Can I still book the AI-900 exam in India?

No. Microsoft retired AI-900 worldwide on 30 June 2026, and it can no longer be booked through Pearson VUE in India or anywhere else. To earn Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals today, you take AI-901. Passed AI-900 results stay on your Microsoft Learn transcript.

Is my AI-900 certificate still valid after the retirement?

Yes. The Azure AI Fundamentals certification itself was not retired, only the AI-900 exam, and Microsoft fundamentals certifications do not expire. You can keep sharing your badge and certificate from your Microsoft Learn profile. You do not need to pass AI-901 to stay certified.

Does AI-901 need coding knowledge?

Some. Microsoft's audience profile asks for knowledge of Python syntax and programming techniques, and more than half of the exam is about building lightweight apps in Microsoft Foundry. You will not write long programs, but you should be able to read a short Python client, understand SDK calls and run them yourself.

How long does it take to prepare for AI-901?

If you already write basic Python, about four weeks of steady part-time study is a realistic target: one week on concepts, one on Foundry basics, one on the workloads and one on revision and practice questions. If Python is new to you, add two to three weeks of Python basics before you start.

What should I take after AI-901?

It depends on your role. Developers usually move to AI-103 for building AI apps and agents, data scientists and ML engineers to AI-300 for MLOps, and managers to AB-731 for AI transformation leadership. Pick the exam that matches the work you do or want to do next, not the one with the most hype.

AI-901 vs AI-900: Which Azure AI Fundamentals Exam Should You Take?

Take AI-901. Microsoft retired AI-900 on 30 June 2026, so AI-901 is now the only exam that earns the Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals certification. If you already passed AI-900, you keep it, because fundamentals certifications do not expire. The real decision for Indian learners is how to prepare, because AI-901 expects basic Python and hands-on work in Microsoft Foundry.

At a glance

Item	AI-900	AI-901
Status today	Retired on 30 June 2026	Live, the only route to the certification
Certification earned	Azure AI Fundamentals	Azure AI Fundamentals (same)
Style	Describe concepts and services	Concepts plus small apps in Foundry
Coding	Not required	Python syntax knowledge expected
Skill areas	Five, 15 to 25% each	Two: 40 to 45% and 55 to 60%
Exam time	45 minutes	45 minutes
Pass mark	700	700

What changed between AI-900 and AI-901

AI-900 tested whether you could describe AI. Its last skills list (2 May 2025) had five areas: AI workloads, machine learning principles, computer vision, natural language processing and generative AI, each worth roughly a fifth of the exam. Microsoft pitched it at technical and non-technical candidates alike, and it needed no coding at all.

AI-901 is a different exam with the same certificate name. The AI-901 study guide, with skills measured as of 15 April 2026, has two areas:

Identify AI concepts and capabilities (40 to 45%): the six responsible AI principles, how generative models work, choosing a model and its deployment options, and recognising workloads such as agents, text analysis, speech, computer vision and information extraction.
Implement AI solutions by using Microsoft Foundry (55 to 60%): write system and user prompts, deploy a model in the Foundry portal, build a lightweight chat client with the Foundry SDK, create and test a single agent, and build small apps for text, speech, vision and Azure Content Understanding.

The audience profile changed with it. Microsoft now says candidates need knowledge of Python coding syntax and programming techniques, should be familiar with Azure resources, and should know their way around REST APIs, SDKs and CLIs.

Topics that moved, appeared or disappeared

Topic	AI-900	AI-901
Regression, classification, clustering	Tested	Not in the skills list
Automated machine learning	Tested	Not in the skills list
Responsible AI principles	Tested	Tested
Agents	Not listed	Build and test a single agent
Extracting data from content	Document processing	Content Understanding for documents, images, audio and video
Writing code	None	Lightweight Python clients

The practical consequence: question banks and video playlists made for AI-900 will mislead you. If a resource spends an hour on clustering and none on the Foundry SDK, it was written for the retired exam.

If you already hold AI-900

Your certification stays. Microsoft's credential expiration policy states that fundamentals certifications do not expire, and it was only the AI-900 exam that retired, not the Azure AI Fundamentals certification. AI-901 is simply its required exam now.

Should you sit AI-901 anyway? Only for the skills. Moderators on Microsoft's own support forum have confirmed that passing AI-901 does not issue a second, separate certification; you hold one Azure AI Fundamentals credential either way. For most AI-900 holders, the next exam fee is better spent on a role-based certification:

Developers: AI-103, the Azure AI Apps and Agents Developer exam that replaced AI-102. Our AI-103 exam guide for India covers it.
Data scientists and ML engineers: AI-300, the MLOps engineer exam that replaced DP-100.
Managers and business leads: AB-731, AI Transformation Leader, which Microsoft designed for decision-makers who are not expected to write code.

Our older AI-900 exam guide for India describes the retired exam. It is still useful background on AI concepts, but plan your preparation from this page and the current study guide.

Who should take AI-901 now

AI-901 is a good fit for:

B.E., B.Tech, BCA, MCA and B.Sc. computer science students who can write basic Python (variables, loops, functions, installing a package) and want a first AI credential before campus placements.
Developers, testers and support engineers in IT services firms who are being moved onto AI projects and want a structured starting point.
Freshers aiming for AI engineering roles who plan to continue to AI-103.

Think twice if you have never written Python. The exam does not ask you to write long programs, but it expects you to read client code and know what an SDK call does. Spend two to three weeks on Python basics first.

If you are a manager who needs AI fluency rather than code, look at AB-731, AI Transformation Leader, instead.

One language note. AI-901 is offered in English and twelve other languages, none of them Indian languages. If you are genuinely not proficient in English, you can apply for extra time through Microsoft's English as a Second Language process before you book. It needs a letter from an instructor or employer, or Microsoft's verification form, as described on the exam accommodations page.

A four-week AI-901 study plan

This assumes about an hour on weekdays and a longer block on Sunday. A final-year student with more free time can compress it.

Week	Focus	What to finish
1	Concepts	The "AI concepts for developers and technology professionals" learning path; write the six responsible AI principles from memory with one example each
2	Foundry basics	Create a Foundry project, deploy a model, test prompts in the playground, run a Python chat client
3	Workloads	Text, speech, vision and information extraction modules from "Get started with AI applications and agents on Azure"
4	Exam readiness	Free practice assessment, exam sandbox, revise weak areas, book the exam

Week 2 in practice: your first Foundry client

Install the SDK with pip install "azure-ai-projects>=2.3.0", run az login, then try this minimal client based on Microsoft's Foundry SDK quickstart:

from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential
from azure.ai.projects import AIProjectClient

project = AIProjectClient(
    endpoint="https://<resource-name>.services.ai.azure.com/api/projects/<project-name>",
    credential=DefaultAzureCredential(),
)
openai = project.get_openai_client()

response = openai.responses.create(
    model="<your-deployment-name>",
    input="Explain UPI to a first-year student in three sentences.",
)
print(response.output_text)

A common mistake is copying code from older blog posts that call from_connection_string or project.inference. That is the 1.x SDK, and Microsoft's quickstart states that 2.x code is incompatible with it. If an example fails with odd attribute errors, check the SDK version first.

If a model you want is not offered, or has no quota, in an Indian region on your subscription, deploy it in another region for your lab. For learning, availability matters more than a few milliseconds of latency.

Week 3: practise on safe data

For Content Understanding, create your own sample invoice, rent receipt or admission form and extract fields from it. Do not upload real Aadhaar, PAN or customer documents to a learning project. Handling personal data carefully is part of the responsible AI section, and it is a good habit to build before you work on client data.

Keep lab costs low

Full-time university students can use Azure for Students, which as of October 2026 offers USD 100 of credit for 12 months without a credit card. Whatever subscription you use, put each week's work in one resource group and delete it when you finish.

Exam day: what to expect

Time: fundamentals exams give 45 minutes of exam time inside a 65-minute seat time, according to Microsoft's exam duration page.
No Microsoft Learn: role-based exams let you open Microsoft Learn during the exam; fundamentals exams, including AI-901, do not.
Passing score: 700.
Online from home: you need a walled room with a closed door that nobody enters, and the name on your government ID must match your Microsoft certification profile exactly. If your ID spells out a name that your profile shows only as an initial, fix the profile before exam day.
Retakes: wait 24 hours after a first failed attempt, then 14 days between later attempts, with at most five attempts in 12 months.
Price: it depends on the country where the exam is proctored. Check the exam page, and see our guide to Microsoft exam costs in India.

How CertTulen Academy can help

CertTulen Academy runs Introduction to AI in Azure (AI-901) as a live, MCT-led online class with hands-on Foundry labs, so you finish with a working chat client and a tested agent rather than a stack of slides. If AI-901 is your first step, our AI-103 course continues into building production apps and agents. Course pages show prices in INR with UPI, card and netbanking checkout. Reach us through our contact page or WhatsApp +91 93618 83583 for a batch that suits your time zone.