Microsoft retired the AI-900 exam on 30 June 2026 and replaced it with AI-901. The certification still exists, but the exam code, the syllabus, and the difficulty all changed. Here is what that means if you were studying for it from the Philippines.
If you have been studying for AI-900, stop and read this first. The exam you are preparing for no longer exists, and a good number of Philippine course listings, blog posts, and even government course catalogs have not caught up yet.
The good news: the certification itself is unchanged in name and still worth having. The bad news: the replacement exam is meaningfully harder, and most study material you will find online is now for the wrong test.
Microsoft's own exam page carries the notice directly: the AI-900 exam was retired on 30 June 2026 and has been replaced by AI-901. To earn the certification now, you must pass AI-901.
The credential is still called Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals. Only the required exam changed. If you already passed AI-900, you keep the certification and there is nothing to redo. Fundamentals certifications do not expire.
Sources: the AI-901 exam page and the certification page on Microsoft Learn.
This is the part that matters most and the part nobody is telling you. The syllabus did not just get renumbered, it got rebuilt.
| AI-900 (retired) | AI-901 (current) | |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of the exam | Descriptive. Mostly "describe" this concept | Over half hands-on implementation |
| Domains | Five areas: AI workloads, ML principles, computer vision, NLP, generative AI | Two areas: AI concepts and capabilities (40-45%), implementing AI solutions using Microsoft Foundry (55-60%) |
| Assumed knowledge | None. Explicitly no data science or software engineering needed | Python coding syntax and programming techniques, plus familiarity with Azure resources |
| Formal prerequisites | None | None |
Read that "assumed knowledge" row carefully. AI-900 was genuinely a beginner exam that a non-technical professional could pass. AI-901's published audience profile expects Python syntax and Azure familiarity. There are still no formal prerequisites, so anyone may sit it, but going in with zero coding background is now a much steeper climb.
The current skills breakdown, effective 15 April 2026, is on Microsoft's AI-901 study guide.
Where: through Pearson VUE. Students and educators may alternatively schedule through Certiport. You can book up to 90 days ahead and hold a maximum of two exams at once.
Online proctoring works from the Philippines. Pearson VUE's OnVUE delivery restrictions cover a specific list of countries, and the Philippines is not among them. That means you can sit this at home. The requirements are strict: a walled room with a closed door, a room scan, government ID whose name matches your certification profile exactly, and no belongings within reach.
On price, we are going to be straight with you. Microsoft renders exam pricing dynamically and its own country price-list link is currently broken, so we could not verify an official figure for the Philippines or in USD. Third-party sites widely quote around USD 99 for Fundamentals exams, but that is not an official Microsoft figure and we will not present it as one. Microsoft states only that pricing is based on the country or region where the exam is proctored and that local taxes may apply. Check the actual price at the Pearson VUE checkout before budgeting.
Students, ask for the academic rate. Microsoft offers academic pricing in most countries with the notable exceptions of India and China, so Filipino students qualify. The discount amount is not published and verification lasts 12 months. Details on Microsoft's student discount page.
Microsoft's official study material costs nothing, which makes paid AI-901 prep courses hard to justify until you have worked through it.
TESDA's online program hosts a free course titled "Microsoft Artificial Intelligence Course: Azure AI Fundamentals" under its Information and Communication Technology category, and we confirmed it exists on the official e-tesda.gov.ph domain.
Here is the honest caveat, which you will not find on the listicles recommending it: the course is AI-900 branded, and AI-900 retired on 30 June 2026. Individual e-TESDA course pages require a login, so we could not verify whether the content has been updated to AI-901 or whether any exam voucher is included. Assume the material may be for the retired exam and use Microsoft Learn's official AI-901 paths as your primary source. The e-TESDA course is still a reasonable free introduction to Azure AI concepts, just do not treat it as current exam preparation without checking.
For most Filipino professionals, yes, with one caveat.
It never expires, it is vendor-backed and recognized, and it is the most established entry-level AI credential. But AI-901's shift toward hands-on Microsoft Foundry implementation means it is now a better fit for people heading toward technical roles than for managers who wanted a conceptual grounding in AI.
If you are non-technical and wanted AI-900 for the vocabulary rather than the engineering, consider whether a broader business-focused option serves you better. We compare those on the certifications hub and, if you are an engineer, on our AI for engineers page, and AWS's Certified AI Practitioner is a genuine alternative worth weighing, priced at USD 100 with domains that lean more toward applications and responsible AI than infrastructure.
No. Microsoft retired AI-900 on 30 June 2026 and replaced it with AI-901. The certification, Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals, still exists, but you now have to pass AI-901 to earn it. Anyone who already passed AI-900 keeps the credential.
AI-901 is substantially more hands-on. AI-900 was descriptive across five domains, while AI-901 devotes 55 to 60 percent of the exam to implementing AI solutions using Microsoft Foundry, with the remainder on AI concepts and capabilities. AI-901's audience profile also expects Python syntax knowledge and Azure familiarity, which AI-900 explicitly did not require.
We could not verify an official figure. Microsoft renders exam prices dynamically and its country price list is currently unavailable, and it states only that pricing depends on the country or region where the exam is proctored, with local taxes possibly applying. Third-party sites commonly quote around USD 99 for Fundamentals exams, but that is not official. Check the actual price at the Pearson VUE checkout. Filipino students can request academic pricing.
Yes. Pearson VUE's OnVUE online proctoring restricts delivery in a specific list of countries, and the Philippines is not among them. You will need a walled room with a closed door, a room scan, and a government ID whose name matches your certification profile exactly.
No. Microsoft states that Fundamentals certifications do not expire. Associate, Expert, and Specialty certifications are valid for one year and are renewed free through an online assessment, but that does not apply here.
Microsoft Learn publishes the full official study paths at no cost, which is the best free route. e-TESDA hosts a free Azure AI Fundamentals course on e-tesda.gov.ph, but it is AI-900 branded and we could not verify whether it has been updated for AI-901, so treat it as an introduction rather than current exam prep.