Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-901)

Microsoft states a passing score of 700. The exam page and the study guide both list 700 as the required score, and Microsoft links to its exam scoring and score reports guidance for how scores are calculated. Plan to clear that threshold comfortably rather than aiming at it, since scaled scores are not simply a raw percentage of questions answered correctly.

Two domains: Identify AI concepts and capabilities at 40–45%, and Implement AI solutions by using Microsoft Foundry at 55–60%. The second domain is larger, so prompting, model deployment, lightweight client apps, agents, and Foundry Tools for speech, vision, and information extraction deserve the most practice time. Do not skip the concepts domain, though; it is nearly half the exam.

Microsoft's published pages for AI-901 do not state a duration or an item format. They do point candidates to an exam sandbox for exploring the exam environment before test day. Treat any specific minute count or question count you see elsewhere as unverified, and confirm details through your exam appointment and the official exam page.

Microsoft expects conceptual knowledge of AI solutions in Azure and foundational technical skills to work with them. You also need knowledge of Python coding syntax and programming techniques, familiarity with Azure resources, and familiarity with REST APIs, SDKs, and CLIs. If Python or Azure basics are new, close those gaps first, because the Foundry domain assumes you can read and adapt code.

Start with the concepts domain: responsible AI principles, how generative models work, model selection and deployment parameters, and the common workload families. Then move to Foundry practice: write system and user prompts, deploy a model and interact with it in the portal, build a small chat client with the Foundry SDK, create a single-agent solution, and try Content Understanding on documents, images, audio, and video.

Microsoft notes that most questions cover generally available features, but the exam may include questions on preview features if those features are commonly used. Do not ignore a widely used preview capability just because it is not GA, but prioritize stable, generally available behavior and services when you are deciding where to spend study time.

Yes. Microsoft offers a free Practice Assessment through AI Skills Navigator, linked from the certification and exam pages. You must be signed in to AI Skills Navigator to launch it. Use it after your first study pass to find weak areas, then revisit the specific Foundry or concepts objectives it exposes rather than simply retaking it repeatedly.

Two recurring patterns: treating the exam as pure theory and never deploying a model, writing a prompt, or building a small client; and over-studying classic machine learning while under-preparing the larger Foundry domain. Others memorize service names without understanding when to choose a model, a deployment option, or an extraction technique. Hands-on practice with each objective fixes all three.

Microsoft lists English, Arabic (Saudi Arabia), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, German, Indonesian (Indonesia), Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, and Spanish. The English version was updated on April 15, 2026, and localized versions are updated approximately eight weeks after that date, though Microsoft notes updates may occasionally slip.

Microsoft lists no retirement date for exam AI-901. Separately, Microsoft states that associate, expert, and specialty certifications expire annually and can be renewed by passing a free online assessment on Microsoft Learn. Check the certification page for the current renewal rules that apply to your credential before your anniversary date.