Blog Post

The Skills Hub Blog
6 MIN READ

The AI job boom is here. Are you ready to showcase your skills?

Mark Winters's avatar
Mark Winters
Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
Mar 03, 2026

Future-proof your skills: Microsoft’s new cloud, AI, and security Certifications.

AI isn’t just changing jobs descriptions, it’s redefining how work gets done across every industry, role, and skill level. From marketing to manufacturing, AI is reshaping workflows, speeding up deci...
New Microsoft Certification exam beta timeline
Updated Mar 23, 2026
Version 6.0
certification
Cloud AI
retirement
zhihualai's avatar
zhihualai
Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
Mar 10, 2026

Thanks for this! One QQ: for people with AZ-204 and AZ-305, do they need to take AI-200 to keep AZ-305?

A bit sad that I just passed AZ-204 and AI-102 last month... but don't worry. the knowledge is in my head :)

Julian_Sharp's avatar
Julian_Sharp
Learn Expert
Mar 10, 2026

Exams are not certifications, it is important to distinguish between them. If you have already earned the Azure Solution Architect Expert certification then all you need to do is renew it every year. You do not need to take the new exams as they are released.

I think I earned my Azure Solution Architect Expert by passing AZ-302 to transition from the old MCSA/MCSE 70-533/70-534 exams and have not had to pass AZ-303, AZ-304, or AZ-305 as those exams have been retired along the way.