AI-901 Cheat Sheet.
The night-before summary, built like the exam.

Exam Logistics at a Glance

Quick Notes on the Table

• The 700 passing score sits on a 1,000-point scale, so don't confuse it with a raw percentage — it's a scaled score.
• Because there's no penalty for wrong answers, always select an answer for every question rather than leaving one blank.
• A failed first attempt requires only a 24-hour wait before retaking; policy tightens after multiple fails, but that detail isn't part of this cheat sheet's source facts.

Official Content Domains

1. Identify AI concepts and capabilities — roughly 40-45% of the exam
2. Implement AI solutions by using Microsoft Foundry — roughly 55-60% of the exam

• Foundry implementation is the heavier domain by weight — prioritize hands-on familiarity with Foundry workflows over pure definitions.
• Only two domains total, but the second one carries the majority of scored content, so don't split study time 50/50.

Key Terms and Concepts to Memorize

Domain 1: AI Concepts and Capabilities

• AI workload categories: generative and agentic AI, text analysis, speech, and computer vision.
• Responsible AI principles are explicitly tested within this domain — know the pillars (fairness, reliability/safety, privacy/security, inclusiveness, transparency, accountability) even though exact wording may vary by source.
• Understand the difference between narrow task-specific AI workloads (e.g., classification, object detection) versus generative/agentic workloads that produce novel content or take autonomous actions.

Domain 2: Implementing with Microsoft Foundry

• Generative AI apps and agents — building and orchestrating agentic behavior.
• Text and speech solutions — recognition, synthesis, and language understanding pipelines.
• Computer vision and image generation — both analyzing existing images and generating new ones.
• Information extraction — pulling structured data out of unstructured documents/content.
• Microsoft Foundry is the unifying platform tested throughout this domain — expect scenario questions asking which Foundry capability fits a given business need.

Common Gotchas and Traps

• Don't confuse the 700 passing score with a percentage — it's a scaled score out of 1,000, not \"70%\".
• The exam is aligned to the AI Engineer role, so questions lean toward implementation and application, not just theory — expect \"which service/feature would you use\" scenario questions, especially in the Foundry domain.
• Because the Foundry domain (55-60%) outweighs the concepts domain (40-45%), under-studying Foundry-specific implementation details is the single biggest risk to failing.
• Responsible AI shows up inside the concepts domain, not as its own separate domain — don't skip it thinking it's a minor add-on.
• Remember there's no penalty for guessing: never leave a question unanswered, even under time pressure.
• Pricing is region-dependent — don't assume a flat fee when budgeting or registering; check the current price for your proctoring location before payment.
• Only one exam is required for this certification credential — don't assume you need to stack multiple exams.

Night-Before Checklist

• Confirm your delivery method (online OnVUE proctoring vs. local test center) and double-check the appointment time and time zone.
• If testing online, verify your ID, workspace, and system requirements meet OnVUE proctoring rules in advance.
• Review the two domain weightings one more time — skim Foundry implementation topics last since they carry the larger 55-60% share.
• Do a final pass on responsible AI principles — an easy scoring area if memorized cleanly.
• Remind yourself: answer every question, since there's no penalty for incorrect guesses.
• Know your retake policy going in — a 24-hour wait applies if you need a first retake, so don't panic if you don't pass on the first try.
• Get a full night's sleep — scenario-based questions on Foundry implementation reward clear thinking over memorized trivia.
• Arrive (or log in) early to handle any check-in delays without cutting into your exam time.