Will a Microsoft AI Certification Give You an Unbeatable Career Advantage?

Are Microsoft’s New AI Certs a Waste of Time if Your Company Isn’t Using AI Yet?

Microsoft is changing its professional certifications to focus more on artificial intelligence. This means they are adding new AI-focused exams and removing some older, more general ones. This change reflects a bigger shift in the technology world, where AI skills are becoming necessary for many jobs. If you work in IT, you need to understand what this change means for your career and which certifications will help you the most in the future. The core question for many is whether it still makes sense to pursue traditional IT certifications when the industry is moving so quickly toward AI.

The simple answer is that your focus should now shift toward AI skills. While finishing a traditional certification you have already started might be useful for your current job, the long-term path for career growth is through understanding and using artificial intelligence. This guide will explain the new changes, what they mean for you, and how you can prepare for a future where AI is a central part of your work.

The Big Shift to AI Skills

Microsoft’s decision to update its certification portfolio is not happening in a vacuum. It is a direct response to how the business world is changing. Artificial intelligence, especially generative AI that can create text, images, and code, is being built into the tools people use every day. Microsoft is a leader in this area, integrating its AI assistant, Copilot, into Windows, Office 365, and other business software.

Think of this shift like the internet’s arrival in the workplace two decades ago. At first, only specialized IT professionals needed to know how it worked. Over time, everyone needed to learn how to use email and web browsers to do their jobs effectively. AI is following a similar path. It is moving from a niche skill for data scientists to a fundamental tool for employees in sales, finance, marketing, and operations.

Because of this, Microsoft needs to ensure that certified professionals have the skills companies will need tomorrow, not just the skills they needed yesterday. The old certifications were good at proving you understood specific products like Microsoft 365 or Dynamics 365. The new certifications are designed to prove you know how to use AI within those products to solve business problems and make processes more efficient.

A Look at the New AI Certifications

Microsoft is introducing a new roadmap for certifications that puts AI skills at the forefront. This includes two major new certifications that are designed for different levels of expertise, along with broader training for various job roles.

A New Starting Point

The AI Fundamentals Certification: Microsoft is creating a new entry-level certification for AI. This exam is meant to be the new starting block for people entering the field or for professionals who need to add AI skills to their existing knowledge. It will cover the essential concepts of artificial intelligence and how they apply to Microsoft’s core services. This includes understanding how to use Copilot and other autonomous agents to automate tasks. A key part of this certification is also security and compliance. It will teach you how to use tools like Microsoft Entra for identity management and Microsoft Purview for data governance, ensuring that AI is used responsibly and securely. This combination shows that knowing AI is not just about using the tools, but also about managing them safely within a business environment.

For the Builders

The Expert-Level AI Certification: The second new certification is for advanced professionals. It targets those who will design and build complex AI solutions. This credential focuses on what Microsoft calls “AI-first scenarios,” where the primary goal is to solve a problem using artificial intelligence. It will validate your skills in several advanced areas. This includes generative AI, which is the technology behind tools like ChatGPT. It also covers multi-agent orchestration, which is like being the conductor of an orchestra of different AI tools, making them work together to complete a complex task. You will also be tested on using Microsoft Copilot Studio to create your own custom AI agents and integrating them with other business systems like Dynamics 365 and Azure AI services.

AI Training for Everyone

Beyond these two main certifications, Microsoft is developing training courses for people in non-technical roles. This includes courses for employees in sales, service, finance, and supply chain management. The goal is to show them how AI tools embedded in their daily software, like Dynamics 365, can help them perform their jobs better. For example, a salesperson could use AI to identify the most promising leads, or a finance professional could use it to detect anomalies in financial reports.

Which Certifications Are Being Retired?

To make room for the new AI-focused credentials, Microsoft is retiring three of its fundamental-level certifications. It is important to know which ones are going away and what the deadline is.

On December 31, 2025, the following certification exams will no longer be available:

• Microsoft 365 Certified: Fundamentals (Exam MS-900)
• Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Fundamentals (CRM) (Exam MB-910)
• Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Fundamentals (ERP) (Exam MB-920)

If you have already earned one of these certifications, it will remain on your transcript permanently. Fundamental-level certifications do not expire. However, if you are currently studying for one of these exams, you must pass it before the end of 2025. After that date, you will not be able to take the exam.

For those in the middle of preparing, you have a choice. If the knowledge is directly applicable to your current role and you are close to being ready, it makes sense to finish the certification before it retires. However, if you are just starting, it may be wiser to redirect your efforts toward the new AI-focused certifications, as they represent the future direction of the industry.

The Best Path Forward for IT Professionals

With some certifications retiring and new ones appearing, you need a clear strategy. The existing Azure AI certification track still provides a solid and relevant path for building valuable skills.

The best place for most people to start is with the Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-900) certification. This exam serves as a perfect entry point into the world of AI on Microsoft’s platform. It does not have any prerequisites and is suitable for people with both technical and non-technical backgrounds. The AI-900 covers four main areas:

• Machine Learning Concepts: The basics of how computers learn from data.
• Computer Vision: How to build systems that can “see” and interpret images and videos.
• Natural Language Processing (NLP): How to create applications that can understand and generate human language.
• Generative AI: An introduction to the new wave of AI that can create novel content.

Once you have this foundational knowledge, the next step for technical professionals is the Azure AI Engineer Associate (AI-102) certification. This is a more hands-on, role-based certification that requires you to know how to build and deploy AI solutions on Azure. This certification is more demanding and does require annual renewal to ensure your skills remain current.

How to Prepare for Your AI Certification Journey

Success in AI certifications requires both theoretical knowledge and practical experience. Here is a step-by-step plan to guide your preparation.

Start with Foundational Knowledge

Before jumping into an exam, make sure you understand the basics. For the AI-900, Microsoft recommends having a general understanding of cloud computing and basic data concepts. If you are new to Azure, spend some time learning about its core services first.

Use Microsoft’s Practice Assessments

Microsoft offers free practice assessments for its exams. These are invaluable tools. They help you get used to the style and difficulty of the exam questions. More importantly, they help you identify your knowledge gaps so you can focus your study time more effectively.

Get Hands-On Experience

You cannot pass these exams with book knowledge alone. This is especially true for the AI-102 certification, which requires experience with a programming language like Python or C# and knowledge of how to use REST APIs to connect different services. The best way to learn is by doing. Create a free Azure account and start experimenting with the Azure AI services. Build a small project, follow tutorials, and get comfortable with the platform.

Set a Realistic Timeline

Depending on your existing experience, plan for 30 to 90 days of preparation. If you already work with Azure, you might be on the shorter end of that range. If you are starting from scratch, give yourself more time to absorb the concepts and practice your skills.

Key Considerations for Your Career

As you plan your certification path, it is important to be aware of some limitations and realities of the current landscape.

The Pace of Change is Fast

AI technology is evolving rapidly. A certification you earn today might cover tools and techniques that become outdated in a year or two. This is why most role-based certifications expire after 12 months. You must commit to continuous learning to stay relevant.

Focus on Microsoft’s Ecosystem

These certifications will make you an expert in Microsoft’s AI tools. This is incredibly valuable if your company uses Azure. However, if your organization uses a different cloud provider like Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Google Cloud, the specific tool knowledge may not be directly transferable.

Companies Are Still Catching Up

Many organizations are still in the early stages of developing their AI strategies. You might find that you have valuable AI skills but limited opportunities to apply them at your current job. In this situation, you can position yourself as a leader who can help guide your company’s AI adoption.

The shift toward AI-focused certifications is a clear signal from Microsoft about the future of technology. For IT professionals, the message is unmistakable: developing AI skills is no longer optional. While finishing an in-progress traditional certification has short-term value, your long-term career strategy must include a deep understanding of artificial intelligence. By combining foundational knowledge from certifications like the AI-900 with hands-on experience in the Azure cloud, you can position yourself for success in the years to come.