coach is independent and not affiliated with Microsoft. Microsoft changes certifications often; always confirm on Microsoft Learn before you book an exam.