AI-102 Retired: What to Take Now (AI-103 or AI-200)

Booked AI-102 for next month, or halfway through an AI-102 course? Stop there. Microsoft retired AI-102 on June 30, 2026, and you can no longer book it or earn the Azure AI Engineer Associate through it. The good news: most of what you studied still counts. This guide shows what replaced AI-102, how AI-103 and AI-200 differ, what happens to an AI-102 certification you already hold, and how to switch your study plan without starting over.

Is AI-102 retired?

Yes. Microsoft retired Exam AI-102, Designing and Implementing a Microsoft Azure AI Solution, on June 30, 2026 at 11:59 PM Central Time. The exam and its certification, Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate, are on Microsoft's list of retired exams. After that date nobody can book the exam, sit it, or earn or renew the Azure AI Engineer Associate.

AI-102 was not the only change. Microsoft rebuilt its whole AI certification path in 2026 around Microsoft Foundry, generative AI and agents:

What replaced AI-102?

AI-103 is the direct replacement. It leads to Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Apps and Agents Developer Associate and tests the work AI developers do today: building generative AI apps and agents in Microsoft Foundry with Python. Generative AI and agents is the largest domain, at 30 to 35% of the exam.

Where AI-102 spread its weight across many separate Azure AI services, AI-103 centres on Foundry: choosing and deploying models, grounding them with your data (RAG), building and orchestrating agents, evaluating output, and running solutions safely in production. Like other Microsoft associate exams, the passing score is 700 and the standard fee is US$165, although the price varies by country.

AI-103 vs AI-200: which one should you take?

The two exams sound alike, but they suit different jobs. Pick by what you build every day.

Not sure? If your last project was a chatbot, copilot or agent, take AI-103. If it was an API, a microservice or a data pipeline that an AI app calls, take AI-200. Many developers end up taking both, AI-103 first.

What happens to my AI-102 certification?

If you passed AI-102 before it retired, you still hold the Azure AI Engineer Associate. Microsoft associate certifications last one year from when you earned or last renewed them, so yours stays valid until its expiry date. Check that date on your Microsoft Learn certification dashboard.

What you cannot do is renew it, because the renewal assessment retired with the exam. To keep a current Azure AI credential on your profile, plan to pass AI-103 before your AI-102 certification expires. Keep the old badge in your history; it still shows experience.

How to move your AI-102 study plan to AI-103

You do not have to start from zero. A lot of AI-102 knowledge carries straight over:

• Carries over: Azure OpenAI and model deployment basics, prompt engineering, retrieval augmented generation (RAG), Azure AI Search, responsible AI, and securing AI resources with keys, managed identities and networking.
• Study new: Microsoft Foundry projects and the Foundry SDK in Python, building and orchestrating agents, tool calling, evaluating and monitoring generative AI output, and running agents in production.
• Study less: standalone service details that AI-102 tested heavily, such as individual vision, speech and language APIs, unless they appear in the current AI-103 study guide.

A practical plan: spend week 1 reading the AI-103 study guide on Microsoft Learn and marking what you already know, weeks 2 to 4 building one RAG app and one agent in Foundry, and weeks 5 to 6 on practice questions until you score 80% or more twice. Most AI-102 candidates are ready for AI-103 in 4 to 6 weeks.

Comparing AI certifications across vendors? Our guide to the best AI certifications for 2027 covers AWS, Google Cloud and Claude too.

Frequently asked questions

Can I still take AI-102 in 2026?

No. AI-102 retired on June 30, 2026 at 11:59 PM Central Time. You cannot book or sit it, and you cannot earn the Azure AI Engineer Associate any more.

What is the replacement for AI-102?

AI-103 replaced AI-102. It leads to Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Apps and Agents Developer Associate and focuses on building generative AI apps and agents in Microsoft Foundry with Python.

Is my Azure AI Engineer Associate certification still valid?

Yes, until its expiry date. Microsoft associate certifications last one year. Because the renewal assessment retired with AI-102, you cannot renew it, so plan to pass AI-103 before it expires.

Is AI-103 harder than AI-102?

It is different rather than harder. AI-103 goes deeper on generative AI, agents and Python in Microsoft Foundry, and lighter on individual Azure AI service APIs. Developers who already build with Azure OpenAI usually find it fair.

Should I take AI-103 or AI-200?

Take AI-103 if you build AI apps, RAG solutions or agents. Take AI-200 if you build the cloud back end those apps use, such as APIs, containers and data services. AI-200 replaced AZ-204.

How much does the AI-103 exam cost?

The standard fee for Microsoft associate exams is US$165 in the US. Prices vary by country, so confirm the price when you schedule.

What replaced the AI-900 exam?

AI-901. The AI-900 exam retired on June 30, 2026, and AI-901 now leads to the same Azure AI Fundamentals certification.

Exam facts checked November 2026. Microsoft changes exams often, so confirm details on Microsoft Learn before you book.