AI-900 vs AI-901: Key Changes in Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals Certification

Microsoft is making an important change to the Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals certification path. The current AI-900: Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals exam will retire on June 30, 2026, and it will be replaced by the new AI-901 exam. Candidates who are currently preparing for AI-900 can still take and pass the exam before the retirement date. After AI-900 retires, candidates will continue to earn the same Azure AI Fundamentals certification by passing AI-901. This change is especially important for students, beginners, career changers, IT professionals, developers, and business users who are interested in building a strong foundation in artificial intelligence and Microsoft Azure AI services.

Why This Certification Still Matters for AI Beginners

The Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals certification is designed for candidates who are at the beginning of their AI learning journey. It gives learners a practical way to prove that they understand essential AI concepts, machine learning principles, and Azure services used to create AI solutions. This certification is valuable because artificial intelligence is becoming part of many business systems, cloud platforms, customer service tools, automation workflows, and software development projects. Whether a candidate has a technical background or comes from a non-technical role, this certification can help demonstrate readiness to understand and discuss AI solutions in a Microsoft Azure environment.

What AI-900 Covers Before Its Retirement

The AI-900 exam focuses on foundational knowledge of AI workloads and the basic principles of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Candidates preparing for AI-900 should understand common AI workloads, responsible AI considerations, machine learning concepts, computer vision, natural language processing, and generative AI features on Azure. It is a beginner-level exam, so candidates do not need professional experience in data science or software engineering. However, basic knowledge of cloud concepts and client-server applications can make the preparation process easier and more effective.

What Makes the New AI-901 Exam Different

The new AI-901 exam keeps the Azure AI Fundamentals certification at the beginner level, but it reflects the newer direction of AI solution development on Microsoft Azure. Compared with AI-900, AI-901 places more attention on foundational technical skills for working with AI solutions in Azure. Candidates should have conceptual knowledge of Azure-based AI solutions, familiarity with Azure resources, and an understanding of Python coding syntax and programming techniques. This does not mean AI-901 is only for experienced developers, but it does mean future candidates should be more comfortable with technical concepts than many AI-900 candidates were expected to be.

AI-900 vs AI-901: Key Differences at a Glance