AI-900: Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals

Exam Quick Facts

Official Learning Paths

1. 📘 Get started with artificial intelligence — AI workloads, responsible AI principles
2. 📘 Explore visual tools for machine learning — Regression, classification, clustering
3. 📘 Explore computer vision — Image classification, object detection, OCR, face detection
4. 📘 Explore natural language processing — Key phrase extraction, sentiment analysis, translation
5. 📘 Explore generative AI — Azure OpenAI, AI Foundry, prompt engineering

📖 Study Resources

Skills at a Glance

Who is this exam for?

The AI-900 is Microsoft’s entry-level AI certification. It’s designed for anyone who wants to understand the fundamentals of artificial intelligence and how it’s implemented on Azure — whether you’re technical or non-technical. You don’t need data science or programming experience, though basic cloud knowledge helps.

This exam covers five key AI areas: general AI concepts, machine learning, computer vision, natural language processing, and generative AI. The generative AI section (Azure OpenAI, AI Foundry) is the newest and carries the most weight.

⚠️ Note: This exam retired on 30 June 2026. Its replacement, AI-901, puts 55-60% of the exam on implementing solutions with Microsoft Foundry.

Skills Measured — with Microsoft Learn Links

Describe Artificial Intelligence workloads and considerations (15–20%)

This domain covers what AI is, the different types of AI workloads (vision, language, document processing, generative), and the principles of responsible AI. Microsoft takes responsible AI seriously — expect questions about fairness, transparency, accountability, and safety.

Identify features of common AI workloads

• Identify computer vision workloads
• Identify natural language processing workloads
• Identify document processing workloads
• Identify features of generative AI workloads

Identify guiding principles for responsible AI

Microsoft defines six principles for responsible AI. You need to know all six and understand how they apply in practice. Expect scenario-based questions like “Which principle is violated if an AI model produces biased results?”

• Describe considerations for fairness in an AI solution
• Describe considerations for reliability and safety in an AI solution
• Describe considerations for privacy and security in an AI solution
• Describe considerations for inclusiveness in an AI solution
• Describe considerations for transparency in an AI solution
• Describe considerations for accountability in an AI solution

Describe fundamental principles of machine learning on Azure (15–20%)

Machine learning is the foundation of most AI. This section covers the three main ML techniques (regression, classification, clustering), deep learning and the Transformer architecture, and Azure Machine Learning capabilities. You don’t need to build models — just understand the concepts and when to use each technique.

Identify common machine learning techniques

• Identify regression machine learning scenarios
• Identify classification machine learning scenarios
• Identify clustering machine learning scenarios
• Identify features of deep learning techniques
• Identify features of the Transformer architecture

Describe core machine learning concepts

• Identify features and labels in a dataset for machine learning
• Describe how training and validation datasets are used in machine learning

Describe Azure Machine Learning capabilities

• Describe capabilities of automated machine learning
• Describe data and compute services for data science and machine learning
• Describe model management and deployment capabilities in Azure Machine Learning

Describe features of computer vision workloads on Azure (15–20%)

Computer vision teaches machines to “see” and interpret images. This section covers four main scenarios — image classification (what’s in the image?), object detection (where are things in the image?), OCR (reading text from images), and facial detection. Azure AI Vision and Azure AI Face are the key services.

Identify common types of computer vision solution

• Identify features of image classification solutions
• Identify features of object detection solutions
• Identify features of optical character recognition solutions
• Identify features of facial detection and facial analysis solutions

Identify Azure tools and services for computer vision tasks

• Describe capabilities of the Azure AI Vision service
• Describe capabilities of the Azure AI Face detection service

Describe features of Natural Language Processing (NLP) workloads on Azure (15–20%)

NLP is how machines understand and generate human language. This section covers text analytics (key phrase extraction, entity recognition, sentiment analysis), language modelling, speech services (speech-to-text and text-to-speech), and translation. Azure AI Language and Azure AI Speech are the key services.

Identify features of common NLP Workload Scenarios

• Identify features and uses for key phrase extraction
• Identify features and uses for entity recognition
• Identify features and uses for sentiment analysis
• Identify features and uses for language modeling
• Identify features and uses for speech recognition and synthesis
• Identify features and uses for translation

Identify Azure tools and services for NLP workloads

• Describe capabilities of the Azure AI Language service
• Describe capabilities of the Azure AI Speech service

Describe features of generative AI workloads on Azure (20–25%)

This is the newest and highest-weighted domain. It covers generative AI models (like GPT), common scenarios (content generation, code assistance, image creation), responsible AI considerations specific to generative AI, and Azure services including Azure AI Foundry and Azure OpenAI Service. This section was significantly updated in May 2025 to reflect the rapid evolution of generative AI.

Identify features of generative AI solutions

• Identify features of generative AI models
• Identify common scenarios for generative AI
• Identify responsible AI considerations for generative AI

Identify generative AI services and capabilities in Microsoft Azure

• Describe features and capabilities of Azure AI Foundry
• Describe features and capabilities of Azure OpenAI service
• Describe features and capabilities of Azure AI Foundry model catalog

Quick Links

• 📝 Official Exam Page
• 📖 Microsoft Study Guide
• 🎯 Practice Assessment

Skills at a Glance

Skills Measured

Describe Artificial Intelligence workloads and considerations (15–20%)

Identify features of common AI workloads

• Identify computer vision workloads
• Identify natural language processing workloads
• Identify document processing workloads
• Identify features of generative AI workloads

Identify guiding principles for responsible AI

• Describe considerations for fairness in an AI solution
• Describe considerations for reliability and safety in an AI solution
• Describe considerations for privacy and security in an AI solution
• Describe considerations for inclusiveness in an AI solution
• Describe considerations for transparency in an AI solution
• Describe considerations for accountability in an AI solution

Describe fundamental principles of machine learning on Azure (15-20%)

Identify common machine learning techniques

• Identify regression machine learning scenarios
• Identify classification machine learning scenarios
• Identify clustering machine learning scenarios
• Identify features of deep learning techniques
• Identify features of the Transformer architecture

Describe core machine learning concepts

• Identify features and labels in a dataset for machine learning
• Describe how training and validation datasets are used in machine learning

Describe Azure Machine Learning capabilities

• Describe capabilities of automated machine learning
• Describe data and compute services for data science and machine learning
• Describe model management and deployment capabilities in Azure Machine Learning

Describe features of computer vision workloads on Azure (15–20%)

Identify common types of computer vision solution

• Identify features of image classification solutions
• Identify features of object detection solutions
• Identify features of optical character recognition solutions
• Identify features of facial detection and facial analysis solutions

Identify Azure tools and services for computer vision tasks

• Describe capabilities of the Azure AI Vision service
• Describe capabilities of the Azure AI Face detection service

Describe features of Natural Language Processing (NLP) workloads on Azure (15–20%)

Identify features of common NLP Workload Scenarios

• Identify features and uses for key phrase extraction
• Identify features and uses for entity recognition
• Identify features and uses for sentiment analysis
• Identify features and uses for language modeling
• Identify features and uses for speech recognition and synthesis
• Identify features and uses for translation

Identify Azure tools and services for NLP workloads

• Describe capabilities of the Azure AI Language service
• Describe capabilities of the Azure AI Speech service

Describe features of generative AI workloads on Azure (20–25%)

Identify features of generative AI solutions

• Identify features of generative AI models
• Identify common scenarios for generative AI
• Identify responsible AI considerations for generative AI

Identify generative AI services and capabilities in Microsoft Azure

• Describe features and capabilities of Azure AI Foundry
• Describe features and capabilities of Azure OpenAI service
• Describe features and capabilities of Azure AI Foundry model catalog

Quick Links

• 📝 Official Exam Page
• 📖 Microsoft Study Guide
• 🎯 Practice Assessment