AI-901 exam format: questions, passing score, time and cost

Here is what Microsoft actually publishes about the AI-901 format, and what it does not. Knowing the difference matters, because a lot of what circulates online about fundamentals exams is guesswork.

Languages: English, Arabic (Saudi Arabia), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian and Spanish. If the exam is not offered in your preferred language, you can request an extra 30 minutes.

The passing score is scaled

700 out of 1000 does not mean 70% of questions correct. Microsoft scales scores and questions can carry different weights, so there is no fixed number of right answers that guarantees a pass. Treat 700 as a threshold you want clear margin above: if you are consistently scoring above 80% on realistic practice questions, you are in good shape.

Question types

Microsoft exams mix formats, and AI-901 is no exception:

• Single and multiple choice
• Drag-and-drop ordering and matching
• Yes/no statement series, where several statements share one scenario
• Dropdown “complete the sentence” items

For the yes/no series you usually cannot return to a question once answered, so read the scenario twice before you commit.

What “fundamentals” means here — and what it no longer means

The exam was updated on April 15, 2026, and the change was substantial. The old AI-900 was five domains of describe. AI-901 has two, and the larger one, worth 55–60%, is implement AI solutions by using Microsoft Foundry.

Microsoft’s audience profile now states you need “knowledge of Python coding syntax and programming techniques” and that you “should be familiar with REST APIs, SDKs, and CLIs”. That is an unusual thing to find on a fundamentals exam, and it is the single most common surprise for people who prepared with older material.

You are not asked to write production code. You are asked to recognise correct code, know which SDK call or portal step produces a given result, and understand what a deployment or a prompt actually does.

Preview features

Most questions cover features that are generally available. Microsoft notes that commonly used preview features can also appear — relevant for Foundry, which changes quickly.

Renewal

Microsoft’s annual renewal requirement applies to associate, expert and specialty certifications. Fundamentals certifications are not on that list, so Azure AI Fundamentals does not need a yearly renewal assessment.

If you fail

Microsoft’s retake policy lets you sit the exam again 24 hours after a first failed attempt. Waiting periods grow for later attempts, so use the score report to find your weaker skill area before booking again.

Reading your score report

Because AI-901 has only two skill areas, the score report is unusually blunt. You get a bar per area, and with two bars it is immediately obvious which half let you down. That is more useful than it sounds: on a five-domain exam a weakness can hide across several small bars, but here there is nowhere for it to hide.

If the implementation bar is the short one, the fix is portal time. If the concepts bar is short, the fix is an evening with the responsible AI principles and the workload vocabulary.

Taking it online

The online proctored option is convenient and has rules worth knowing before exam day rather than during it:

• Your desk must be clear, and the proctor will ask you to pan the camera around the room.
• No second monitor, no phone within reach, no notes, no headphones in most configurations.
• You cannot leave the frame, so deal with drinks and bathroom breaks beforehand.
• The system check is not optional. Run it a day ahead on the same machine, same network.

A test centre removes all of that at the cost of travelling. Neither is easier in terms of questions; they are the same exam.

Accommodations

Microsoft offers accommodations — extra time, assistive devices, breaks — and these are requested before booking, not on the day. If English is not your first language and the exam is not offered in yours, the extra 30 minutes mentioned above is requested the same way.

Booking

Book through the official Microsoft certification page, which hands you over to Pearson VUE. Choose a test centre or an online proctored exam at home. If you test online, run the system check on your machine a day ahead rather than fifteen minutes before.