Directory / Microsoft

Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals

Microsoft's entry-level AI exam, rebuilt around generative AI, agents and Microsoft Foundry. It is more technical than the AI-900 exam it replaced.

What it signals

Practical assessment: Scenario-based multiple choice. Proctored exam; interactive items possible but no labs documented for fundamentals.
Identity assurance: Proctored with identity verification. Proctored, scheduled through Pearson VUE (official). Online (OnVUE) or test-centre choice is referenced in official support pages about online proctored exams and third-party guides but was not confirmed per exam. No access to Microsoft Learn during fundamentals exams.
Depth: Foundational. Foundational level.
Experience expected: Under 6 months. Aimed at people at the start of an AI career with basic Python knowledge.
Portability: Mostly vendor-specific. Concepts are generic but more than half the blueprint is Microsoft Foundry implementation.
Verifiability: Public badge or registry. Credential is shareable via a Microsoft Learn verification link/transcript carrying an 'Online Verifiable' tag that an employer can open (profile must be public).

For hiring managers

The certification NAME did not change when the exam changed from AI-900 to AI-901, so a CV line 'Azure AI Fundamentals' does not tell you which exam was passed; check the earn date/transcript (AI-900 retired 30 June 2026).
AI-901 drops the classical-ML, computer-vision and NLP 'describe' domains of AI-900 in favour of generative AI, agents and Microsoft Foundry implementation.
Never expires, so an old pass may reflect outdated content.
Entry-level: signals literacy, not engineering ability.

Verifying it

Candidate shares a link from their Microsoft Learn profile: either a per-credential Share link (credentials carry an 'Online Verifiable' tag) or a transcript share link / PDF. The Learn profile must be in public view for the shared credential to be verifiable. Retired credentials remain shareable and stay on the transcript.

What it covers

Published exam outline

Identify AI concepts and capabilities 40-45%
Implement AI solutions by using Microsoft Foundry 55-60%

By topic

GenAI apps: Substantial (20 to 35%). Generative apps, prompting, model selection and deployment are one of four sub-areas of the 55-60% domain plus model concepts in the first domain, roughly 20-30%.
Agents: Touched on (under 10%). Single-agent creation and an agent client app are a few bullets, under 10% of the blueprint.
Classical ML: Not covered. No model training or tuning objectives remain in the AI-901 blueprint.
Operations: Touched on (under 10%). Only 'deploy a model' and deployment options/parameters are touched on.
Data: Not covered. No data preparation objectives.
Responsible AI: Some (10 to 20%). Responsible AI principles are one of three sub-areas of the 40-45% domain, roughly 13-15%.

Exam details

Who the provider says it is for. 'You're at the beginning of your career in AI solution development.' Job role listed: AI Engineer.

Format: Microsoft does not publish per-exam formats. Official question types across the programme: multiple choice, drag and drop, build list, hot area, active screen, case studies, and (on some role-based exams) labs. Exam page states: 'This exam will be proctored. You may have interactive components to complete as part of this exam.'
Delivery: Proctored, scheduled through Pearson VUE (official). Online (OnVUE) or test-centre choice is referenced in official support pages about online proctored exams and third-party guides but was not confirmed per exam. No access to Microsoft Learn during fundamentals exams.
Code or hands-on work: Blueprint is markedly more technical than AI-900: objectives include creating lightweight chat/agent client apps with the Foundry SDK and the audience profile requires Python syntax knowledge, so candidates should expect to read code. No official statement that code must be written or that labs are included.
Prerequisites: None
Recommended experience: Conceptual knowledge of AI solutions in Azure; knowledge of Python coding syntax and programming techniques; familiarity with Azure resources, REST APIs, SDKs and CLIs.
Renewal: None required (fundamentals certifications do not expire)
Price notes: USD figure is from third-party sources; Microsoft prices vary by country.

Preparing

Not confirmed

These details were not available from an official source at the time of research.

priceUsd (official pages only say price depends on country; USD figure is from third-party sources)
questionCount (not published per exam)
exact question formats for this specific exam (Microsoft does not disclose)
online-vs-test-centre delivery options were not confirmed on this exam's own page
exact beta and GA dates (not stated on official pages read)

Sources (12)