Microsoft AI Certifications in 2026: Every Exam and Path

Every Microsoft AI certification on Microsoft Learn today

Microsoft's own "Artificial intelligence" filter on its credentials browse page shows 14 certifications, but it leaves out Azure AI Fundamentals, AB-100, AI-500 and DP-800, and it includes Windows Server Administrator. So we built the list from the certification pages themselves. The exam time is the one each page states; "not listed" means the page gives none.

For business users, leaders and admins

AB-730 and AB-731 are the only beginner exams on this map that need neither code nor admin skills. AB-730 tests four areas: generative AI basics, prompts and chats in Microsoft 365 Copilot, business content and meetings, and agents (AB-730 page). AB-731 is about choosing AI tools, planning adoption and responsible AI, and it expects experience leading change in a business (AB-731 page).

learn.microsoft.com/en-us/credentials/certifications/ai-business-professional

For makers, consultants and architects

AB-100 is the only one here with a prerequisite: you must also hold one of 13 associate certifications, among them AB-620, AB-410, AI-103 and AI-300, and Microsoft updates the exam on November 16, 2026 (AB-100 page).

For developers

Azure AI Fundamentals changed the most. Its page now says you need "knowledge of Python coding syntax" and that the English version changed on April 15, 2026, so guides that call it a no-code first step describe the retired AI-900 (certification page).

learn.microsoft.com/en-us/credentials/certifications/azure-ai-fundamentals

For data, machine learning and security

DP-800 is the one that search results list as "Developing AI-Enabled Database Solutions", the words in its page address; the page itself is titled SQL AI Developer Associate. The Cosmos DB one got its new name and level on October 6, 2026.

22

Microsoft AI certifications with an exam, October 27, 2026

$99

US price of the 4 beginner exams and GitHub Copilot

$165

US price of the other 17

From each certification page on Microsoft Learn with the exam country set to United States, checked October 27, 2026.

What changed in Microsoft's AI certifications in 2026

Most of the lineup is new this year. Microsoft's June roundup says it introduced 17 new certifications and exams since February 2026, and it named a recommended replacement for most of the exams it retired (Tech Community roundup). The retirement dates below come from Microsoft's exam retirement page.

1. June 1, 2026DP-100 retires; Azure Data Scientist Associate is retired, and Microsoft points to AI-300.
2. June 30, 2026AI-102 retires with Azure AI Engineer Associate (replacement AI-103), and AI-900 gives way to AI-901.
3. July 31, 2026AZ-204 retires; AI-200 is the recommended developer exam.
4. August 31, 2026AZ-500 and PL-200 retire; SC-500 and AB-410 replace them.
5. October 6, 2026The Cosmos DB certification becomes Azure Cosmos DB AI Developer Associate.
6. November 16, 2026Updated content for the AB-100 exam.
7. November 30, 2026MS-102 retires; Microsoft recommends AB-650.

learn.microsoft.com/en-us/credentials/support/retired-certification-exams

If you earned one of the retired certifications, it stays on your Microsoft Learn transcript until it expires, but AI-102 and DP-100 have no renewal assessment any more. Two things on the first page of search results are out of date: the Microsoft Learn post titled "Announcing New Data and AI Certifications" is from January 31, 2019, and Coursera's AI and ML engineering certificate still advertises 50% off the AI-102 exam.

What a Microsoft AI exam costs in your country

Microsoft sets the exam price by the country where the exam is proctored, before tax. The same AB-730 exam costs $99 in the US and $59 in Brazil, and the price changes the moment you pick another country on the exam page:

learn.microsoft.com/en-us/credentials/certifications/ai-business-professional

Microsoft Learn's AB-730 page scrolled to the exam price, then the country menu switched from United States ($99 USD) to United Kingdom (£64 GBP), India (₹3691 INR), Brazil ($59 USD), France (€76 EUR) and back to United States ($99 USD)

AI-901 showed the same prices as AB-730 in the five countries we checked it in (US, Brazil, Mexico, France and Spain). Microsoft adds that the prices exclude tax and promotions and can change without notice, so confirm on the exam page before you book. Students get academic pricing in most countries except India and China (student discounts), and Microsoft and Pearson VUE offer Exam Replay, one exam plus one retake within 12 months (offers).

Microsoft AI certification path by goal

Pick by the work you do next year, not by the badge. The paths below are ours, built from the levels and prerequisites on the certification pages.

For a team, a simple split is one person on the business track and one on the build track; our guide to AI training for employees covers how to plan training for the rest.

How Microsoft AI exams work: time, retakes and renewal

Most rules are shared across the family, set on Microsoft's exam duration page and retake policy:

01Length

Fundamentals exams take 45 minutes; associate and expert exams 100 minutes, or 120 when they may contain labs. Most have 40 to 60 questions.

02Passing score

700 or more, on Microsoft's study guides. Beta exams are scored about 10 days after they go live.

03Retakes

24 hours after a first fail, then 14 days between attempts, at most 5 attempts in 12 months, and you pay each time.

04Open book, partly

Associate and expert exams let you open Microsoft Learn during the exam; fundamentals and GitHub exams do not.

05Delivery

Pearson VUE, at a test center or online with a webcam, a private room and a government ID.

Renewal costs nothing: associate, expert and specialty certifications last one year, and you keep them by passing a free, unproctored, open-book online assessment of about 45 minutes in the last six months (renewal FAQ). Fundamentals never expire, and GitHub certifications last two years while GitHub moves to Microsoft's renewal process.

learn.microsoft.com/en-us/credentials/certifications/renew-your-microsoft-certification

The free route to a Microsoft AI certification

If you hoped for a Microsoft AI certification free of exam fees, the proctored exams cost $99 or $165 in the US, but everything before the exam can be free:

1. Microsoft Learn training. Each certification page links its self-paced course. For AB-730 that is two learning paths of 2 hours 20 minutes and 4 hours 30 minutes; for AB-731, three paths that add up to 4 hours 44 minutes.
2. Practice assessments and the exam sandbox. Microsoft lists free practice assessments for 48 exams, including AB-730, AB-731, AB-900, AI-103, AI-200, AI-300 and DP-800 (list). Some now open only on AI Skills Navigator after you sign in.
3. Applied Skills. Short lab assessments that Microsoft calls free: 10 carry the AI subject, including two beginner ones for business users, Streamline business workflows with AI chat and Generate reports with AI research agents, 45 minutes each (browse). They never expire.
4. Microsoft Azure AI Essentials Professional Certificate. A free LinkedIn Learning path of about 3.5 hours with a 90-minute multiple-choice assessment. It does not expire and is not a certification exam (Microsoft's FAQ).

Free exam vouchers come and go. On October 27, 2026, none of the voucher offers on Microsoft Learn was still open: the AI Agent Skills Sweepstakes, which offered 900 free vouchers for AB-100, AB-900 or AB-620, closed on July 15, 2026, and the Credentials AI Challenge closed on March 2, 2026. The one live discount we found: the first 300 people who take the GH-700 beta exam by November 9, 2026 get 80% off (the GH-700 announcement).

Microsoft certificates on Coursera and LinkedIn Learning

These are course certificates, not certifications: you earn them by finishing lessons and graded work, with no proctored exam. Hours are the sum of each course list, read on October 27, 2026.

Coursera's pages showed no price when we read them; the platform prices by subscription and shows financial aid on each page (AB-730 certificate, AI & ML Engineering). To weigh a course certificate from another vendor, our Google AI Professional Certificate review adds up every lesson in Google's program.

• AI Business Professional25 h
• AI Transformation Leader29 h
• Agentic AI Architect50 h
• AI & ML Engineering176 h

Sum of each course list on Coursera, checked October 27, 2026.

Microsoft AI certifications compared with other vendors

A Microsoft exam proves you can use Microsoft's tools, which matters most when your employer or clients run Microsoft 365 or Azure. If they don't, a vendor-neutral credential may say more: our roundup of AI certifications from every major vendor compares Microsoft's beginner exam with AWS, Google Cloud and PMI. Anthropic's four exams are a separate story, open only to partner companies; see Anthropic's Claude certification exams.

Where our own courses fit

We left ai school out of this map on purpose, so read this as a disclosure. Our four short AI courses for people who don't code are in early access (pre-order), are not affiliated with Microsoft and give no Microsoft credential. If your goal is a Microsoft certification, Microsoft's free Learn training may be the better first step. If you want projects for your own business, such as a landing page or an automation that answers leads, the syllabus of all four is on the page for our AI course for beginners.

?Quick check0 of 2 correct

You work in Outlook, Teams and Excel, don't code, and want a Microsoft AI exam you could pass this month. Which fits?

AAI-901 Azure AI FundamentalsBAB-730 AI Business ProfessionalCAI-103 Azure AI Apps and Agents Developer

You passed AI-102 in May 2026. What happens next?

AIt stays on your transcript until it expires, but you can't renew itBIt turns into AI-103 automaticallyCIt never expires

What to do next

Open the certification page for your role on Microsoft Learn, set the exam country to where you will test and note the price. Then take the free practice assessment before you study, so you know your gaps on day one; if you are still deciding what to learn, our guide on how to learn AI helps you choose a direction first. Book the exam three to four weeks out, and use that time to apply what you learn to one real task at work.