Feedback about MS-102 retirement

unfortunately, this discussion is not going to make any difference because we see the focus towards the (ai slop), they are driving 200km/h to AI everything

From another TC feed, but has to be said: 

I need to add something here because this isn’t just about people like me who have been doing this for decades. I genuinely feel for every single learner who is studying for MS 102 right now or planning to take it soon. Moving everyone over to AB 650, which is full of Copilot and AI content (slop), is not a realistic replacement for a proper expert level Microsoft 365 exam.

I literally work as a Microsoft 365 engineer in my company every darn day, and I have been MCSA and MCSE across three generations. Many of us in this community have lived through every certification cycle Microsoft has ever released and their acronym changes. And now we are watching Microsoft walk away from the serious old school foundational workloads, the ones that built Microsoft enterprise based in the first place, and instead push AI associate exams that do not cover the same responsibilities, I know because I test copilot, i can do this as fast or more efficient day in day out.

Microsoft is even giving voluntary redundancy packages right now to long serving staff as they move away from core foundational applications. Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, these are not legacy technologies and they need to stop being treated like that. They are still everywhere, still critical, and still require deep engineering expertise.

I also teach these exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive workloads part time because Microsoft created the gap and the demand is STILL for trainers to fill it. That alone shows how far Microsoft Learning has drifted well away from REALWORLD role based certification.

And I really feel for the learners right now. The product teams jamming Copilot and AI into every competency exam for validation are not just giving up on the past, they are giving up on future learners too. You are forcing people to rethink their entire learning path because Microsoft is abandoning the workloads that actually define the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

This is not expanding your portfolio. This is removing the key portfolios entirely and replacing it with AI hype. Learners, engineers, admins and trainers are left without a credible role based path for their future, and that is the core issue many of us are calling out.

It's a weird move from Microsoft, indeed.

feels like a downgrade is coming soon, not sure if it's worth doing AB-650 as well

Can people with the MS‑102 certification renew it to the AB‑650 designation, or do they need to take the AB‑650 exam as a completely new certification?

It doesn't make any sense replacing a Expert Cert to Associate Cert.
I totally agree the OP points!

At the mean time I have got the renewal notice of my MS-102.
If the final decision is made for AB-650 reaplacing MS-102, is there any renewal test transitioning to AB-650?
Or I need to take another Eaxm?

And what's the forum to join the content development. Im sick of the dog poo they are producing for our learners. Its gone the same way of the monthly patches for goodness sake. Ms 102 takes a solid 6 to 12 months to pass. And now More pressure. I had one learner cry on the phone lastnight. 

Honestly its a shock. I had booked my exam 2 months ago but due to different reasons I had to reschedule it. Now I have it booked after 10days. Don't know how should I plan. Take it or change it to another one, but I had a voucher for it. 

The decision seems short-sighted at best. As others have pointed out, it makes no sense to replace the MS-102 with an associate cert that is only moderately adjacent. 

But then, retiring AZ-204 when it was still one of the top 5 courses across NA,EMEA, APAC was also short-sighted. 

Im sitting for the MS-102 on Friday.  I have multiple different MS Certs and the MS-102 is very beneficial from a practical hands-on perspective.  Not every SMB is going to be interested in Co-Pilot.  Absolutely every SMB is going to want to get the most out of Entra, Defender, Purview, Intune, etc... based on what their license subscriptions afford them. 

Also, for those who have passed the exam it's a slap in the face.  They've achieved a real milestone by earning an expert-level designation and Microsoft is going to take that away a d basically say 'that knowledge doesn't deserve an expert level credential'.  I'd be different if the MS-102 was being replaced with the MS-104 which was still expert-level, but had new CoPilot-related knowledge requirements. 

Please reconsider this decision.