Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-901)
Microsoft
- Type
- Exam
- Price
- $99 plus tax
- Level
- Foundational
- Who can take it
- No requirement listed
- Valid for
- Does not expire
- Status
- Active
The AI certification programs to start with are Google Cloud's Generative AI Leader if you don't code and AI-901 if you do. Both cost $99 plus tax, and you can book either yourself.
Whichever you pick, check who can take it before you look at the price: the exams in the next section are closed to most people.
More options by goal, in the order used across this site: active first, those that list no entry requirement, then entry level first. How we order certifications.
Picked by: active, no entry requirement listed, and the issuer names it for leaders, business roles, strategy or transformation.
Picked by: active, no entry requirement listed, and about AI agents (our topic tag).
Picked by: active, no entry requirement listed, an exam at foundational or associate level.
Picked by: active and about AI governance or security (our topic tags). Some need an earlier credential; the table below says which.
Recommended order: active first, then those that list no entry requirement, then entry level first. The certifications picked above are not repeated here unless you filter or search. How we order certifications.
No certifications match all of these filters.
Or .
Microsoft
Oracle
Also shown above.
Amazon Web Services
Microsoft
Also shown above.
IBM
Also shown above.
Databricks
Also shown above.
Microsoft
Also shown above.
Microsoft
Databricks
Databricks
Also shown above.
Microsoft
Microsoft
NVIDIA
Microsoft
Also shown above.
UiPath
Also shown above.
Microsoft
NVIDIA
Databricks
UiPath
Amazon Web Services
UiPath
Google Cloud
Microsoft
GIAC
Also shown above.
GIAC
Also shown above.
Microsoft
Also shown above.
Cisco
Google for Education
CertNexus
Google for Education
IBM
Google for Education
CertNexus
CompTIA
Also shown above.
IBM
IAPP
Also shown above.
Databricks
IBM
IBM
GitHub
Salesforce
ISACA
Databricks
IBM
Microsoft
Also shown above.
Google Cloud
LangChain
Cisco
Also shown above.
Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services
Anthropic
Anthropic
Anthropic
Anthropic
ISACA
ISACA
Microsoft
Microsoft
Project Management Institute
ISACA
Amazon Web Services
Microsoft
Amazon Web Services
OpenAI
Google Cloud
NVIDIA
GIAC
Microsoft
Microsoft
Salesforce
Microsoft
Amazon Web Services
Issuers with two or more current AI certifications, most first.
Most list no entry requirement, so for them the real differences are price and how long the certification stays valid. Exams that need a partner firm, a course or another credential first are marked under "Who can take it".
| Certification | Issuer | Type | Price as shown | Valid for | Who can take it | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-901) | Microsoft | Exam | $99 plus tax | Does not expire | No requirement listed | Active |
| Oracle Agentic AI Foundations Associate (1Z0-1157-26) | Oracle | Exam | Free | – | No requirement listed | Active |
| AWS Certified AI Practitioner (AIF-C01) | Amazon Web Services | ExamOnline proctoring offered | $100; AUD 150 | 3 years | No requirement listed | Active |
| Microsoft 365 Certified: Copilot and Agent Administration Fundamentals (AB-900) | Microsoft | ExamProctored | $99 | Does not expire | No requirement listed | Active |
| IBM Certified watsonx Generative AI Engineer - Associate (C1000-185) | IBM | Exam | $200 | – | No requirement listed | Active |
| Databricks Certified Machine Learning Associate | Databricks | ExamProctored | $200 | 2 years | No requirement listed | Active |
| Microsoft Certified: Cloud and AI Security Engineer Associate (SC-500) | Microsoft | ExamProctored | $165 | 1 year | No requirement listed | Active |
| Microsoft Certified: SQL AI Developer Associate (DP-800) | Microsoft | ExamProctored | $165 | 1 year | No requirement listed | Active |
| Databricks Certified Generative AI Engineer Associate | Databricks | ExamProctored | $200 | 2 years | No requirement listed | Active |
| Databricks Certified Context Engineer Associate | Databricks | Exam | $200 | 2 years | No requirement listed | Active |
| Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Apps and Agents Developer Associate (AI-103) | Microsoft | ExamProctored | $165 | 1 year | No requirement listed | Active |
| Microsoft Certified: Machine Learning Operations Engineer Associate (AI-300) | Microsoft | ExamProctored | $165 | 1 year | No requirement listed | Active |
| NVIDIA-Certified Associate AI Infrastructure and Operations (NCA-AIIO) | NVIDIA | ExamProctored online | $125 | 2 years | No requirement listed | Active |
| Microsoft Certified: AI Agent Builder Associate (AB-620) | Microsoft | ExamProctored | $165 | 1 year | No requirement listed | Active |
| Agentic Automation Associate | UiPath | Exam | $150 plus tax | 3 years | No requirement listed | Active |
| Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Contact Center AI Engineer Associate (AB-250) | Microsoft | ExamProctored | $165 | 1 year | No requirement listed | Active |
| NVIDIA-Certified Associate Generative AI LLM (NCA-GENL) | NVIDIA | Exam | $125 | 2 years | No requirement listed | Active |
| Databricks Certified Machine Learning Professional | Databricks | ExamProctored | $200 | 2 years | No requirement listed | Active |
| Agentic Automation Builder Professional | UiPath | Exam | $300 plus tax | 3 years | No requirement listed | Active |
| AWS Certified Generative AI Developer - Professional | Amazon Web Services | ExamOnline proctoring offered | $300; AUD 449 | 3 years | No requirement listed | Active |
| Agentic Automation Professional | UiPath | Exam | $300 plus tax | 3 years | No requirement listed | Active |
| Professional Machine Learning Engineer | Google Cloud | ExamProctored online or at a test center | $200 plus tax | 2 years | No requirement listed | Active |
| Microsoft AI Product Manager Professional Certificate | Microsoft | Course certificate | – | – | Open to anyone | Active |
Should you take it?
| ||||||
| GIAC Offensive AI Analyst (GOAA) | GIAC | ExamProctored online or at a test center | $999 plus tax; $899 plus tax (retake) | 4 years | No requirement listed | Active |
| GIAC AI Platform Security (GAIPS) | GIAC | ExamProctored online or at a test center | $999 plus tax; $899 plus tax (retake) | 4 years | No requirement listed | Active |
| Microsoft Certified: AI Business Professional (AB-730) | Microsoft | ExamProctored | $99 | – | No requirement listed | Active |
| Google AI Professional Certificate | Course certificate | $49 per month | – | No requirement listed | Active | |
| Google Prompting Essentials | Course certificate | $49 per month | – | No requirement listed | Active | |
| Google AI Essentials | Course certificate | $49 per month | – | Open to anyone | Active | |
| Cisco AI Technical Practitioner (810-110) | Cisco | Exam | $150 | 3 years | No requirement listed | Active |
| Gemini Certified Faculty | Google for Education | Exam | Free | 3 years | No requirement listed | Active |
| Agentic AI Builder (AGB-110) | CertNexus | Assessment | – | – | No requirement listed | Active |
| Gemini Certified Educator | Google for Education | Exam | Free | 3 years | No requirement listed | Active |
| IBM AI Engineering Professional Certificate | IBM | Course certificate | – | – | No requirement listed | Active |
| Gemini Certified Student | Google for Education | Exam | Free | 3 years | No requirement listed | Active |
| Certified Artificial Intelligence Practitioner (AIP-210) | CertNexus | ExamProctored online or at a test center | $367.50 | 3 years | No requirement listed | Active |
| CompTIA SecAI+ (CY0-001) | CompTIA | Exam | $298 | – | No requirement listed | Active |
| IBM AI Product Manager Professional Certificate | IBM | Course certificate | – | – | Open to anyone | Active |
| ||||||
| Generative AI for Educators with Gemini | Course certificate | Free | – | No requirement listed | Active | |
| Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional (AIGP) | IAPP | Exam | $799 (non member); $649 (member) | 2 years | No requirement listed | Active |
| AI Agent Fundamentals | Databricks | Microcredential | Free | – | No requirement listed | Active |
| IBM RAG and Agentic AI Professional Certificate | IBM | Course certificate | – | – | No requirement listed | Active |
| ||||||
| IBM Generative AI Engineering Professional Certificate | IBM | Course certificate | – | – | No requirement listed | Active |
| ||||||
| GitHub Copilot (GH-300) | GitHub | ExamProctored | $99 | 2 years | No requirement listed | Active |
| Salesforce Certified Agentforce Specialist | Salesforce | ExamProctored online or at a test center | $200 plus tax; ¥30,000 plus tax; $100 plus tax (retake); ¥15,000 plus tax (retake) | – | No requirement listed | Active |
| Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals Certificate | ISACA | ExamProctored online | $144 (non member); $120 (member) | – | Open to anyone | Active |
| Generative AI Fundamentals | Databricks | Microcredential | Free | – | No requirement listed | Active |
| IBM AI Developer Professional Certificate | IBM | Course certificate | – | – | No requirement listed | Active |
| Microsoft Certified: AI Transformation Leader (AB-731) | Microsoft | ExamProctored | $99 | – | No requirement listed | Active |
| Generative AI Leader | Google Cloud | ExamProctored online or at a test center | $99 plus tax | 3 years | Open to anyone | Active |
| LangChain Certified Agent Engineer | LangChain | ExamProctored online | $99 | 2 years | No requirement listed | Active |
| Cisco AI Business Practitioner | Cisco | Microcredential | Free | – | No requirement listed | Active |
Should you take it?
| ||||||
| AWS Agentic AI Demonstrated | Amazon Web Services | Microcredential | – | 1 year | Check the issuer's page | Active |
| AWS Databases for Agentic AI Demonstrated | Amazon Web Services | Microcredential | Free | 1 year | Check the issuer's page | Active |
| AWS Securing Agent Identities Demonstrated | Amazon Web Services | Microcredential | Free | 1 year | Check the issuer's page | Active |
| Claude Certified Associate - Foundations (CCAO-F) | Anthropic | ExamProctored online or at a test center | – | – | Partners only | Active |
| Claude Certified Architect - Foundations (CCAR-F) | Anthropic | ExamProctored online or at a test center | – | – | Partners only | Active |
| Claude Certified Developer - Foundations (CCDV-F) | Anthropic | ExamProctored online or at a test center | – | – | Partners only | Active |
| Claude Certified Architect - Professional (CCAR-P) | Anthropic | ExamProctored online or at a test center | – | – | Partners only | Active |
| ISACA Advanced in AI Audit (AAIA) | ISACA | ExamOnline proctoring offered | $599 (non member); $459 (member) | – | Needs another credential | Active |
| ||||||
| ISACA Advanced in AI Risk (AAIR) | ISACA | ExamOnline proctoring offered | $599 (non member); $459 (member) | – | Needs another credential | Active |
| Microsoft Certified: Multi-Agent AI Solutions Expert (AI-500) | Microsoft | Exam | $165 plus tax | 1 year | Needs another credential | Active |
| Microsoft Certified: Agentic AI Business Solutions Architect Expert (AB-100) | Microsoft | Exam | $165 plus tax | 1 year | Needs another credential | Active |
| PMI Certified Professional in Managing AI (PMI-CPMAI) | Project Management Institute | ExamOnline proctoring offered | $899 (non member); $699 (member) | – | Course required first | Active |
| ISACA Advanced in AI Security Management (AAISM) | ISACA | ExamOnline proctoring offered | $599 (non member); $459 (member) | – | Needs another credential | Active |
| AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer - Associate (MLA-C01) | Amazon Web Services | ExamOnline proctoring offered | $150; $75 (beta); AUD 224 | 3 years | No requirement listed | RetiringRetires January 14, 2027 |
| Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Sales AI Consultant Associate (AB-210) | Microsoft | ExamProctored | $165 | 1 year | No requirement listed | Beta |
| AWS Certified AI Business Strategist (AIB-C01) | Amazon Web Services | ExamProctored | $50 (beta); $100 | 3 years | No requirement listed | Beta |
| AI Foundations | OpenAI | Course certificate | – | – | By invitation only | Pilot |
Should you take it?
| ||||||
| Professional Agentic Architect | Google Cloud | ExamProctored online or at a test center | $120 plus tax (beta); $200 plus tax | 1 year | No requirement listed | Announced |
| NVIDIA-Certified Professional Agentic AI (NCP-AAI) | NVIDIA | ExamProctored online | $200 | 2 years | No requirement listed | Announced |
| GIAC AI Penetration Tester | GIAC | ExamProctored online or at a test center | – | 4 years | No requirement listed | AnnouncedFrom February 9, 2027 |
A certification is earned by passing an exam, usually set by the vendor or a professional body, and it often expires. A course certificate shows you finished a course; there is no exam. The table above labels each one by type.
Don't study for these: their issuers have retired them.
| Certification | Issuer | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-900) | Microsoft | RetiredJune 30, 2026 |
| Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Scientist Associate (DP-100) | Microsoft | RetiredJune 1, 2026 |
| ||
| Salesforce AI Associate | Salesforce | RetiredFebruary 2026 |
Should you take it?
| ||
| Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate (AI-102) | Microsoft | RetiredJune 30, 2026 |
| ||
| AWS Certified Machine Learning - Specialty | Amazon Web Services | RetiredMarch 31, 2026 |
NVIDIA has associate exams in generative AI and LLMs and in AI infrastructure. Its agentic AI professional exam is announced, not yet open to book.
| Certification | Price as shown | Length | Questions | Valid for | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA-Certified Professional Agentic AI (NCP-AAI) | $200 | 120 minutes | 60 to 70 | 2 years | Announced |
| NVIDIA-Certified Associate AI Infrastructure and Operations (NCA-AIIO) | $125 | 60 minutes | 50 | 2 years | Active |
| NVIDIA-Certified Associate Generative AI LLM (NCA-GENL) | $125 | 60 minutes | 50 to 60 | 2 years | Active |
The catch: NVIDIA doesn't publish a passing score for any of them, and you renew by retaking the exam.
For most people starting out, one you can book yourself on the platform you already use: Generative AI Leader if you don't code, AWS AI Practitioner on AWS, or AI-901 on Azure. Issuers don't publish pass rates or job outcomes, so judge by price, validity and who recognizes it.
There's no fair rating to give: issuers don't publish comparable pass rates or outcomes. Compare price, validity and who can take each exam in the table above instead.
It depends on three things: the exam fee, any paid prep the issuer sells, and renewal. The AI certification cost table sets them side by side as each issuer states them, in the issuer's currency.
Yes. Several issuers offer free courses, and some give a free badge or certificate. See free AI certificates; a certificate is only listed as free when the provider says so.