Do I need to code for these AI certifications?

Not heavily. AIF-C01 targets people who use AI and does not require coding. AI-901 expects Python syntax familiarity because part of it covers building simple solutions.

Are AI certifications worth it?

They help prove literacy and signal initiative, especially for non-engineers and career changers. They are strongest when combined with a visible project.

AI Certifications Guide: AI-901, AWS AI Practitioner, and Where to Start

Introduction

Entry-level AI certifications prove you understand what AI can do, how it is used responsibly, and which cloud services deliver it. Two of the most popular are Microsoft's AI-901 and the AWS Certified AI Practitioner. Note that Microsoft's older AI-900 retired on June 30, 2026, so older guides are out of date. Facts below come from the official pages as read in October 2026.

Prerequisites

No machine learning background required
For AI-901, Microsoft expects familiarity with Python syntax

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Know that AI-900 is retired

Microsoft's study guide for AI-900 states that the exam retired on June 30, 2026. The Azure AI Fundamentals certification now uses AI-901, whose job role is listed as AI Engineer. If you find tutorials mentioning AI-900, use them only for background and study the AI-901 skills outline instead.

Step 2: Study the AI-901 skills

AI-901 is split into two areas, with most of the weight on implementing solutions with Microsoft Foundry. The passing score is 700 out of 1000, and Microsoft's pages did not state the duration or question count, so check the exam page. Microsoft expects Python syntax familiarity, Azure resource familiarity, and conceptual knowledge of AI solutions. The practice assessment is available through AI Skills Navigator and requires signing in.

Skill area (as of April 15, 2026)                           Weight
Identify AI concepts and capabilities                       40-45%
Implement AI solutions by using Microsoft Foundry           55-60%

Step 3: Learn the AI-901 topics

The concepts area covers responsible AI, model components and configuration, and AI workloads. The implementation area covers building generative AI apps and agents, working with text and speech, vision and image generation, and information extraction with Content Understanding. Build a tiny app that calls a model, once through the portal and once with a few lines of Python.

Step 4: Learn the AWS AI Practitioner exam

AWS Certified AI Practitioner (AIF-C01) has 65 questions, 50 scored and 15 unscored, in 90 minutes, with a passing score of 700 out of 1000 and a fee of 100 USD. It is valid for three years. Question types include multiple choice, multiple response, ordering, and matching. AWS recommends up to six months of exposure to AI and machine learning on AWS, and says the candidate uses AI solutions but does not necessarily build them.

Domain                                              Weight
Fundamentals of AI and ML                           20%
Fundamentals of Generative AI                       24%
Applications of Foundation Models                   28%
Guidelines for Responsible AI                       14%
Security, Compliance, and Governance for AI         14%

Step 5: Prepare for AIF-C01

Learn the vocabulary of machine learning and generative AI: training versus inference, supervised and unsupervised learning, tokens, embeddings, prompts, retrieval-augmented generation, fine-tuning, and agents. Know the purpose of Amazon Bedrock and SageMaker AI at a high level, along with guardrails, IAM, and the shared responsibility model. Use AWS Skill Builder's exam prep plan and official practice questions, and review the earlier AI and RAG lessons on this site.

Step 6: Choose and plan

Pick AI-901 if your organization uses Microsoft and Azure, and AIF-C01 if it uses AWS. Either takes two to four weeks for most people with some technical background. Each is a foundational credential, so follow it with a role-based one, and with projects such as a small retrieval-augmented chatbot, which show employers real skill.

FAQs

Do I need to code for these AI certifications?: Not heavily. AIF-C01 targets people who use AI and does not require coding. AI-901 expects Python syntax familiarity because part of it covers building simple solutions.
Are AI certifications worth it?: They help prove literacy and signal initiative, especially for non-engineers and career changers. They are strongest when combined with a visible project.

Summary

AI-900 retired on June 30, 2026, and AI-901 replaced it with a 40-45 and 55-60 percent split. AWS AIF-C01 is 65 questions in 90 minutes, 700 to pass, 100 USD. Pick the one that matches your employer's cloud, and add a real project.