Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals (beta)

Exam AI-901: Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals (beta) validates foundational knowledge of AI and machine learning concepts and the ability to implement basic AI solutions using Microsoft Foundry (formerly Azure AI Foundry). It is the successor/beta refresh of AI-900, reoriented around generative AI, agents, and the Foundry platform. The exam is aimed at candidates at the beginning of an AI solution development career who have conceptual knowledge of Azure AI services plus foundational technical skills, including familiarity with Python syntax and Azure resources. Earning the cert demonstrates you can identify AI workloads, apply responsible AI principles, and build lightweight generative AI, text, speech, vision, and information-extraction solutions in the Foundry portal and SDK.

Approximately 40-50 questions in 45 minutes. Item formats include multiple choice, multiple response, true/false, drag-and-drop (matching/sequencing), and build-list/dropdown selection. A scaled score of 700 or greater (out of 1000) is required to pass. Most questions cover generally available (GA) features, though commonly used preview features may appear. Because this version emphasizes Foundry, expect hands-on-flavored items about deploying models, writing system/user prompts, and using the Foundry SDK.

Common pitfalls: (1) Confusing the six responsible AI principles - especially reliability and safety vs. accountability, and privacy and security vs. transparency. (2) Mixing up Azure AI service boundaries - e.g., using Azure AI Vision (OCR/image analysis) vs. Azure AI Document Intelligence (prebuilt forms) vs. Azure Content Understanding (schema-defined multimodal extraction). (3) Assuming fine-tuning when the correct grounding approach is RAG. (4) Forgetting that Content Safety covers four harm categories (hate, sexual, violence, self-harm) with severity levels, plus Prompt Shields for jailbreak/indirect attacks. (5) Confusing evaluation metrics (groundedness vs. relevance vs. coherence vs. fluency). (6) Over-attributing capabilities to a single GPT model vs. dedicated services.

Delivered online (proctored) or at a Pearson VUE test center. Scheduled through Microsoft Learn. Passing score is 700/1000. As a Fundamentals certification it does not expire and requires no annual renewal. Standard Microsoft retake policy applies (24-hour wait after a first failure; escalating waits thereafter; limited attempts per 12 months). Candidates may request additional time for non-native-language exams.