The Skills Hub Blog articles

What’s new in AI Skills Navigator: April 2026

Priya_V — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Learn about recent improvements to playlists, skilling sessions, partner discovery, and credentials, based on what learners and team leaders told us they need to build skills with confidence.

Priya Vaidyanathan is a Director of Product Management at Microsoft, where she leads the product management teams that are building AI Skills Navigator.

AI Skills Navigator exists to help people and teams build confidence with AI skills, through clear paths, practical learning, and guidance that fits real work.

It brings together trusted training and credentials from Microsoft, LinkedIn, GitHub, and other sources in one connected experience so you can build skills without bouncing between tools.

Since launch, we’ve kept improving the experience, guided by your feedback, based on how people are learning and working.

For the deeper story behind why we built AI Skills Navigator, read The moment AI skilling stopped being optional—and started being personal.

Today’s post focuses on what’s changed, including recent updates designed to make it easier to guide teams, learn at your own pace, and stay on track.

Skilling playlists: From small teams to organization-wide rollouts

Skilling playlists in AI Skills Navigator turn priorities into clear, role-aligned paths, helping teams focus on the skills that matter for their day-to-day work. They’re often where people begin, especially when team leaders want learning plans tied to real projects and role-specific responsibilities.

The process for creating playlists is now more transparent and efficient. As you draft a playlist with AI support, you can see why specific content is suggested, apply your own judgment, and adjust as needed. You can also select multiple AI-suggested prompts in a single interaction, reducing manual effort while maintaining control of what your teams learn next.

We’ve improved visibility for playlist owners and team leaders. Real-time progress tracking helps you see how your learners are moving through a playlist, spot where support may be needed, and adjust plans as priorities change.

Progress view in an AI Skills Navigator skilling playlist.

We’ve also enhanced skilling playlists to support wider rollouts, whether you’re guiding a small team or coordinating learning across an organization. We made this change based on your feedback, so playlists can scale with your needs—without added complexity.

Skilling sessions: Now more flexible for real workdays

Skilling sessions in AI Skills Navigator feature content written by human experts and presented by AI, with in-session support from the Skilling Coach agent. You can ask questions at any time, and the coach prompts quick knowledge checks and reflections to reinforce what you’re learning.

Recent improvements give learners more control over how they explore the sessions, including the ability to move forward or rewind, adjust playback speed, and save progress to resume later.

These updates make it easier for learners to fit deeper learning into their workdays, while continuing to build skills they can apply right away.

Pro tip: Find skilling sessions in Explore content, where you can browse and filter by learning type.

Explore content and filter by learning type.

Microsoft Training Services Partners: Tailored, local training support

From individual skill‑building to supporting your team’s goals, Training Services Partners can help. They can tailor instructor-led training to your needs, from role- and project-specific enablement to local language delivery and flexible formats (in-person, virtual, or blended).

The new Training Services Partners directory in AI Skills Navigator makes it easier to discover Microsoft partners that can support human‑led training, customized programs, and organization‑wide skilling initiatives.

This directory helps organizations move from individual learning to coordinated, supported skilling, without having to search across multiple sites or programs.

New content and credentials: All in one place

AI Skills Navigator brings training and credentials together so you can follow a clear path and build toward readiness.

The Microsoft Certified: AI Transformation Leader and Microsoft Certified: AI Business Professional Certifications are now generally available, giving individuals and organizations a way to validate applied capability—not just knowledge. With training and credential prep in one place, you can focus on getting ready and proving what you can do.

Earn an AI Transformation Leader or AI Business Professional Certification.

As we continue evolving the content and credentials available in AI Skills Navigator, our focus remains the same: making it easier for you to find relevant learning, build skills that stick, and demonstrate progress over time.

We’re listening—and continuing to improve AI Skills Navigator

These updates reflect your feedback: you’ve asked for clearer ways to guide teams with playlists, more flexible learning through skilling sessions, and more support when you want it, through partner discovery and credentials in one place.

We’ll keep evolving AI Skills Navigator based on how people learn, how teams work, and what we hear from individuals and organizations. And we’ll continue sharing updates as the experience grows.

Sign in to get started with AI Skills Navigator.

Stay tuned for more updates soon. In our next Inside AI Skills Navigator post, we’ll take a closer look at skilling playlists.

New Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Apps and Agents Developer Associate

LibertyMunson — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 18:42:47 GMT

Ready to move from prototypes to production? Demonstrate your readiness to deliver scalable, real‑world AI apps and agents using Azure services and Microsoft Foundry with the new Exam AI‑103 (beta).

As AI changes how work is done across many industries and roles, organizations are rapidly moving AI apps and agents from experimentation into operational use. These shifts create opportunities for software developers who can build generative AI apps and production‑ready agents on Azure.

To meet these opportunities, we’re introducing the Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Apps and Agents Developer Associate Certification. This new Microsoft Certification focuses on modern AI development, including generative AI, multimodal scenarios, agentic workflows, and responsible AI, by using Azure services and Microsoft Foundry to deliver scalable, real-world solutions. To earn this new Certification, you need to pass Exam AI-103: Developing AI Apps and Agents on Azure, currently in beta.

Is this the right Certification for you?

This Certification validates the skills needed to build and deploy AI apps and agents using production‑oriented development practices on Azure by using Foundry, the unified platform for model management, agent configuration, and evaluation pipelines. Exam AI-103 demonstrates your ability to plan and manage Azure AI solutions and to implement generative AI and agentic solutions, computer vision solutions, text analysis solutions, and information extraction solutions.

As a candidate for this Certification, you’re a developer who uses Python and Azure services to plan, implement, and manage AI solutions and agents that take advantage of Foundry, working closely with business stakeholders, solution architects, data scientists, DevOps engineers, and cloud security engineers.

For this exam, you should have experience developing apps by using Python, and you need to be familiar with the capabilities of general AI, generative AI, and Azure services.

Exam AI-103 provides a modernized, scenario‑driven focus on agent development as the core of Azure AI solution building, expanding coverage into multimodal generation (images, video, speech), visual understanding, large language model–first text analysis, and information‑extraction pipelines for retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). Candidates demonstrate their ability to work with end‑to‑end solution scenarios that involve grounded, multimodal, governed, and secure AI system design.

Ready to prove your skills?

Take advantage of the discounted beta exam offer. The first 300 people who take Exam AI-103 (beta) on or before May 7, 2026, can get 80% off.

To receive the discount, when you register for the exam and are prompted for payment, use code AI103Claxton. This is not a private access code. The seats are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. As noted, you must take the exam on or before May 7, 2026. Please note that this discount is not available in Turkey, Pakistan, India, or China.

How to prepare

Get ready to take Exam AI-103 (beta):

Review the Exam AI-103 (beta) exam page for details.
The Exam AI-103 study guide explores key topics covered in the exam.
Work through the self-paced Course AI-103: Develop AI apps and agents on Azure.
Connect with Microsoft Training Services Partners in your area for in-person offerings.
Need other preparation ideas? Check out Just How Does One Prepare for Beta Exams?

Ready to get started?

You can take Certification exams online, from your home or office. Get the details in Online proctored exams: What to expect and how to prepare.

Remember, only the first 300 candidates can get 80% off Exam AI-103 (beta) with code AI103Claxton on or before May 7, 2026.

Beta exam rescoring begins when the exam goes live, with final results released approximately 10 days later. For more details, read Creating high-quality exams: The path from beta to live.

Stay tuned for general availability of this Certification in June 2026.

Additional information

For more cloud and AI Certification updates, read our recent blog post, The AI job boom is here. Are you ready to showcase your skills?

Follow our credentials news on The Skills Hub blog as we roll out additional new Certifications in April, May, and June 2026.

Join our Microsoft Worldwide Learning SME Group for Credentials on LinkedIn for beta exam alerts and opportunities to help shape future Microsoft learning and assessments.

Explore Microsoft Credentials on AI Skills Navigator.

Evolving the Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals Certification

LibertyMunson — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:55:08 GMT

As AI cloud solution adoption accelerates, demonstrate your readiness to build modern, responsible Azure AI solutions using Microsoft Foundry and Python with the new Exam AI‑901 (beta).

AI is no longer a distant, abstract idea. Organizations around the world are adopting it right now to streamline workflows and strengthen operational efficiency. As a result, the demand for AI solution developers is accelerating.

To support this shift, we’re evolving the Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals Certification. The updated Microsoft Certification validates your knowledge of AI concepts and capabilities and your ability to implement AI solutions by using Azure and Microsoft Foundry. After June 30, 2026, to earn this Certification, you’ll need to pass Exam AI-901: Azure AI Fundamentals, currently in beta.

The Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals Certification is designed for people who are beginning their journey in AI solution development, and it validates that you can apply responsible AI principles in real‑world scenarios. It also provides a strong foundation for pursuing more advanced role‑based Certifications in Azure AI and machine learning.

Is this the right Certification for you?

The Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals Certification focuses on the practical skills needed to build modern AI apps and agents by using Foundry. By preparing to earn the Certification, you build practical, job‑relevant skills. Exam AI-901 validates your ability to:

Describe AI concepts and capabilities, including principles of responsible AI, along with AI workloads, model components, and configurations.
Implement AI solutions with Foundry, including generative AI apps and agents, in addition to AI solutions for text and speech, computer vision and image-generation capabilities, and information extraction.

As a candidate for this Certification, you should have conceptual knowledge of AI solutions in Azure and the foundational technical skills to work with them. You also need knowledge of Python coding syntax and programming techniques, and you should be familiar with provisioning Azure resources.

With its expanded focus, Exam AI-901 replaces Exam AI-900, which is being retired on June 30, 2026. The new exam addresses:

Generative AI and agents, with updated coverage of the Foundry portal, tools, and models.
AI workloads, responsible AI principles, and solution patterns.
Simple approaches to implementing AI solutions using Foundry.

Area	Exam AI‑900 (old)	Exam AI‑901 (new)
Audience	Nontechnical or technical beginners	Technical beginners planning to build AI solutions
Skills tested	Understanding AI and machine learning concepts; identifying when to use Azure AI services	Understanding AI concepts; implementing AI solutions with Microsoft Foundry
Required coding knowledge	None	Basic Python syntax and programming concepts
Knowledge level	Introductory, conceptual understanding of Azure AI services (classic approach)	Foundational understanding of Azure resources, plus implementation with Foundry, provisioning Azure resources, and modern AI development tooling
Focus	What is AI?	How do I build an AI app by using Foundry?

NOTE: We’re not retiring the Azure AI Fundamentals Certification; we’re refreshing the requirements to earn it, with a new exam that better reflects modern AI solution development skills. If you already hold this Certification, no action is required; however, you may take the new Exam AI-901 if you would like to showcase your ability with a wider skill set. For more details on the retirement of Exam AI-900 and the latest cloud and AI Certification updates, read our recent blog post, The AI job boom is here. Are you ready to showcase your skills?

Ready to prove your Azure AI skills?

Take advantage of the discounted beta exam offer. The first 300 people who take Exam AI-901 (beta) on or before May 6, 2026, can get 80% off.

To receive the discount, when you register for the exam and are prompted for payment, use code AI901Medford. This is not a private access code. The seats are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. As noted, you must take the exam on or before May 6, 2026. Please note that this discount is not available in Turkey, Pakistan, India, or China.

How to prepare

Get ready to take Exam AI-901 (beta):

Review the Exam AI-901 (beta) exam page for details.
The Exam AI-901 study guide explores key topics covered in the exam.
Work through the self-paced Course AI-901: Introduction to AI in Azure.
Connect with Microsoft Training Services Partners in your area for in-person offerings.
Need other preparation ideas? Check out Just How Does One Prepare for Beta Exams?

Ready to get started?

You can take Certification exams online, from your home or office. Get the details in Online proctored exams: What to expect and how to prepare.

Remember, only the first 300 candidates can get 80% off Exam AI-901 (beta) with code AI901Medford on or before May 6, 2026.

Beta exam rescoring begins when the exam goes live, with final results released approximately 10 days later. For more details, read Creating high-quality exams: The path from beta to live.

Stay tuned for general availability of this Certification in June 2026.

Additional information

For more cloud and AI Certification updates, read our recent blog post, The AI job boom is here. Are you ready to showcase your skills?

Follow our credentials news on The Skills Hub blog as we roll out additional new Certifications in April, May, and June 2026.

Join our Microsoft Worldwide Learning SME Group for Credentials on LinkedIn for beta exam alerts and opportunities to help shape future Microsoft learning and assessments.

Explore Microsoft Credentials on AI Skills Navigator.

A new chapter for the Microsoft Student Ambassadors program, built for you

RWortmanMorris — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 17:35:34 GMT

Join the reimagined Student Ambassadors program to learn and lead. Experiment with AI, drive projects that solve real problems, and earn recognition for the impact you make.

For more than two decades, the Microsoft Student Ambassadors program has helped student-developers from around the world build practical technical and leadership skills—skills that have helped open doors for hundreds of thousands of students, sparked their confidence, and turned curiosity into careers.

Today, we’re announcing an exciting new chapter for the program, shaped by the evolving needs of students everywhere who are preparing for careers that demand not only technical fluency but also adaptable, broad-based skills. We’re reimagining Microsoft Student Ambassadors to welcome students from all disciplines, across higher-education campuses worldwide (restrictions apply).

The future of work—and the future of AI—won’t be shaped by one type of learner, one major, or one path. It will be shaped by people who are curious about AI, motivated to learn by doing, and ready to help others with their learning. That’s why we’re expanding the program beyond its developer roots, making it a place and opportunity for all students.

By joining the Student Ambassadors program, you can learn to lead with AI in creative and responsible ways, so you can think bigger, build faster, and bring bold ideas to life. You will have the opportunity to grow your skills faster by learning alongside a community that challenges and supports you at every step, where friendships spark creativity and mentorship builds confidence. Along the way, you can turn potential into proof, building a résumé that reflects your strengths and contributions and shows that you’re not just ready for what’s next—you’re already doing it.

There’s no application required to join. No gatekeeping. Just a shared commitment to building your skills and helping others to build theirs.

How to join the Student Ambassadors program

Go to Student Ambassadors, and select Get Started.
Take a few minutes to complete the sign-up steps (no application or interview.)
Participate in activities aligned to your interests and skills—from creating and sharing social content that helps to upskill others, to hosting events and contributing to the community.
Hit milestones to unlock benefits and build experience, whether you’re focused on your career path or a startup idea.

What it means to be a Student Ambassador

As a Student Ambassador, you have an array of benefits to support your development while you upskill and support others across your campus and online community.

After your onboarding to the program, you gain access to cutting-edge Microsoft technologies, including Microsoft 365 Copilot, Visual Studio Enterprise, and $150 in monthly Azure credits.

As you progress through the program and unlock milestones, you earn opportunities for leadership positions and deeper engagement with Microsoft. Through our new immersive, rotational work with Microsoft teams, you can contribute to real initiatives while gaining experience that builds practical skills, industry awareness, and results to showcase on your résumé and LinkedIn profile.

These short, focused engagements give Student Ambassadors direct exposure to the teams shaping Microsoft technologies. Through product updates, open discussions, and feedback opportunities, you can learn how we build, prioritize, and evolve products, and you can develop the professional skills required in today’s workplace.

As a result, Student Ambassadors learn to navigate professional environments, engage in meaningful conversations, and develop a clear point of view on emerging technologies and industry trends. With this foundation, you can be prepared to show up as a credible voice in both technical and nontechnical communities, while building confidence for future career opportunities.

What’s next

In the coming months, we’ll continue to write new chapters for the program, including the launch of Microsoft Campus Clubs and the Microsoft Student Ambassadors Alumni Network. These initiatives will open doors for even more people to participate in the Microsoft Student Ambassadors program and to connect with Microsoft communities.

The future needs people who are ready to get involved. Get started with Microsoft Student Ambassadors.

Strengthen your research workflow with generative AI

DarcyOgden — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Stop guessing at prompts. Use research-ready templates that guide Microsoft Copilot toward clearer reasoning, better drafts, and transparent methods—so your work is faster, sharper, and credible.

Darcy Ogden, Ph. D., leads the academic researcher programs for Microsoft Global Skilling. A computational scientist and former professor of geophysics, Dr. Ogden has a passion for teaching and using new technology to accelerate research.

Guidance on using generative AI in research often lands at the extremes; it’s either overly optimistic or far too cautious. Most researchers, students, and professionals working with data or analysis know that the reality sits somewhere in between: all models are useful but fallible tools.

As researchers, we ask: What was this model designed to do? Where does it perform well? Where does it fall short? What assumptions are we making when we use this model?

Those same questions apply to generative AI. Understanding how these systems work and how they shape the outputs you receive can help you decide when to rely on them and when to adjust.

We’re all trying to figure out how best to work with generative AI, and there’s no simple, universal answer. But, in many cases, the work of research itself creates opportunities to apply generative AI thoughtfully and effectively.

Explore our new guide for researchers

As part of the latest Microsoft efforts to support graduate students, postdocs, and faculty aiming to use generative AI for research, we’re happy to share a new learning resource, The Academic Researcher's Guide to Generative AI. In this guide, we bring together recent insights and practical frameworks for considering generative AI as a research instrument. The guide’s purpose is to support researchers in asking well‑formed questions about the tools they use and in reflecting on the role that those tools play in research processes.

Bring generative AI into your research methodology

This new guide provides research-aligned approaches to prompting in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, along with frameworks for prompt development, testing, and documentation. Further, it includes ready-to-adapt prompting use cases for research scenarios. The following brief examples reflect the kinds of tasks that these prompts support:

Research synthesis. Summarize the key arguments across these sources and note where the evidence conflicts.
Writing support. Rewrite this paragraph for clarity and precision while keeping the original meaning.
Data analysis. Explain the assumptions behind this statistical method and list situations where it may fail.

We’ve also included guidance on crafting quality prompts in Copilot, with techniques that can help reduce ambiguity and surface the reasoning behind responses. These approaches for prompting can deliver tailored, well-structured outputs suited for research purposes. The following examples highlight the types of instructions that researchers can use to make the most of Copilot prompts:

Surface assumptions. State assumptions and show reasoning before providing the final answer.
Limit sources. Use only the attached sources and flag any gaps or uncertainties in the evidence.
Structure responses. Follow this structure: Context → key points → limitations → questions to be considered next.

This guide treats the use of generative AI like other models or tools you use in your research. Like them, generative AI has no native understanding of fields of study, datasets, or research constraints. The guide introduces an approach to using generative AI as a visible, documentable part of academic research. It treats interactions with Copilot as part of your methodology: something to record, review, and refine as you move through your research.

Put the guide to work

As generative AI becomes more common across academic and professional environments, the question is no longer whether to use it but how to use it well. As the models grow more capable, the challenge is how to use them in ways that support learning, integrity, and transparency. We developed this guide to help researchers and students engage these tools in ways that strengthen, rather than diminish learning and scholarly judgment.

We invite you to read The Academic Researcher's Guide to Generative AI. Use it as a starting point, adapt the frameworks to your own discipline and workflow, and contribute feedback about the guide so that we can continue to evolve this resource alongside the field itself.

Lenovo scales AI adoption worldwide with Copilot Chat training

ToddMinor — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Discover how Lenovo helped 30,000 employees build practical AI skills with scenario‑driven training to streamline daily tasks, strengthen communication, and achieve meaningful, measurable outcomes.

Listed by Forbes as the world’s largest PC company, Lenovo is taking AI out of the abstract and delivering its power to people around the world through a full-stack portfolio of AI-enabled devices, infrastructure, and software. Lenovo’s vision of delivering smarter technology for all includes its own employees and processes. This goal informed its decision to deploy and adopt Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat and Microsoft Copilot Studio across the entire company.

Empowering innovation and efficiency

Lenovo aimed to establish enterprise leadership in AI, using it to enhance productivity and accelerate business processes across key functions, including research and development (R&D), marketing, and human resources (HR). The company did this by deploying Copilot Chat to its global workforce of over 75,000 employees. The initial onboarding target was more manageable but still ambitious: 30,000 employees in China—about 40% of its workforce.

The primary challenge was not just the scale of deployment but also the need to ensure adoption. It was vital that employees could move beyond basic usage to effectively integrate these advanced AI tools into their specific, daily work scenarios to drive tangible business value. Lenovo recognized that success hinged on helping employees build confidence, understand real-world applications, and adopt an AI‑first mindset.

Copilot Chat has fundamentally changed how we manage our daily workflow. What used to take hours now happens in minutes. It not only saves us time but also enhances the quality of our communication and strategic thinking.

—Dan Zhao, Operations Management Professional, Lenovo China

Laying the groundwork

To achieve such massive upskilling at scale, Lenovo worked with Digital China Cloud Technology Limited, a leading digital transformation partner whose many services include helping enterprise-level clients establish future-oriented core capabilities.

Together they created a training strategy to help employees move from casual interaction with AI tools to meaningful, scenario‑driven usage. The two-phased training combined targeted learning pathways, interactive workshops, and department-specific problem-solving. By embedding training into employees’ existing digital workflows, Lenovo helped to ensure minimal friction and maximum relevance.

Phase one: Foundation building

The first phase focused on delivering broad-based AI literacy across the targeted workforce so that every employee, regardless of technical background, could start implementing AI tools to streamline their work. Lenovo introduced an “Introduction to Prompt Engineering” course designed to teach employees how to interact effectively with AI systems. This core training provided:

Essential AI concepts.
Practical prompting skills.
Confidence-building exercises.
Foundational habits for high‑quality AI interaction.

Phase two: Role‑based integration

The second phase moved beyond generic training to deep, scenario-specific workshops for key departments. It focused on using Copilot Chat for complex querying and analysis and on working with Copilot Studio, a platform for designing and building custom agents to automate and execute specific business processes.

“The key innovation,” Digital China Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) Yan Yan explains, “was our scenario-first and agent-centric learning methodology. Instead of teaching features, we focused on real-world business problems.”

This mapped training directly to real needs rather than abstract hypothetical use cases.

Phase two included:

Customized agent development workshops tailored to unique departmental challenges, like automating HR inquiries and generating marketing content.
Workflow‑embedded scenario training, designed around actual daily tasks, like meeting summaries, data analysis, strategic document drafting, and more.

Measurable business impact

Lenovo achieved significant results from its program, including:

Accelerated core business processes. Teams across R&D, marketing, and HR saw faster project cycles—from accelerated code development and quicker market analysis to more streamlined employee onboarding.
Higher productivity and efficiency. Employees showed major gains in handling complex tasks, such as data synthesis and content creation, reducing time spent on routine work.
A more engaged workforce. The program boosted employee confidence and helped cultivate a culture of innovation and AI-first thinking.
Transformational impact on customer-facing teams. Sales teams experienced dramatic improvements in communication quality, speed, and strategic preparation, reducing timelines from hours to minutes.

Realizing significant gains with a practical approach

Lenovo’s AI adoption journey demonstrates what’s possible when an organization pairs visionary goals with a practical, scenario‑driven implementation strategy. By empowering employees with foundational skills and then guiding them through real‑world applications, Lenovo achieved widespread adoption, substantial efficiency gains, and a more empowered global workforce.

This project not only accelerated Lenovo’s internal transformation but also positioned the company as a leader in enterprise‑wide AI enablement.

Explore AI skilling opportunities for all your teams—technical and non-technical alike—on Microsoft Learn for Organizations. For more inspiration, read AI and human potential: Advancing skills, innovation, and outcomes.

Why I’m telling my team to stop asking permission and start building

Alfredo_Ramirez — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 17:12:15 GMT

Learn all about vibe coding, no experience required, and get inspired by real-world success.

Alfredo Ramirez is Vice President of Revenue Strategy at Microsoft, where his team runs sales planning, performance management, and commercial transformation across the Microsoft global sales organization.

Many of the most impactful tools my team uses today weren’t built by engineers. They were instead built by operations leads, program managers, planning analysts, and business process owners, people who had never written a line of code in their lives. And they built these tools in hours, not months.

What is vibe coding, and why should leaders care?

I’ve sponsored projects where, by the time we saw the first working version, we’d realized that the original ask should have been different. Requirements evolve, tradeoffs are real, and building reliable software takes thoughtful iteration. The challenges were always the same: feedback loops were slow, and the cost of change was high.

Vibe coding collapses that cycle. You describe, in plain language, what you want to build, and the AI generates working software. But I want to be clear about what this means. It’s not magic, and it’s not Describe it once, and the AI builds it. Vibe coding requires structured thinking: that is, framing the problem clearly, knowing what good looks like, and iterating not just the output but also the approach when it’s broken. The process is closer to negotiation than dictation.

What you don’t need is a programming background. We’ve been told that tools like GitHub Copilot are for developers, that business users won’t learn interfaces like Visual Studio Code, that this world belongs to engineers. I’ve found the opposite. What you actually need is deep knowledge of your domain: your problem, your data, your business rules, and what a useful solution looks like to you. Your team already has what vibe coding runs on: domain expertise, institutional knowledge, judgment about what matters. The work is the thinking. AI handles the implementation.

How I got here

I’m a former engineer who spent years with my hands on a keyboard before moving into strategy and leadership at Microsoft. When new AI capabilities emerged, I didn’t just read about them; I started experimenting with tiny helper tools, built using GitHub Copilot. Then I hit a real business problem and decided to see what vibe coding could do at scale. The result wasn’t just a working solution, it was a realization: the bottleneck had always been access to the tools, not technical skills.

So I stopped experimenting alone. I ran live demos in my team meetings, showing people their own data, their own processes, and their own pain points being solved in real time with GitHub Copilot and VS Code. The conversation went from What is AI, and how do we do this? to What should we build next? People stopped asking for tools and started building them.

What my team built

A non-developer trimmed incident response time from an hour to minutes. This colleague who manages support escalations was spending an hour or more, per incident, manually navigating databases, reading case details, and drafting executive summaries. He’d never written code. He vibe coded a Python script that queries our data systems, formats results into a structured prompt, and returns ready-to-send executive summaries. When the AI suggested a heavyweight Azure deployment, he pushed back and asked, Is there another way? and got three simpler alternatives. Every incident now gets the same rigorous analysis, regardless of who processes it. The barrier wasn’t technical difficulty; it was the perception that it would be technically difficult.

One team delivered significant results in a fraction of the usual time. Two members of our partner experience team, both first-time VS Code users, vibe coded a full interactive prototype for a co-sell experience between Microsoft sellers and partner sellers. They fed in requirement docs, meeting transcripts, partner feedback, and design principles. GitHub Copilot synthesized it all into a coherent spec and interactive HTML demo. When stakeholders saw it, they could react to real artifacts instead of printed concepts. One senior leader said it plainly, “You did more in 10 days than we’ve been able to do in 10 months.” The prototype has since been handed to engineering for production build-out. The people closest to the problem could finally show, not just tell.

A team member adapted the tools to her brain and then used that adaptation to build for everyone else. One colleague had never written code. When she started using VS Code and GitHub Copilot, she shaped the tool to match how her brain works: how she takes in information, how she stays focused and moves through complexity. It became an extension of her thinking, rather than something she had to contort herself to use. This made what came next possible. She noticed that leaders had no good way to prepare for high-stakes review meetings: the metrics kept changing, definitions were scattered, context was buried. And no one had filed a ticket for this. She fed her existing prep materials into VS Code and built an interactive hub that organizes metrics by how leaders think when preparing for reviews. The hub reduces noise, surfaces what matters, and links directly to source reports. The design choices she made for herself (clarity, structure, reduced cognitive load) turned out to be exactly what leaders needed. That’s what happens when the person building the tool is also the person who understands the problem.

What I’ve learned watching this unfold

These aren’t experiments. They’re real business processes running in production, saving measurable hours. And they’re built by people whose job titles say nothing about software development.

When I introduced this across our organization, I heard the same concerns that many leaders hear: Will AI take my job? What I’ve seen is the opposite. People feel ownership over their work in a way they didn’t before, because they’re solving problems they’ve been working around for years. AI didn’t replace them; it gave them the means to finally act on the expertise they’ve always had.

Every one of my team members who built something useful also failed multiple times along the way. They hit loops where the AI got stuck. They got suggestions that were too complex. They learned to ask: Is there a simpler way to do this? and Let’s reset and try again. Make it safe to try.

This doesn’t require additional budget, new initiatives, or engineering capacity. The people who know the work best can start building today. Show your team what’s possible with their own data, their own problems, in real time. Leaders are much more likely to engage when they see transformation happening than they are when reading about it on a slide.

If you still believe that these tools are only for engineers, you could be leaving some of your best problem-solvers on the sidelines.

Give your people the tools and permission, and then get out of the way.

Learn how to get started with vibe coding on AI Skills Navigator.

The AI job boom continues: Build the skills that move business forward

GretchenLaBelle — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 20:00:41 GMT

Discover new AI powered business Certifications to validate the skills that matter most.

Gretchen LaBelle: Copilot + Agents Learning Portfolio Manager, Global Skilling

Tarek Saleh Eldin: Content Publishing Manager, Global Skilling

In Part 1 of this series, The AI job boom is here. Are you ready to showcase your skills?, we explored how Microsoft Certifications across AI, cloud, and security are evolving to keep pace with a rapidly changing job market. AI is no longer a niche capability. It’s becoming foundational across roles, reshaping how work gets done, and redefining how professionals create impact.

This post picks up that thread.

As organizations move from experimenting with AI to operationalizing it at scale, big changes are happening in business solutions roles. These shifts demand the ability to apply AI in real business contexts, redesign processes, build intelligent apps and agents, and lead transformation responsibly across the organization.

Earlier this year, Microsoft introduced four new AI business solutions Certifications:

Microsoft Certified: Agentic AI Business Solutions Architect (Exam AB‑100)
Microsoft 365 Certified: Copilot and Agent Administration Fundamentals (Exam AB‑900)
Microsoft Certified: AI Business Professional (Exam AB‑730)
Microsoft Certified: AI Transformation Leader (Exam AB‑731)

Together, these Certifications map to the critical roles in an AI‑driven workplace, from business practitioners and IT administrators to solution architects and transformation leaders. Building on that foundation, we’re launching new Certifications to help amplify human skills for AI-powered roles in the business landscape.

New AI business solutions credentials: April 2026 and beyond

Additional new Certification exams begin rolling out in beta starting in April 2026, with more releases over the following months, and going live later this year.

The Microsoft Certified: AI Agent Builder Associate Certification is designed for tech pros, including developers, AI engineers, and architects, who are pushing AI agents beyond out‑of‑the‑box scenarios to implement production‑ready Microsoft Copilot Studio agents and multi‑agent solutions capable of sophisticated processes, workflow automation, and enterprise integration. Exam AB-620 beta and training available in April 2026; exam expected to go live in June 2026.

The Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Contact Center AI Engineer Associate Certification is designed for contact center engineers and solutions pros who design and run modern contact center as a service (CCaaS) solutions with Dynamics 365 Contact Center and service‑oriented autonomous agents. This Certification goes beyond routing and channels, focusing on how AI, Microsoft Copilot, and agents deliver scalable, always‑on service across voice and digital channels. Exam AB-250 beta and training available in June 2026; exam expected to go live in August 2026.

The Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Sales AI Consultant Associate Certification is for modern sellers who design and operationalize AI‑powered sales solutions across the lead‑to‑cash lifecycle, emphasizing Copilot-driven productivity and insights, AI-powered opportunity research and qualification, agent configuration and lifecycle management, and secure, scalable automation aligned with governance and responsible AI. Exam AB‑210 beta and training available in May 2026; exam expected to go live in June 2026.

The Microsoft Certified: Intelligent Applications Builder Associate Certification equips Microsoft Power Platform pros to build for an AI-first world, where apps, agents, automation, and models work as one. It validates the skills to use Copilot and natural language to design intelligent solutions, embed agents across experiences, and ship responsibly with strong governance and application lifecycle management. Exam AB-410 beta and training available in April 2026; exam expected to go live in June 2026.

The Microsoft Applied Skills: Build an agent-first app credential validates learners’ ability to build an app that surfaces a Copilot Studio agent and to craft prompts that make the agent genuinely effective, not just functional. This credential is part of the broader Microsoft Certified: Intelligent Applications Builder Associate (Exam AB-410) Certification journey, serving as a fast, accessible entry point for those looking to get started with agent-first development before pursuing the full Certification. Credential and training expected to go live in June 2026.

Refresh: The Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Fundamentals Certification (Exam PL-900) is being updated with a streamlined, one-day instructor-led course and a new training program. These improvements are designed to align with the AI-powered Microsoft Power Platform and to make it easier than ever for learners to start building confidently. Training and courseware updates are scheduled for June 2026, with minor exam changes planned at the same time to reflect these enhancements.

Retiring Certifications: What you need to know

We’re committed to keeping our Certifications portfolio aligned with latest technology. As we launch new Certifications, we also retire some older credentials to keep the portfolio mapped to evolving roles.

The following table itemizes what’s changing and provides key dates for Certification and training retirements in 2026. If your Certification is eligible for renewal, please renew it before the retirement date.

Retiring Microsoft Credential	Credential and exam retirement date	Planned training retirement date	Related new Credential
Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Customer Experience Analyst Associate (Exam MB-280)	July 31, 2026	July 31, 2026	Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Sales AI Consultant Associate (Exam AB-210)
Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate (Exam PL-200)	August 31, 2026	August 31, 2026	Microsoft Certified: Intelligent Applications Builder Associate (Exam AB-410)
Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365: Finance and Operations Apps Solution Architect Expert (Exam MB-700)	June 30, 2026	June 30, 2026	No new Certification is planned. To stay up to date with these technologies please refer to the Microsoft technical documentation.
Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Solution Architect Expert (Exam PL-600)	June 30, 2026	June 30, 2026
Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management Functional Consultant Expert (Exam MB-335)	June 30, 2026	June 30, 2026
Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Field Service Functional Consultant Associate (Exam MB-240)	June 30, 2026	June 30, 2026
Microsoft Certified: Power Automate RPA Developer Associate (Exam PL-500)	June 30, 2026	June 30, 2026
Microsoft Applied Skills: Create and manage model-driven apps with Power Apps and Dataverse	June 30, 2026	June 30, 2026	Microsoft Applied Skills: Build an agent-first app

Note: The recently released Microsoft Certified: Agentic AI Business Solutions Architect Certification (Exam AB‑100), although not a direct replacement for the retiring Certifications listed here, is the flagship expert‑level Certification, spanning a significantly broader scope and covering agentic architectures, AI‑driven solution design, and end‑to‑end business impact. If you currently hold one of the retiring expert-level Certifications (associated with Exam MB‑700, Exam PL‑600, Exam MB-335, Exam MB-240, or Exam PL-500), consider pursuing the Microsoft Certified: Agentic AI Business Solutions Architect Certification (Exam AB‑100) as your next step.

Navigating the transition: FAQs

The following questions and answers can help you determine how these retirements and expanded portfolio could impact your learning journey:

Q. Why is Microsoft implementing these updates?

A. Microsoft Credentials are valuable, as is the time you spend earning them. With the ongoing evolutions in technology, it’s essential that we keep the credentials up to date so we can help you stay aligned with latest skills and trends. We’re implementing these updates to provide a valuable path forward to keep up with the latest skills.

Q. I’ve already earned one of the retiring Certifications. What happens now?

A. If you’ve already earned any of the retiring Certifications, your credential remains valid until it expires. Retirement does not revoke or invalidate Certifications that were earned while the exam was active. They show your continued dedication to staying up to date and learning new skills in this ever-changing technical landscape.

Q. What if a Certification that’s retiring is part of the prerequisites for an expert-level Certification?

A. If a retiring Certification is required for an expert-level Certification, the requirements for that expert-level Certification will be updated as needed. The retiring Certification will be removed from the requirements and replaced (as appropriate) with a new associate-level Certification.

If you’ve earned an expert-level Certification by earning an associate-level Certification that’s now retiring, you’ll continue to hold the expert-level Certification as long as you renew the expert-level Certification when it’s eligible. After you’ve earned a Certification, and if you renew it when it’s eligible, you hold it until it expires.

If you’ve earned an associate-level Certification that’s a requirement for an expert-level Certification and that associate-level Certification hasn't expired, it can still satisfy the expert-level requirement. Be sure to meet all the requirements for the expert-level Certification before the associate-level Certification expires. Expired Certifications cannot be used to meet the requirements for an expert-level Certification.

Q. Can I renew a soon-to-retire Certification?

A. Yes, as long as it’s eligible for renewal and you renew it before the Certification officially retires, you can renew a soon-to-retire Certification. Please note that Fundamentals Certifications don’t expire.

Q. Is there a direct transition path from a retiring Certification that I’ve already earned to the related new Certification, or do I need to pass the new exam?

A. To earn the new Certification, you need to pass the new exam, since the new exam and the old one don’t measure the same skill sets.

Q. I’m preparing for an exam that’s retiring. What should I do?

A. The time you spend preparing for an exam and earning a Certification never goes to waste. If you’re actively preparing for an exam that’s retiring and a replacement exam has been announced:

If you’ve already registered for the exam, you can continue preparing for it and take it while it’s still available. Keep in mind that after the exam retires, you won’t be able to retake it if you don’t pass, and you won’t be able to renew it. Exam registration ends on the same day that the exam retires.
If you haven’t registered for the exam and there’s a related new exam, we strongly recommend that you prepare for and take the new exam instead, as noted in the following table.

If you’re not close to testing for this exam	Prepare for and take this exam instead	Learning path and instructor-led training expected to be available in
Exam MB-280	Exam AB-210	April 2026
Exam PL-200	Exam AB-410	April 2026

If you’re preparing for Exam PL-900 to earn the Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Fundamentals Certification, the new Course PL-900 will be available at the end of June 2026.
If you’re preparing for Exam MB-335 to earn the Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management Functional Consultant Associate Certification, Exam MB-700 to earn the Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365: Finance and Operations Apps Solution Architect Expert Certification, or Exam PL-600 to earn the Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Solution Architect Expert Certification, consider preparing for and taking Exam AB-100 to earn the Microsoft Certified: Agentic AI Business Solutions Architect Certification, the new flagship expert‑level Certification for solutions architects, available now. Note that to earn the Certification, you must pass Exam AB-100 and you must also have a current associate-level Certification.

Q. How might these updates impact partner competency requirements?

A. To track whether and how these updates might impact partner competency requirements, go to Solutions Partner for Business Applications in the Partner Center.

The bigger picture

AI is transforming not only what technology can do but also who does the work and how.

Whether you’re building agents, designing intelligent apps, transforming sales, or leading enterprise AI strategy, there’s now a Certification that reflects the real skills your role demands. These Certifications can help ensure that you’re not only ready for AI-driven work but you’re also leading it.

We’ll share updates for the new AI business solutions Certifications, including beta exams and go-live dates, on The Skills Hub Blog. Stay tuned!

Explore more Microsoft Credentials on AI Skills Navigator.

The moment AI skilling stopped being optional—and started being personal

KavithaRadhakrishnan — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 17:10:47 GMT

Find out what it takes to build AI skills with confidence, individually and as a team.

Kavitha Radhakrishnan is a General Manager in Microsoft Global Skilling, where she leads the teams creating AI‑first, learner‑centered experiences that help people and teams build skills they can apply at work.

Sunday night. The week hasn’t started yet, but the questions already have.

A leader is scrolling through AI headlines, trying to keep up with the constant changes. Every day there’s a new tool, a new capability, a new prediction about how work is changing. And it is. By Monday morning, the pressure isn’t theoretical; it’s sitting on a packed calendar and a team that’s already running hot. Everyone’s saying, “We should be using AI,” but nobody’s quite sure what that means for this team, this week.

Elsewhere, an employee is watching coworkers use AI with speed and confidence. They want to keep up without feeling exposed for what they don’t know yet. The gap isn’t intelligence; it’s psychological safety and a clear starting point.

And then there’s the learning leader who’s had the “training participation” conversation a hundred times, but now the question is sharper. It isn’t How many people finished?, but What changed in the way they work? The bar has moved from awareness to application.

None of these people are asking for more content. There’s plenty of that. They want a path that respects their time, fits their role, and helps them build confidence, both individually and as part of a team.

Enter AI Skills Navigator

AI is moving faster than most of us can track. The problem is figuring out what to do next.

Leaders don’t want to stitch together five different tools. People don’t want another long course about AI. Teams are looking for skilling that fits into real work. That’s the gap AI Skills Navigator is built to address.

AI Skills Navigator brings role‑based, practical skilling into a single experience, so individuals and teams have a clear starting point, a sense of direction, and ways to see progress as they go. Instead of an endless catalog, it offers guided paths that respect time, align to real responsibilities, and make it easier to turn learning into action. At its core, it’s designed to help turn skilling into execution—progress that people can feel and leaders can point to.

How AI Skills Navigator fits your flow

Alex, a team manager, is trying to set the team up for success.

The team is kicking off a new project with clear goals, tight timelines, and a mix of responsibilities across roles. Everyone is expected to use AI more effectively, but “go learn AI” isn’t a plan. Sending people to a long list of links doesn’t help either.

So Alex turns to AI Skills Navigator.

Instead of gathering content from multiple places, Alex uses AI Skills Navigator to design a skilling playlist for the team. The conversational AI experience helps him identify what his team really needs. The playlist is grounded in what the team is actually working on and intentionally structured around the project goals and role-specific responsibilities. It brings together different content formats on purpose: short sessions for core concepts, practice where it matters, and optional deeper dives for people who want to explore further.

It’s not about forcing everyone through the same experience. It’s about giving the team a shared path forward, while respecting different roles, learning needs, and preferences.

Sam, an experienced marketing manager on the team, doesn’t have to figure out where to start. A link from Alex lands in their inbox, and the intent is clear: this is what matters for our work right now.

As Sam works through the playlist, they move naturally between different ways of learning. The structure makes it easy for them to focus without feeling boxed in.

For a topic that matters most to the project, Sam chooses a skilling session. A video sets the context, and the Skilling Session Coach AI agent is there along the way—ready to clarify a concept, answer a quick question, or pause to check understanding. Sometimes there’s a short quiz to help Sam confirm that they’re learning and making progress.

People are juggling meetings, messages, deadlines, and more. Attention spans are shorter, and learning often happens in brief moments between tasks. AI Skills Navigator is designed for that reality.

Sometimes Sam feels like listening instead of reading. An AI‑generated podcast turns dense material into something easier to absorb. When time is tight, an AI-generated summary helps Sam catch up in minutes, without losing the thread.

From Alex’s perspective, there’s a simple view of how the team is progressing—enough to see who’s moving forward, where people might be getting stuck, and when it’s time to adjust the plan.

Together, these moments add up. Skilling sessions provide depth when it’s needed. Podcasts and summaries offer flexibility when attention is limited. Skilling playlists keep everything connected, so learning feels purposeful rather than scattered.

By combining structured paths with flexible ways to learn, and pairing AI support with human expertise, AI Skills Navigator helps individuals and teams build confidence, apply skills, and make progress together.

How we’re building confidence, together

AI Skills Navigator is designed to help people and teams build confidence, not by adding more noise, but by providing guidance that fits real work.

It brings together training content from sources that many people already know and trust, including Microsoft Learn, LinkedIn, and GitHub, and connects it into structured paths that make it easier to start, go deeper, and keep moving forward. Whether you’re learning on your own or designing skilling for a team, the goal is the same: turn learning into progress that you can feel.

And this isn’t static. We’ll continue evolving AI Skills Navigator based on how people learn, how teams work, and the feedback we hear from learners and leaders along the way. We’ll share updates regularly, including new content, new capabilities, and what’s coming next, so you can stay current as the experience grows.

After you've signed in, you can get started with these options. (Pro tip: To expand the navigation pane on the left, try selecting it.)

Four Best Practices for Leading Through AI Adoption

ChrisHenleyOnAI — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 17:00:07 GMT

Actionable guidance for building AI leadership skills—drawn from real customer conversations.

Chris Henley is a Microsoft Trainer, part of a community of professionals at Microsoft Global Skilling, working with customer and partner leaders to help them build the skills required to drive their organization’s AI strategy.

Where AI conversations are shifting for leaders

I’ve been working with executives and company leaders for several years, and it feels like the AI conversation is finally shifting from “What can AI do?” to “How do we move forward with AI in a way that creates real value?” That shift often shows up as organizations move beyond isolated pilots and begin integrating AI across the business: into processes, employee experiences, customer engagement, and innovation. Microsoft refers to this broader shift as Frontier Transformation, where AI becomes a strategic priority and changes how intelligence operates inside the organization, not just which tools people use.

From what we’re hearing from executives, one thing becomes clear: AI adoption rarely comes down to a single decision. Progress unfolds through small experiments, sharper priorities, and measured results that reveal what’s working and what to do next.

What seems to help drive adoption progress isn’t a rigid plan. It’s returning to a few best practices that show up regularly in real business discussions:

Reframe: recognizing that AI is not just another tool rollout, but a shift in how work is structured, how decisions are made, and where intelligence shows up across the business.
Focus: identifying a specific business priority where AI can create measurable value, rather than spreading experimentation across too many disconnected pilots.
Assess: taking an honest look at whether the organization is ready to move forward across data foundations, leadership alignment, team capabilities, and governance.
Commit: selecting a defined AI initiative, assigning ownership, and establishing how success will be measured over a clear timeframe.

These aren’t meant to be a strict sequence. Leaders often move between them as they clarify strategy, prioritize investments, and decide what to do next.

The following sections take a closer look at how each of these best practices show up in real leadership discussions about AI adoption.

1. Reframing how to think about AI in the organization

AI often begins framed as a tool rollout, but leaders I work with frequently find that this narrows the discussion too quickly. Many have shared that the most useful shift happens when the question moves beyond “How do we use this?” to something broader: “Where could AI change how our business actually works?”

I was recently delivering a training session with one of our customers, a consulting firm that had rolled out Microsoft 365 Copilot. Early wins were familiar: faster emails, cleaner summaries, better documentation, and the team was energized. But in one session we paused and asked a tougher question: if AI is now part of the business, should client reporting and analysis still look the same?

The focus shifted from incremental productivity gains to rethinking how insights were created and delivered. You start to see where work should be redesigned—not just sped up. The technology remained the same, but leadership perspectives evolved.

2. Choosing where to focus before moving forward

Another common situation we’re seeing is companies trying to use many different AI solutions in hopes of finding an area where AI might have an impact. Pilots are running across the business, but their intended business impact is unclear. Activity isn’t the same as progress. Momentum usually picks up when leaders choose one area where AI clearly connects to a meaningful business outcome.

The experience of one of our customers, a global automotive manufacturer, is a good example of this. Rather than trying to use AI everywhere, they pinpointed a bottleneck that was slowing down their accounting workflows. So, they applied AI document intelligence to that problem first. That targeted focus reclaimed thousands of hours of manual work.

You can see what’s working and what it tells you about your organization. Investment conversations become easier, because you’re not funding “AI.” You’re funding a business outcome.

3. Assessing organizational readiness as aspiration meets reality

One of the most useful shifts happens when leaders pause to examine how ready the organization actually is for AI. It’s easy to assume you’re “AI-ready,” but that closer look often reveals where ambition is moving faster than capability.

In one executive discussion, a leader paused and said, “I thought this was an IT implementation. I didn’t realize how much AI would change how my leadership team operates.” That moment shifted the conversation from infrastructure and deployment to the real question: Was the organization ready to operate differently with AI? The team shifted its attention to making better decisions, ownership, and leadership readiness.

You can see whether AI is tied to business priorities, whether teams have enough hands-on capability, whether the culture supports experimentation and learning, and whether risk and accountability are clearly defined.

4. Committing to shape your AI strategy through action

Here’s something I see a lot: Leadership teams often agree AI is important, but progress stalls when no one defines the next step or who owns it.

In one session, an executive team had been reviewing use cases for months. Mid-meeting, someone finally said, “We’ve been talking about this for a while. What have we accomplished?” That simple question immediately shifted the conversation from exploration to ownership. The team aligned on one outcome and how they’d measure it, and that’s when momentum finally started.

The goal isn’t to have the perfect strategy upfront. It’s to commit to a focused, informed, effort that starts to transform your business in a meaningful way. The efforts that gain traction are usually clearly defined, have senior leadership behind them, and everyone on the team is aligned on how to measure progress.

Time to roll up the sleeves and get to work

In the end, leading through AI adoption isn’t about getting everything right from the start. What I see work most often is leaders building the skills to navigate it as they go, and learning how to judge where AI really matters, where to begin, and how to move forward through focused action.

If you’d like a practical way to start that process, check out our new Develop AI Leadership Skills guide for a structured starting point. It’ll help you think about your organization's next steps with AI and it’ll give you a clear framework for prioritizing actions and moving ahead confidently.

How equitable AI skilling takes shape inside a global organization

kimberlycottrell — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 17:15:02 GMT

Discover how women across Microsoft are growing their AI fluency.

AI is rapidly becoming a baseline skill at work, shaping how we write, analyze, build, collaborate, and lead. Yet access to AI skill-building isn’t always evenly distributed.

AI equity research by Randstad found that 71% of AI-skilled talent are men and 29% are women: a 42 percentage-point gap. This same research found that women are 5% less likely than men to be offered AI skilling opportunities. That combination points in the wrong direction, as AI becomes table stakes. Closing this gap is not just an equity imperative; it’s also how organizations build the broad capabilities they need to perform at their best.

Skilling at the frontier

That’s why the idea of frontier firms matters: these are places where people and AI work together every day and where learning how to work with AI is a core job skill built into normal workflows and reinforced with training.

At Microsoft, AI skilling isn’t reserved for a few teams; it’s part of everyday work across roles. People learn by using the tools on real tasks, taking advantage of training opportunities, sharing what works, and helping colleagues build skills, too. When learning is baked into how everyone works, access is broader by default and skilling becomes more equitable.

Spotlight on women building with AI

To see what this looks like in real life, we invited women across Microsoft to share how AI skilling is changing their work. What came back was a set of more than 50 powerful stories from women who upskilled, worked through real constraints, and built new workflows that made their work better. We’re highlighting three of those impactful stories.

Melody Chen

Melody Chen, a Senior Finance Manager, shared her experience turning curiosity into real operational gains. As AI accelerated across the industry, she didn’t wait for a perfect “finance AI” playbook but instead started experimenting inside the work she already owned.

She built her Microsoft 365 Copilot skills through experience and practice, earned the Microsoft Certified: AI Business Professional Certification, and then translated what she learned into lightweight solutions that remove everyday friction for her team: an onboarding agent in Microsoft Copilot Studio so new hires could self-serve answers, simple Power Automate workflows to reduce manual follow-up, and repeatable Copilot prompts in Excel that clean and format data consistently for recurring reporting.

Those small builds added up, saving her hours of work and, more importantly, creating a team habit of asking, “What can we simplify?” Her takeaway for readers is that you don’t need to be highly technical to lead with AI: pick one workflow, make one improvement, and let small wins compound into confidence and momentum.

Ramya Gangula

Ramya Gangula is a Senior Cloud Solution Architect who works with healthcare customers, where “almost right” isn’t good enough. As AI became more real in day-to-day work, customer conversations moved from exploring possibilities to planning for safe rollout.

So she built up her experience, developed her skills through real implementations, and backed them up with multiple Certifications, including GitHub Copilot, Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert, and Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate. That work helped her to design secure, enterprise-ready AI architectures and to guide teams past one-off demos into patterns they could actually reuse in production.

Her takeaway is simple: pick a real problem, learn by doing, and write down what works so others can move faster. As she put it, “Imposter syndrome is common, especially in fast-moving fields like AI, but confidence grows through action. Invest in skilling, apply what you learn, and trust that your perspective matters. Women are not just adapting to AI—we are shaping how it’s responsibly used.”

Aja Hall

Aja Hall is an early-career Product Designer at Microsoft who entered tech through the Microsoft Leap program without a college degree. In just a few years, she has become Chair of the Black at Microsoft (BAM) Puget Sound chapter and a driving force behind AI initiatives, building custom agents in Copilot and designing AI toolkits that help her team work faster.

Aja contributed to standout projects, including an AI wireframing Figma plugin that speeds Azure design ideation, an Azure accessibility hub that centralizes guidance for inclusive and scalable experiences, and an accessibility-driven Copilot agent tailored for dyslexic and neurodivergent users. Her creativity and leadership earned hackathon accolades three years in a row.

Now, she’s spearheading the 2026 BAM AI Innovation Challenge, where she mentors colleagues and fosters a culture of AI innovation and upskilling. Leading by example and actively advocating for women to build AI fluency, Aja is helping to close the tech skills gap and empower more voices in the AI space.

The throughline for successful skilling

What stands out across these stories is not how advanced anyone was at the start, but how quickly their abilities grew and compounded after they began. Some women pursued structured learning paths and earned Microsoft Certifications. Others learned through practical application, using AI to synthesize information, draft first passes, reduce manual work, and turn ambiguity into next steps. Across roles and tool sets, the throughline is that progress accelerates when learning is practical, supported, and connected to daily work, because that’s where people can test, refine, and build judgment in real time.

Let’s invite everyone in

The future of AI at work will be shaped by organizations that treat learning as infrastructure and address access as a design principle. In those environments, women are not left to find their way on their own. Everyone is invited in, supported, and sponsored to build, apply, and lead with AI, and their input shapes what responsible adoption looks like.

The voices in these stories are a reminder that transformation is rarely one single dramatic leap. More often, it’s a series of supported steps that compound over time. And this is what frontier organizations do.

Take the first step toward upskilling yourself or your team with AI Skills Navigator.

AI prompting tips & tricks for everyday tasks

AshleyMastersHall — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 17:15:44 GMT

Simplify your day, with these practical habits that make the most of Microsoft Copilot.

In this second blog post in a series of three, Microsoft Senior Learning Manager Ashley Masters Hall shares her practical perspective on the small prompting choices that can make a big difference in Microsoft Copilot results.

I’ve been at Microsoft nearly six years now—long enough to see AI go from interesting experiment to everyday tool. In my first post of this series, Bringing AI fluency to every corner of the organization (even yours!), I explored what AI fluency looks like in real life and why it matters for every role. This post picks up where that one left off, as I share my tips & tricks for practical prompting in Microsoft Copilot to make everyday tasks easier.

In my experience, most people don’t need more AI. They need fewer weird moments with AI. You know the ones—a confident answer that’s not true, a draft that sounds like a toaster manual, or a summary that technically covers the content but misses the thing you actually care about.

So I pulled together a short list of simple habits that can make Copilot more useful and reliable. These tips & tricks help me (and a lot of my colleagues) get better results right away, without spending all day crafting prompts.

Five practical prompting tips

Five practical prompting tips.

Tip #1. Treat Copilot like a teammate, not a vending machine.

Begin with this mindset shift: Copilot isn’t necessarily the source of all truth—it’s a brainstorming partner.

When I treat Copilot like a collaborator, my results immediately improve. I ask it to think with me, not for me. This is key. A few prompts I use constantly in Copilot include:

Give me three options, not one.
List your assumptions and what you need to verify.
What are the risks or ways this could be misleading?

These questions pull the model out of “confident answer” mode and into “help me reason through this” mode.

Tip #2. Take prompt templates and edit them like you mean it.

I keep a “favorite prompts” doc open all the time—not because prompts are precious, but because “past me” did “future me” a favor.

Here are a few templates that work across roles. Copy them, and fill in the brackets to make the prompts your own:

Clean summary. Summarize the text below in 4 bullets for [audience]. Include: decisions, risks, open questions, and next steps. Then propose 3 follow‑up questions I should ask.
Rewrite with constraints. Rewrite this to be clear and human. Keep it under [number] words. Use a friendly, direct tone. Don’t add new facts.
Notes → plan. Turn these notes into a plan with milestones, owners (use placeholders), risks, and dependencies. Output as a table.
Brainstorm with trade‑offs. Generate 10 ideas for [goal] tailored to [persona]. For each idea, include a 1-sentence rationale + 1 downside.
Decision support. Create a decision matrix comparing [A] vs [B] vs [C] across cost, time, risk, and impact. Before you start, ask me 3 clarifying questions.

The magic isn’t the template—it’s the editing. The more specific you make it, the better the output can be.

Tip #3. Add a 60‑second quality‑check loop.

My rule is “If I’m going to share it, I’m going to check it.” The good news is that you can do that quickly—and you can ask Copilot to help.

A few prompts I use for that final pass:

Self‑critique. What are 5 ways this could be wrong, incomplete, or misleading?
Missing info. What information do you need to be confident in this?
Force structure. Put this into a table with columns: claim, evidence, confidence, and what to verify.
Sensitivity scan. Flag anything that might be confidential, policy‑sensitive, or risky to share externally.

This loop takes just one minute (or even less) and can save hours of cleanup later.

Tip #4. Practice on something straightforward.

If you’re trying to build confidence in Copilot and in your own skills, don’t start with your highest‑stakes deck. Begin with the things you do all the time—even something not related to work, like planning a meal or a weekend trip.

When you start the day with your to‑do list, pick one thing that shows up regularly—the one that makes you think, “There’s got to be a way to spend less time on this.” Then take a few minutes with Copilot to make that task easier.

Try this simple routine:

Share the task with Copilot and ask, How can I use Copilot to reduce the amount of time I’m spending on this daily task?
Tighten the prompt by providing additional clarity and requesting a format.
Do the quality-check loop.
Save the prompt that worked.

That’s it. You’re building practical AI fluency and making your day a little easier.

Tip #5. Borrow good prompts from other people.

I asked a few colleagues to share their favorite Copilot prompts. Here are some that can change the way you lead with AI:

Build my voice. If you’re looking to guide Copilot to reflect your personal voice and style in outputs, try this: Look at the emails and Teams messages I’ve sent in the last two weeks. Use them to create a personal brand voice document I can use to guide Copilot.
Triage my inbox. If you’d like help focusing and prioritizing tasks, try this: Summarize my unread emails in a table. Include: Topic | Summary | Action Items | Follow-Up. If I’m directly mentioned, make the topic bold.
Daily AI briefing. If you need a quick, reliable snapshot to help you stay current, try this: Compile the key AI news from the last 24 hours into a structured table. Include: Short Topic, Brief Summary, Suggested Impact, Source Name, and Link. Prioritize the entries by potential impact. Include reputable sources across a diverse range of media outlets. Exclude less reliable sources, and avoid overrepresentation of any single outlet.
Explain my job simply. If you need details to help colleagues understand your responsibilities, including what you handle, how you contribute, and when to loop you in, try this: Can you summarize my job in layman’s terms?

These are great starting points—and they’re even better after you tune them to your role.

Four proven prompting tricks

Now that you’ve tried those tips, put these tricks to work for clearer, more dependable results from your prompts.

Four proven prompting tricks.

Trick #1. Iterate and refine.

Don’t stop at the first version. Ask for variations, define constraints, and request a fresh angle. Iteration helps you surface better ideas and guide Copilot toward clearer, more dependable output.

Trick #2. Ask Copilot what you should have asked.

After you get a response that hits the mark, ask Copilot, What should I have prompted you originally to get this in one shot? This one changed everything for me. It’s a fast way to sharpen your prompting habits and learn to guide Copilot with more precision.

Trick #3. Let Copilot ask you questions.

Sometimes I don’t know which details matter. So I start high level with, Ask me any clarifying questions you need me to answer. It’s a simple way to give Copilot the context to deliver a result that fits your real intent, uncover what matters, and fill in gaps you didn’t even realize were there.

Trick #4. Give your prompts the foundation they need.

Good prompts aren’t complicated, but they do have a few elements that make them work better. When you’re writing a prompt, include your goal, the context, the source you want Copilot to use, and your expectations for the output. The more of these elements that you include, the better the result can be.

Anatomy of a good prompt, including goal, context, source, and expectations.

Bring your prompts to life

The more you prompt, the better you prompt. It’s a skill you build through regular practice each day. Over time, you start to recognize what makes a prompt work—treating Copilot like a teammate, making prompt templates your own, adding a quality-check loop, tightening your instructions, iterating with purpose, and using the right mix of goal, context, source, and expectations. Those small habits add up to clearer drafts, faster cycles, and fewer of those “Why did it write that?” moments.

If you want a structured way to practice, check out Craft effective prompts for Microsoft 365 Copilot in AI Skills Navigator. Using real-world scenarios and examples, learn how to craft effective and contextual prompts for different tasks and how to use built-in features in Copilot to get better results faster. And, while you’re in a module in AI Skills Navigator, try the Summarize module or Turn module into podcast feature. Cool, right?

Introduction to the “Craft effective prompts for Microsoft 365 Copilot” learning path in AI Skills Navigator.

Up next

Stay tuned for my third and final post in this series, AI looks different depending on where you are in your career. Let’s talk about that. In the meantime, happy prompting!

New Microsoft Certified: SQL AI Developer Associate Certification

LibertyMunson — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 16:00:00 GMT

AI is transforming how data-driven applications are built, and SQL professionals are at the center of this new era. Whether you're a database developer, administrator, analyst, or architect, your SQL expertise is more critical than ever. With the rise of AI, quality data and secure, optimized queries are foundational to building intelligent, scalable solutions.

We’re introducing the Microsoft Certified: SQL AI Developer Associate Certification to help you validate your ability to integrate AI capabilities directly into SQL-based solutions without needing to move your data, learn entirely new platforms, or move away from the T-SQL skills you already use every day. To earn this new Certification, you need to pass Exam DP‑800: Developing AI‑Enabled Database Solutions, currently in beta.

Is this the right Certification for you?

The Microsoft Certified: SQL AI Developer Associate Certification is designed for SQL professionals who build and maintain SQL-based applications and who want to integrate AI capabilities directly into their data solutions. As you collaborate closely with application developers, database administrators, architects, AI engineers, and DevSecOps teams, skills validated by this certification support the delivery of scalable, secure, and high-performance AI‑enabled applications.

This Certification demonstrates your ability to:

Design and build database solutions using structured and semi-structured data.
Use AI-assisted tools to accelerate SQL development and database management.
Secure, optimize, and deploy enterprise-grade SQL solutions.
Implement vectors, embeddings, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) patterns within SQL database architectures.

As a candidate for this Certification, you should have experience writing T-SQL, developing databases on Microsoft SQL platforms, and working with continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) workflows in GitHub. We also recommend familiarity with AI concepts, such as embeddings, vectors, and models, in addition to AI-assisted development tools.

Skills measured by the exam include:

Applying advanced T-SQL techniques for AI-ready database solutions.
Building vector and semantic search experiences directly in SQL.
Implementing RAG workflows to ground large language model (LLM) outputs and reduce hallucinations.
Integrating LLMs into SQL-based applications without migrating data.
Designing secure, compliant, and scalable AI-enabled data solutions.
Exposing SQL data through APIs by using Data API builder.
Building and monitoring data APIs by using Data API builder and event-driven change patterns.

These capabilities power use cases like semantic and hybrid search, chatbots, personalized recommendations, fraud detection, and predictive analytics.

Ready to prove your skills? The first 300 candidates can save 80%

Take advantage of the discounted beta exam offer. The first 300 people who take Exam DP-800 (beta) on or before April 3, 2026, can get 80% off.

To receive the discount, when you register for the exam and are prompted for payment, use code DP800Belzoni. This is not a private access code. The seats are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. As noted, you must take the exam on or before April 3, 2026. Please note that this discount is not available in Turkey, Pakistan, India, or China.

How to prepare

Get ready to take Exam DP-800 (beta):

Review the Exam DP-800 (beta) exam page for details. The Exam DP-800 study guide explores key topics covered in the exam.
Work through the self-paced skilling Plan on Microsoft Learn: Become a SQL AI Developer: Prepare for Certification Exam DP-800.
Connect with Microsoft Training Services Partners in your area for in-person offerings.
Need other preparation ideas? Check out Just How Does One Prepare for Beta Exams?

Ready to get started?

Remember, the number of spots is limited to the first 300 candidates taking Exam DP-800 (beta) on or before April 3, 2026.

Beta exam rescoring begins when the exam goes live, with final results released approximately 10 days later. For more details, read Creating high-quality exams: The path from beta to live.

Stay tuned for general availability of this Certification in May 2026.

Additional information

You can take Certification exams online, from your home or office. Learn what to expect in Online proctored exams: What to expect and how to prepare.

For more cloud and AI Certification updates, read our recent blog post, The AI job boom is here. Are you ready to showcase your skills?

Get involved: Help shape future Microsoft Credentials. Join our Microsoft Worldwide Learning SME Group for Credentials on LinkedIn for beta exam alerts and opportunities to help shape future Microsoft learning and assessments.

Explore Microsoft Credentials on AI Skills Navigator.

Announcing the Microsoft AI Power Days Agent-a-thon winners

ToddMinor — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The February 2026 Microsoft AI Power Days Agent-a-thon brought together builders from around the world with one shared goal—to turn ideas into working AI agents that solve real problems. From first-time builders to advanced practitioners, the creativity, ambition, and practical impact on display exceeded all expectations.

Over the course of the Agent-a-thon, participants explored what’s possible with agentic AI—learning, building, and iterating using Microsoft agent-building tools. The result? A powerful showcase of agents designed to streamline work, unlock insights, and reimagine how work gets done.

Congratulations to the 12 Agent-a-thon grand prize winners!

The winning submissions were selected based on innovation, usability, and impact.

Innovation. These newly created agents go beyond replicating demos. Each winner tackled a real problem in a novel way—applying agentic AI creatively to scenarios we hadn’t seen before.
Usability. Winners demonstrated that their agents are not only functional but also genuinely loved by users. Builders tested their ideas, gathered peer or user feedback, and iterated—showing clear evidence of why people would continue to use these agents in real-world settings.
Impact. Every winning agent delivered measurable value. Whether saving meaningful amounts of time, improving efficiency or productivity, increasing revenue potential, or enhancing customer satisfaction, these agents showed clear qualitative or quantitative results.

Together, these submissions represent what great agent-building looks like in practice—and how those agents can translate into practical impact right away.

Grand prize winners

To recognize their achievement and support their continued journey as an AI builder, each grand prize winner will receive a Microsoft Surface Pro.

Winners (listed in alphabetical order)	Agent names	Built with
David Díaz Merino	LicitaAI	Microsoft Foundry
Angelo Fabrizio Dileo	Aura \| Buyer Persona Agent	Agent Builder in Microsoft 365 Copilot
Steve Glasspool	Book Genie	Agent Builder in Microsoft 365 Copilot
Sunny Hwang	NZ Free Course Finder	Agent Builder in Microsoft 365 Copilot
Rohit Jagadale	CR Sentinel Agent	Microsoft Copilot Studio
Andrejs Karpovs	EU-AI-Act-Compliance-Assessment	Microsoft Foundry
Salma Kudapali	Internal Mobility & Skills Opportunity Broker	Microsoft Foundry
Arianna Manchia	PackAgent	Microsoft Copilot Studio
Pablo Santisteban Fernández	LeadMasterAI	Microsoft Copilot Studio
Sai Sirisha	Return-to-Work	Agent Builder in Microsoft 365 Copilot
Abhishek Tarafdar	Governed Compliance Intelligence System (GCIS)	Microsoft Foundry
Apoorva Vairagi	Compliance Intake Orchestrator	Microsoft Copilot Studio

Whether built with Agent Builder in Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft Copilot Studio, or Microsoft Foundry, each agent reflects a clear job to be done and a strong understanding of how agentic AI can create real-world benefits.

Winner spotlight

One of the most rewarding aspects of the Agent-a-thon was hearing directly from participants about what they built and the difference that their new agents can make.

"I built a four‑agent pipeline on Microsoft Foundry that monitors Spain’s public procurement platform, scores tenders against our company profile, and generates a populated proposal document end‑to‑end in under two minutes... The multi‑agent architecture mapped to how BD [business development] teams actually work: one agent per role."

—David Díaz Merino, AI Solution Architect, creator of LicitaAI

This sentiment captures what the Agent-a-thon is all about—lowering the barriers to building, empowering experimentation, and helping people to realize that they can be capable AI creators, regardless of their starting point and skill level.

Again, congratulations to all of our winners, and thank you to everyone who joined us in exploring what’s possible and driving innovation, one agent at a time.

Sign up for the next Agent-a-thon

If you missed this one, register for the next Microsoft Agent-a-thon, which begins on May 6, 2026, across three time zones, making it easier for builders everywhere to participate, learn, and create together. Whether you’re new to building agents or ready to deepen your existing expertise, this is your opportunity to take advantage of immersive learning, experiment with Copilot Studio and Foundry, and turn bold ideas into working agents.

To get ready for the event, check out the training opportunities in AI Skills Navigator, our agentic learning space that brings together AI, cloud, and security training into one seamless, connected skilling experience to help you build career skills.

New Microsoft Certified: Azure Databricks Data Engineer Associate Certification

LibertyMunson — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 15:59:07 GMT

As a data engineer, you understand that AI performance depends directly on the quality of its data. If the data isn’t clean, well-managed, and accessible at scale, even the most sophisticated AI models won’t perform as expected. Introducing the Microsoft Certified: Azure Databricks Data Engineer Associate Certification, designed to prove that you have the skills required to build and operate reliable data systems by using Azure Databricks. To earn the Certification, you need to pass Exam DP-750: Implementing Data Engineering Solutions Using Azure Databricks, currently in beta.

Is this Certification right for you?

This Certification offers you the opportunity to prove your skills and validate your expertise in the following areas:

Core technical skills

Ingesting, transforming, and modeling data using SQL and Python
Building production data pipelines on Azure Databricks
Implementing software development lifecycle (SDLC) practices with Git-based workflows
Integrating Azure Databricks with key Microsoft services, such as Azure Storage, Azure Data Factory, Azure Monitor, Azure Key Vault, and Microsoft Entra ID

Governance and security

Securing and governing data with Unity Catalog and Microsoft Purview
Applying workspace, cluster, and data-level security best practices

Performance and reliability

Optimizing compute, caching, partitioning, and Delta Lake design patterns
Troubleshooting and resolving issues with jobs and pipelines
Managing workloads across development, staging, and production

For engineers already familiar with Azure Databricks, this Certification bridges the gap between general Azure Databricks skills and the Azure‑specific architecture, security, and operational patterns that employers increasingly expect.

Ready to prove your skills? The first 300 candidates can save 80%

Take advantage of the discounted beta exam offer. The first 300 people who take Exam DP-750 (beta) on or before April 2, 2026, can get 80% off.

To receive the discount, when you register for the exam and are prompted for payment, use code DP750Deltona. This is not a private access code. The seats are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. As noted, you must take the exam on or before April 2, 2026. Please note that this discount is not available in Turkey, Pakistan, India, or China.

How to prepare

Get ready to take Exam DP-750 (beta):

Review the Exam DP-750 (beta) exam page for details. The Exam DP-750 study guide explores key topics covered in the exam.
Work through the Plan on Microsoft Learn: Get Exam‑Ready for DP‑750: Azure Databricks Data Engineer Associate Certification.
Need other preparation ideas? Check out Just How Does One Prepare for Beta Exams?
You can take Certification exams online, from your home or office. Learn what to expect in Online proctored exams: What to expect and how to prepare.
Interested in unlocking more Azure Databricks expertise? Grow your skills and take the next step by exploring Databricks credentials and show what you can do with Azure Databricks.

Ready to get started?

Remember, only the first 300 candidates can get 80% Exam DP-750 (beta) with code DP750Deltona on or before April 2, 2026.

Beta exam rescoring begins when the exam goes live, with final results released approximately 10 days later. For more details, read Creating high-quality exams: The path from beta to live.

Stay tuned for general availability of this Certification in early May 2026.

Get involved: Help shape future Microsoft Credentials

Join our Microsoft Worldwide Learning SME Group for Credentials on LinkedIn for beta exam alerts and opportunities to help shape future Microsoft learning and assessments.

Additional information

For more cloud and AI Certification updates, read our recent blog post, The AI job boom is here. Are you ready to showcase your skills?

Explore Microsoft Credentials on AI Skills Navigator.

New Certification for machine learning operations (MLOps) engineers

LibertyMunson — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 17:45:07 GMT

Do your co-workers rely on you to deploy, operationalize, and maintain machine learning and generative AI solutions in production? Are you working at the intersection of data science, DevOps, and generative AI? If so, the Microsoft Certified: Machine Learning Operations (MLOps) Engineer Associate Certification is designed for you.

This Certification validates your ability to operationalize not only traditional machine learning but also generative AI solutions on Azure, reflecting how AI roles have evolved from model experimentation to enterprise-scale AI operations.

To earn this Certification, you need to pass Exam AI-300: Operationalizing Machine Learning and Generative AI solutions, currently in beta.

Key skills validated by this Certification

To earn the MLOps engineer Certification, you must demonstrate your ability to:

Design and implement secure, scalable MLOps infrastructure.
Automate resource provisioning and deployments by using GitHub Actions, Bicep, and Azure CLI.
Orchestrate training, manage model registration and versioning, and monitor production models.
Deploy and operationalize generative AI solutions by using Microsoft Foundry.
Implement quality assurance, observability, and safety evaluations for generative AI systems.
Optimize retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines and fine-tuned models for performance, accuracy, and cost efficiency.

This Certification replaces the Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Scientist Associate Certification (Exam DP-100), which is retiring on June 1, 2026, and reflects the evolution of AI in the enterprise. Exam DP-100 focused on validating your ability to design and implement data science solutions, including data exploration, model training, evaluation, and deployment. Exam AI-300 expands the scope significantly. It retains training and evaluation but places much stronger emphasis on validating your knowledge and experience in automation, infrastructure as code (IaC), continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD), lifecycle governance, observability, drift detection, cost control, and the operationalization of generative AI systems.

For more details on the retirement of Exam DP-100, and the latest cloud and AI Certification updates, read our recent blog post, The AI job boom is here. Are you ready to showcase your skills?

Skill area	Exam AI-300 (new)	Exam DP-100 (old)
MLOps infrastructure	Full CI/CD, IaC (Bicep, Azure CLI), GitHub Actions	Basic workspace and compute setup
Model lifecycle management	Core focus, including registration, versioning, rollout/rollback, monitoring	Full lifecycle from training to deployment
GenAIOps infrastructure	End-to-end lifecycle, including security, automation, and model management with Foundry	Basic generative AI setup and experimentation
QA and observability	Generative AI evaluation, tracing, safety metrics, drift detection, cost monitoring	Model evaluation and responsible AI principles
Generative AI performance optimization	RAG optimization, embedding model selection and tuning, advanced fine-tuning, synthetic data management	Basic prompt engineering and fine-tuning

Ready to prove your skills?

Take advantage of the discounted beta exam offer. The first 300 people who take Exam AI-300 (beta) on or before April 2, 2026, can get 80% off market price.

To receive the discount, when you register for the exam and are prompted for payment, use code AI300Meridian. This is not a private access code. The seats are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. As noted, you must take the exam on or before April 2, 2026. Please note that this discount is not available in Turkey, Pakistan, India, or China.

Get ready to take Exam AI-300 (beta):

Review the Exam AI-300 (beta) exam page for details. The Exam AI-300 study guide explores key topics covered in the exam.
Want even more in-depth instructor-led training? We’re creating new instructor-led training that will be released in late March 2026. Connect with Microsoft Training Services Partners in your area for in-person offerings.
Need other preparation ideas? Check out Just How Does One Prepare for Beta Exams?
You can take certification exams online, from home or the office. Learn what to expect in Online proctored exams: What to expect and how to prepare.

The rescore process starts on the day an exam goes live, and final scores for beta exams are released approximately 10 days after that. For details on the timing of beta exam rescoring and results, check out Creating high-quality exams: The path from beta to live.

Ready to get started?

Remember, only the first 300 candidates can get 80% off Exam AI-300 (beta) with code AI300Meridian on or before April 2, 2026.

Stay tuned for general availability of this Certification in May 2026. Learn more about Microsoft Credentials.

Related announcements

We recently migrated our subject matter expert (SME) database to LinkedIn. To be notified of beta exam availability or opportunities to help with the development of exam, assessment, or learning content, sign up today for the Microsoft Worldwide Learning SME Group for Credentials.

Become a Microsoft Q&A Product Champion

PaulinaP — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 17:00:00 GMT

The Microsoft Q&A Product Champions Program is a community-driven initiative created to recognize and support people who help others by sharing their knowledge across Microsoft Q&A product forums.

If you’re already contributing—or want to start—this is your sign.

Every question answered, every tip shared, and every problem solved has real impact. In the Product Champions Program, that impact doesn’t go unnoticed.

Everyone is welcome. Whether you’re just getting started or already active in Microsoft Q&A, there’s a place for you here.

Program levels

Every accepted answer moves you closer to the next level. As your contributions grow, you progress through the program levels—unlocking recognition, opportunities, and rewards along the way:

Answerer
Contributor
Influencer
Mentor
Leader
Champion

Why join the Product Champions Program?

Product Champions gain access to benefits that support both personal and professional growth, including:

Hands‑on learning across Microsoft technologies
Leadership and networking opportunities
Public recognition through leaderboards and social media
Badges, contributor stories, and gift card rewards opportunities
Private Tech Community group access
Moderator opportunities for eligible members
Certification discount vouchers
Champion‑level swag
MVP renewal and nomination support

Product tracks

You can contribute in the product areas you know best—or want to learn more about—including:

Microsoft 365
Windows
Microsoft Teams
Surface
Developer Technologies
Security & Management

Ready to get started?

If you haven’t joined yet, now’s the perfect time to take the next step. Sign up and you are automatically enrolled.

Get started now!

Already a member? You’re all set—just keep contributing and growing your impact.

Learn more and stay connected

Want to explore what’s next or stay connected with the community?
These resources can help you stay informed and engaged:

We’re excited to see you learn, contribute, and move up in the community.

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

Mark Winters — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 18:48:51 GMT

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 decisions, and opening entirely new career paths. And the impact is massive. According to the World Economic Forum The Future of Jobs Report 2025, advances in AI and tech could create 78 million new jobs by 2030.

“We’re in the middle of a once‑in‑a‑generation shift in how work gets done,” says Elisa Graceffo, General Manager of Global Skilling at Microsoft. “For over 30 years, Microsoft Certifications have set the benchmark for skills validation. We’re evolving them as fast as roles are changing so you can prove your skills for the future of work.”

To keep pace with this shift, we’re launching a new wave of Certifications designed for AI‑powered roles, from entry level to advanced, from developers and data pros to business professionals. These new Certifications reflect the major industry drivers shaping today’s workplace, including the rise of generative AI and autonomous agents and the emergence of integrated cloud and AI systems. They also highlight how business professionals are evolving into orchestrators of AI‑powered workflows and innovation. And because AI is ultimately a force that amplifies human capability, these Certifications can help ensure that your skills stay relevant, practical, and aligned with the real‑world work of 2026 and beyond.

What’s new in cloud, AI, and security Certifications

The new Certification exams roll out in beta beginning this month, with additional releases following over the next few months and are expected to go live later this year.

The Microsoft Certified: Machine Learning Operations (MLOps) Engineer Associate Certification is ideal for professionals who deploy, operationalize, and maintain machine learning and generative AI solutions in production to automate, govern, deploy, monitor, and optimize performance. Exam AI-300 beta and training available in March 2026; exam expected to go live in May 2026.

The Microsoft Certified: Azure Databricks Data Engineer Associate Certification covers designing and implementing scalable, secure data pipelines by using Azure Databricks. It’s intended for data professionals who want to build real-time analytics and AI-ready data foundations in the cloud. Exam DP-750 beta and training available in March 2026; exam expected to go live in May 2026.

The Microsoft Certified: SQL AI Developer Associate Certification validates your ability to integrate AI into modern database solutions with governance and DevOps practices. It’s designed for developers who want to build intelligent, AI-augmented database applications. Exam DP-800 beta and training available in March 2026; exam expected to go live in May 2026.

The Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals Certification explores how you can build modern AI apps and agents by using Microsoft Foundry. It’s ideal for beginners who want to build AI applications on Microsoft platforms. Exam AI-901 beta available in April 2026; training expected to be available in March 2026; exam expected to go live in June 2026.

The Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Apps and Agents Developer Associate Certification aligns with today’s generative and agentic architectures for planning and managing AI resources in Microsoft Foundry, building generative apps and multistep reasoning workflows, and developing production‑ready agents with multi‑agent orchestration capabilities. Exam AI-103 beta available in April 2026; training expected to be available in March 2026; exam expected to go live in June 2026.

The Microsoft Certified: Cybersecurity Business Professional Certification validates your ability to recognize security risks, apply secure practices, and make informed business decisions that reduce organizational exposure while enabling productivity and AI adoption. Exam SC-730 beta available in April 2026; training expected to be available in May 2026; exam expected to go live in July 2026.

The Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Cloud Developer Associate Certification is designed for developers who want to validate their ability to build, integrate, and monitor AI solutions on Azure by using containerized compute, vector-enabled databases, event-driven AI pipelines, serverless functions, secret management, and distributed observability. Exam AI-200 beta and training expected to be available in April 2026; exam expected to go live in July 2026.

The Microsoft Certified: Cloud and AI Security Engineer Associate Certification expands the security role to include cloud and AI model protection. Prove that you can design and implement secure environments for building and running AI solutions by using current security patterns and controls in enterprise deployments. Exam SC-500 beta available in May 2026; training and exam expected to be available in July 2026.

The Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Certification combines previous hybrid infrastructure tracks to validate skills across Azure and on-premises environments. Exam AZ-802 beta available in June 2026; training and exam expected to be available in August 2026.

Retiring Certifications: What you need to know

As we introduce new Certifications aligned to evolving AI roles, we’re also retiring several existing ones. The following table itemizes what’s changing and provides key dates for Certification and training retirements in 2026. If your Certification is eligible for renewal, please renew it before the retirement date.

Retiring Microsoft Certification	Certification retirement date	Training retirement date*	Replacement Certification
Azure Data Scientist Associate (Exam DP-100)	June 1, 2026	April 2026	Machine Learning Operations (MLOps) Engineer Associate (Exam AI-300)
Azure AI Fundamentals (Exam AI-900)	June 30, 2026	April 2026	Azure AI Fundamentals (Exam AI-901)
Azure AI Engineer Associate (Exam AI-102)	June 30, 2026	April 2026	Azure AI Apps and Agents Developer Associate (Exam AI-103)
Azure Developer Associate (Exam AZ-204)	July 31, 2026	May 2026	Azure AI Cloud Developer Associate (Exam AI-200)
Azure Security Engineer Associate (Exam AZ-500)	August 31, 2026	August 2026	Cloud and AI Security Engineer Associate (Exam SC-500)
Windows Server Hybrid Administrator (Exam AZ-800 and Exam AZ-801)	September 2026*	September 2026	Windows Server Hybrid Administrator (Exam AZ-802)

* Planned dates

Navigating the transition: FAQs

The following questions and answers can help you determine how these retirements and expanded portfolio could impact your learning journey:

Q. I’ve already earned one of the retiring Certifications. What happens now?

A. If you’ve already earned any of the retiring Certifications, your credential remains valid and, on your transcript, until it expires. Retirement does not revoke or invalidate Certifications that were earned.

Q. Can I still renew a soon-to-retire Certification?
A. Yes, as long as it’s eligible for renewal and you renew it before the Certification officially retires. Fundamentals Certifications don’t expire.

Q. I’m preparing for an exam that’s retiring. What should I do?

If you’re actively preparing for an exam that’s retiring:

If you’ve already registered for the exam, you may continue preparing for it and take it while it’s still available. Keep in mind that after the exam retires, you won’t be able to retake it if you don’t pass, and you won’t be able to renew it.
If you haven’t registered for the exam, we strongly recommend that you prepare for and take the new exam instead, as noted in the following table.

If you’re not close to testing for this exam	Prepare for and take this exam instead	Learning path and instructor-led training expected to be available in
Exam DP-100	Exam AI-300	March 2026
Exam AI-900	Exam AI-901	March 2026
Exam AI-102	Exam AI-103	March 2026
Exam AZ-204	Exam AI-200	April 2026
Exam AZ-500	Exam SC-500	July 2026
Exam AZ-800 and Exam AZ-801	Exam AZ-802	August 2026

Take the next step: Build your AI-ready skill set

Technology is changing fast, and AI is accelerating that change. Our Certifications are built to help you and your organization stay ahead with job‑ready skills. Earning one isn’t just a milestone, it’s a signal that you’re ready to grow with the future of work.

We’ll share updates for each new Certification, including beta exams and go live dates, on The Skills Hub Blog.

Stay tuned for an announcement of new Certifications focused on AI business solutions in the coming month.

Explore more Microsoft Credentials on AI Skills Navigator.

Microsoft Credentials roundup: February 2026 edition

PujaA — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 18:38:29 GMT

February 2026 brings major updates to Microsoft Credentials—four new Microsoft Certifications and six new Microsoft Applied Skills now generally available (GA). Designed to help you keep your skills current in today’s AI-powered workplace, they demonstrate the AI abilities that employers need in not only technical but also business roles.

In this roundup, we cover what’s new, what’s changing, and what’s coming up.

What’s new: Certifications

We’ve introduced four new AI Certifications—all available now—that verify skills for technical and non-technical professionals. These credentials certify your ability to use AI in real-world roles, helping to ensure that you can drive innovation and productivity with this technology. Whether you’re an IT administrator, solution architect, business user, or organizational leader, there’s a new Certification to help boost your career growth.

For technical professionals (IT pros, developers, architects)

The Microsoft 365 Certified: Copilot and Agent Administration Fundamentals Certification (Exam AB-900) proves that you can configure, secure, and support AI-powered Microsoft 365 environments. This entry-level Certification validates your ability to manage and protect Microsoft 365 Copilot and agent services.
The Microsoft Certified: Agentic AI Business Solutions Architect Certification (Exam AB-100) demonstrates your expertise in designing and leading AI-first enterprise architectures. This expert-level Certification shows that you can orchestrate multi-agent AI solutions and integrate Copilot, Foundry Tools, and Dynamics 365 to drive business transformation.

For business professionals (managers, analysts, decision-makers)

The Microsoft Certified: AI Business Professional Certification (Exam AB-730) validates that you can use generative AI and Copilot to streamline business workflows and improve outcomes without coding.
The Microsoft Certified: AI Transformation Leader Certification (Exam AB-731) verifies that you can define the business value of AI, integrate AI solutions by using Copilot, Foundry Tools, and other tools, and drive company-wide AI adoption for transformative impact.

Each Certification page on Microsoft Learn offers resources for self-paced and instructor-led training, study guides, and exam prep to help set you up for success.

What’s new: Applied Skills

Applied Skills are another powerful option for showcasing your expertise. These short, practical assessments let you demonstrate specific real-world skills in an interactive lab environment. They’re now even more relevant to AI-powered roles, since they help prepare you to earn role-based Certifications. We’ve expanded the portfolio with new AI scenarios across technical and business roles, and the new credentials are even faster to earn, most of their lab-based assessments lets you prove specific skills in just 45 minutes.

For technical roles (developers, engineers, IT pros)

Microsoft Applied Skills: Build a generative AI chat app. Demonstrate that you can create an interactive chat application using generative AI (with tools like Microsoft Foundry) and integrate large language models into real-world apps for better customer or employee experiences.
Microsoft Applied Skills: Create an AI agent. Validate your skill in building and configuring agents (for example, in the Copilot ecosystem) and in orchestrating agents to automate tasks and drive business impact.
Microsoft Applied Skills: Enhance agents with autonomous capabilities. Prove that you can design and deploy self-governing agents by using Microsoft Copilot Studio, enabling them to perform complex sequences of actions with minimal human intervention and empowering scalable, adaptive solutions.
Microsoft Applied Skills: Secure AI solutions in the cloud. Show that you know how to safeguard AI applications in Azure and can implement security and compliance for AI workloads (for example, by using Foundry and Microsoft Defender for Cloud).

For business roles

Microsoft Applied Skills: Generate reports with AI research agents. Prove that you can use Researcher in Copilot to quickly gather information and produce data-driven reports and insights for smarter business decisions.
Microsoft Applied Skills: Streamline business workflows with AI chat. Showcase your ability to use Copilot automation in daily work and to employ AI chat to manage meetings, draft content, and coordinate teamwork more efficiently, improving productivity.

Retiring older credentials

To keep things current, we’ve retired a few Certifications and Applied Skills. If you’ve already earned these, they’ll remain on the transcript in your Microsoft Learn profile.

The following Certifications retired on December 31, 2025:

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

The following Applied Skills retired on January 30, 2026:

Microsoft Applied Skills: Build an Azure AI Vision solution
Microsoft Applied Skills: Deploy and manage Azure Arc–enabled servers
Microsoft Applied Skills: Develop an ASP.NET Core web app that consumes an API
Microsoft Applied Skills: Implement a data science and machine learning solution with Microsoft Fabric
Microsoft Applied Skills: Implement a Lakehouse in Microsoft Fabric

Looking ahead

These updates are just the beginning. We continuously evolve our credentials portfolio to align with the skills needed for AI-driven jobs, and a new wave of AI-focused Certification updates is scheduled for March 2026 and beyond. Expect even more opportunities to learn and to earn credentials in AI and cloud technologies. We look forward to carrying this momentum forward and to supporting you on your learning journey.

Akkodis and Microsoft share field‑tested tips for your AI skilling program

ToddMinor — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Generative AI technology is creating unprecedented opportunities to improve your business efficiency, fuel innovation, and gain a competitive edge. Given these benefits, equipping your workforce with the skills to effectively use AI-powered tools is a high priority. At the same time, the rapid evolution of AI technology, along with the potential impacts on your established processes, means that matching people with the right skills requires a deliberate approach.

Akkodis and Microsoft partner to bring AI skilling to customers

Across the Asia-Pacific region, global engineering and digital solutions company Akkodis helps organizations design, build, and operate technology driven solutions. Its Akkodis Academy integrates Microsoft technology and training, including industry-recognized Microsoft Credentials (role-based Microsoft Certifications and scenario-based Microsoft Applied Skills) that cover AI, into its customized learning and consulting programs. These programs help customers build learning cultures that keep up with the increasing pace of technological change.

Building an AI skilling strategy that works

Based on its extensive experience, Akkodis has found five strategies that can help you build (or sustain) a successful AI skilling program.

1. Start small, learn fast, iterate

AI capabilities (and your business needs) evolve quickly. With iterative training cycles, you don’t need a perfect blueprint to get started. Instead, short, focused training sprints let you try ideas, collect feedback, and quickly improve. This lowers the intimidation factor for newcomers and helps build confidence and momentum with staff and stakeholders.

2. Tie skilling directly to your business goals

The most successful skilling programs align training with technology and business goals. They also secure sponsorship from company leaders to help establish priorities and reinforce adoption efforts. Anchor training efforts to concrete business outcomes, like productivity, time‑to‑market, operational costs, or other real-world business metrics.

3. Establish a culture of continuous learning

The traditional skilling model of “take a course, and you’re done” doesn’t work well for such rapidly evolving technology. Establishing an always‑on learning culture using webinars, tech talks, and collaborative community learning can move your teams from a “know-it-all” to a “learn-it-all” mindset, keeping your teams’ skills fresh and curiosity growing.

4. Combine technical skills with business and governance knowledge

Organizations that realistically evaluate the business utility of AI tools tend to adopt this technology more effectively and efficiently. This means AI skills need to be complemented by business and operational knowledge. Alongside technical instruction, your teams should understand and apply your organization’s governance policies related to data privacy, ethical AI use, and other regulatory requirements.

5. Provide practical, applied learning

Focus on real-world skills that show tangible application—not only what AI is but also how to effectively use it. Bootcamps, role‑based labs, and an emphasis on practical scenarios can help bridge the gap between theory and real-world use and can directly correlate with productivity gains and other key outcomes.

Real-world AI skilling success stories

Explore how AI skilling strategies have led to practical business gains:

Commonwealth Bank of Australia invested heavily in AI skilling, equipping employees to effectively adopt AI tools. As a result, 84% of its 10,000 Microsoft 365 Copilot users report that they wouldn’t go back to working without it, and developers are adopting ~30% of GitHub Copilot code suggestions.
Adecco Group’s AI skilling strategy has increased productivity for recruiters by 63%. Plus, the company’s AI-driven CV Maker generated 200,000 résumés, and 35,000 employees completed responsible AI training, driving better client interactions.

Next steps

An effective AI skilling program is about more than technology—it requires a workforce that can adapt and thrive as AI reshapes the business world around them. Successfully building AI fluency across your organization can accelerate your organization’s technology adoption, create improved business outcomes, and lead to tangible competitive advantages.

Ready to grow your team’s AI skills? Read Create an AI Learning Culture.