The AI-901 is a beginner-level exam but it is no longer the gentle multiple-choice test the old AI-900 was. In April 2026 Microsoft refreshed Azure AI Fundamentals and renumbered it AI-901. The new version spends most of its marks (55 to 60%) on actually building AI solutions with Microsoft Foundry. It is still aimed at people starting out in AI, and most can pass in one to two weeks, but you now need a little Python and some hands-on Foundry time, not just definitions.
AI-901 vs AI-900: what changed?
The AI-901 replaced the AI-900 in the 2026 refresh. The biggest change is from “describe AI concepts” to “describe and implement them.” The old AI-900 was almost entirely conceptual. The AI-901 keeps a concepts section but adds a large, hands-on Microsoft Foundry section: deploying models, building a chat app with the Foundry SDK, creating agents and extracting information with Content Understanding. Microsoft’s own audience profile now says you should have “knowledge of Python coding syntax” and be familiar with “REST APIs, SDKs, and CLIs.”
So if someone tells you “AI-900 is a one-evening exam,” that advice is out of date for the AI-901.
How hard is the AI-901, really?
For a complete beginner with zero coding, it is moderate. For anyone who has written a little Python and clicked around the Azure portal it can be very approachable. It is a Fundamentals exam, so the depth stays shallow, but the breadth now includes practical Foundry tasks, so pure memorisation will not carry you the way it did on the AI-900. Most candidates pass with one to two weeks of focused study that includes hands-on practice, not just reading.
Where it sits:
- Easier than the associate exams (for example AI-102, Azure AI Engineer), which go far deeper into implementation.
- Harder than the old AI-900, mainly because of the Foundry and coding element.
What is on the AI-901? (official skills, April 2026)
Microsoft splits the exam into two areas:
1. Identify AI concepts and capabilities (40 to 45%)
- Principles of responsible AI: fairness, reliability and safety, privacy and security, inclusiveness, transparency, accountability
- AI model components and configuration: how generative AI models work, choosing a model, deployment options
- AI workloads: generative and agentic AI, text analysis, speech, computer vision and information extraction
2. Implement AI solutions by using Microsoft Foundry (55 to 60%)
- Build generative AI apps and agents: write prompts, deploy a model in the Foundry portal, create a chat client with the Foundry SDK, build a single-agent solution
- Text and speech solutions with Foundry
- Computer vision and image generation with Foundry
- Information extraction with Azure Content Understanding
The weighting is the headline: more than half the exam is the Foundry implementation half.
Exam format
The pass mark is 700 out of 1000. Microsoft does not publish a fixed question count for the AI-901, but expect roughly 40 to 60 questions in about 45 minutes, a mix of multiple-choice and multi-response. Check the official AI-901 exam page for current pricing and to book, since fees vary by region.
Where people lose marks
- Treating it like the AI-900. Skipping hands-on Foundry practice because “it is only Fundamentals.” The implementation half is the bigger half.
- No Python at all. You do not need to be a developer, but zero familiarity with reading Python and calling an SDK hurts on the Foundry questions.
- Under-revising responsible AI. Six principles, regularly tested, easy to skim.
- Confusing the Foundry tools. The Foundry portal, the Foundry SDK, and Content Understanding all do different jobs, and questions check that you know which to reach for.
- Rushing multi-response questions. “Select all that apply” loses the whole mark if you miss one option.
How to prepare in two weeks
- Cover the concepts. Work through Microsoft Learn’s free Azure AI Fundamentals learning paths for the responsible-AI and AI-workloads material.
- Get hands-on in Foundry. Deploy a model in the Microsoft Foundry portal, send a few prompts, and try a minimal chat client with the Foundry SDK. The exam rewards having actually done this once.
- Sit a timed mock early to find your weak half. Most people are stronger on concepts and weaker on Foundry.
- Drill your weak domain with exam-style questions and short daily review, then re-sit mocks until you consistently clear 700 out of 1000.
The fastest way to find your weak spots
This is what PassTheVoid is built for: AI-901 questions written to the current April 2026 skills outline (concepts and Microsoft Foundry), a free timed mock and a per-domain breakdown that tells you whether to revise concepts or Foundry next. It is free, ad-free and works fully offline. A one-time Pro unlock adds the full question bank and unlimited mock exams.