Here are the exam basics for the Azure AI Fundamentals. You will get between 45-50 questions and have 45 minutes to take the exam. It took me longer to set up the exam platform than it did to actually answer all the questions. The AI-901 exam streamlines the five objective domains of the AI-900 exam into two primary skill areas, providing a more focused assessment of AI concepts and practical implementation. Note: I took the AI-900 exam in the fall of 2025. I have updated this guide for the new exam requirements.

AI-901 Exam Updates: What’s New in 2026?

Updated: October 2026

Microsoft has made some significant changes to the Azure AI Fundamentals certification exam. On June 30, 2026, Microsoft retired the AI-900 exam and replaced it with AI-901: Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals. The certification remains Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals, but the exam itself has changed considerably. The biggest difference is the shift from understanding artificial intelligence concepts to understanding how to implement AI solutions using Microsoft Foundry. Microsoft provides a free practice assessment through AI Skills Navigator.

What’s Changed Between AI-900 and AI-901?

The original AI-900 exam concentrated on understanding AI workloads, machine learning principles, computer vision, natural language processing, and generative AI. AI-901 retains many of those foundational concepts but introduces a much stronger emphasis on practical implementation. Some of the most important changes include:

• Microsoft Foundry: Understanding how to deploy models, configure AI solutions, and work with Foundry.
• AI Agents: Creating, configuring, and testing AI agents.
• Generative AI: Working with generative models, prompts, and multimodal capabilities.
• Application Development: Understanding how to build lightweight AI applications using SDKs and APIs.
• Information Extraction: Using Azure Content Understanding to extract information.
• Responsible AI: Continuing to understand Microsoft’s principles of fairness, reliability, safety, privacy, inclusiveness, transparency, and accountability.

Another important difference is the technical knowledge expected of candidates. While AI-900 was largely conceptual, AI-901 expects familiarity with Python programming, REST APIs, SDKs, command-line interfaces, and Azure resources. You don’t need to be an experienced AI developer, but having some hands-on experience will certainly help.

Updated AI-901 Exam Objectives

1. Identify AI Concepts and Capabilities (40–45%)

This section evaluates your understanding of foundational AI concepts. Topics include:

• Microsoft’s six Responsible AI principles.
• Generative AI models and how they work.
• Selecting appropriate AI models.
• Model deployment options and configuration.
• Generative and agentic AI workloads.
• Natural language processing and text analysis.
• Speech recognition and synthesis.
• Computer vision and image generation.
• Extracting information from documents and multimedia.

2. Implement AI Solutions Using Microsoft Foundry (55–60%)

This is where the most significant changes have occurred. The exam now places greater emphasis on understanding how AI solutions are implemented. Topics include:

• Creating effective system and user prompts.
• Deploying and interacting with AI models in Microsoft Foundry.
• Building lightweight chat applications using the Foundry SDK.
• Creating and testing single-agent solutions.
• Building applications with text analysis and speech capabilities.
• Using multimodal models to interpret images and spoken input.
• Generating images using AI models.
• Extracting structured information using Azure Content Understanding.

My recommendation: Pay particular attention to Microsoft Foundry. With 55–60% of the exam focused on implementation, this is an area you cannot afford to overlook.

How I Recommend Preparing for AI-901

If you’ve already studied for AI-900, much of that knowledge is still valuable. However, I would not recommend relying exclusively on older AI-900 training materials. Here are five areas I would concentrate on.

• Spend Time in Microsoft Foundry: Don’t just read about Foundry. Explore the portal, review model deployment options, and understand how AI applications and agents are configured.
• Understand AI Agents: Agentic AI is an important addition to the exam. Understand what agents do, how they interact with models, and how to create and test a basic agent.
• Review Python and SDK Fundamentals: You don’t need advanced programming skills, but you should recognize basic Python syntax and understand how applications interact with AI services through SDKs and REST APIs.
• Understand Multimodal AI: AI-901 covers more than text-based generative AI. Become familiar with models that process text, images, audio, and other types of information.
• Don’t Forget Responsible AI: Responsible AI remains an important part of Microsoft’s certification exams. Understand the six principles and how they apply to real-world AI solutions.

What If You Already Passed AI-900?

If you previously passed AI-900 and earned the Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals certification, you do not need to take AI-901 to maintain that credential. Microsoft Fundamentals certifications do not expire. However, if you earned your certification before these changes, I would still encourage you to review the new AI-901 learning materials. The introduction of Microsoft Foundry, AI agents, and multimodal AI reflects how quickly the technology is evolving. The slide deck I created is more than enough to pass the AI-900 exam; however, it has not been updated for AI-901. I would recommend taking a deeper look into Microsoft Foundry.

Official AI-901 Study Resources

Certification and Exam Information

• AI-901 Official Exam Page
• AI-901 Official Study Guide
• Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals

Microsoft Learn Training

• AI Concepts for Developers and Technology Professionals
• Get Started with AI Applications and Agents on Azure
• Introduction to AI in Azure (AI-901T00)
• Course Preview | AI-901 | Introduction to AI in Azure

John Savill’s Study Videos (3 Hours)

• AI-900 – Study Cram v2 (Non-Generative AI)
• AI-900 – Learning About Generative AI
• AI-901 Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals Study Cram

Continue your AI Learning Journey

If you want to continue your AI Learning Journey after winning your Microsoft Certification, I would recommend the AI Learning Hub! This is an excellent place to accelerate your AI learning with resources tailored for technical and business roles. Find curated AI training for any level of AI fluency, like designing and customizing agents at scale with Azure AI Foundry, advancing your expertise in managing AI workloads with Microsoft 365 Copilot, unleashing your creativity and productivity with Microsoft Copilot, and more.