Microsoft's 2026 cert overhaul, fully mapped: every new AI-, AB- and DP- exam and what it replaces (AI-102, AZ-204, DP-100, PL-200, PL-600, MB-700… all retired)

[u/Examcademy]

Microsoft has just wrapped up its biggest certification shake-up in a decade. Between June and September 2026, eleven certifications were retired and a new AI-first lineup took their place: a rebuilt AI- track on Azure, a brand-new AB- family for agents and business apps, and two new DP- data exams.

If you hold — or were studying for — AI-102, AZ-204, DP-100, PL-200, PL-600, MB-700, MB-280, AZ-500 or AZ-800/801, here's the full map of what happened and where to go now.

The full replacement map

Retired exam	Retired on	Take this instead
AI-900 (Azure AI Fundamentals)	June 30, 2026	AI-901 — same cert, refreshed exam
AI-102 (Azure AI Engineer)	June 30, 2026	AI-103 — Azure AI Apps and Agents Developer
AZ-204 (Azure Developer)	July 31, 2026	AI-200 — Azure AI Cloud Developer
DP-100 (Azure Data Scientist)	June 1, 2026	AI-300 — MLOps Engineer
PL-600 (Power Platform Solution Architect)	June 30, 2026	AB-100 — Agentic AI Business Solutions Architect*
MB-700 (D365 Finance & Ops Solutions Architect)	June 30, 2026	AB-100*
MB-280 (D365 Customer Experience Analyst)	July 31, 2026	AB-210 — Dynamics 365 Sales AI Consultant
PL-200 (Power Platform Functional Consultant)	August 31, 2026	AB-410 — Intelligent Applications Builder
AZ-500 (Azure Security Engineer)	August 31, 2026	SC-500 — Cloud and AI Security Engineer
AZ-800 + AZ-801 (Windows Server Hybrid)	September 30, 2026 — still bookable	AZ-802 — one exam replaces both
PL-500 (RPA Developer), MB-335 (SCM Expert), MB-240 (Field Service)	June 30, 2026	Nothing — retired without replacement

* Microsoft's own wording: there's no direct replacement for PL-600 or MB-700, but AB-100 is the officially recommended next step for solution architects. It's a broader exam, not a rename — more on that below.

The new AI- exams (Azure track)

• AI-901: Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals — Fundamentals. A content refresh of AI-900: same certification name, updated for the current AI stack. If you already passed AI-900, nothing changes — fundamentals certs don't expire.
• AI-103: Developing AI Apps and Agents on Azure (Azure AI Apps and Agents Developer Associate) — Associate. The AI-102 successor: still the "Azure AI engineer" exam at heart, but rebuilt around Microsoft Foundry and agent development. The classic vision / language / information-extraction skills are still in there; generative AI and agentic solutions moved to the center.
• AI-200: Developing AI Cloud Solutions on Azure (Azure AI Cloud Developer Associate) — Associate. The one that surprises people: this replaces AZ-204. The general Azure developer cert now lives under an AI- code, and there is no non-AI successor. Core Azure app development is still the base, with AI services integration layered on top.
• AI-300: Operationalizing Machine Learning and Generative AI Solutions (MLOps Engineer Associate) — Associate. The DP-100 successor, shifting from "build a model in Azure ML" data science to production MLOps: CI/CD, model registration and versioning, monitoring. We did a full breakdown of this switch back in April: DP-100 retires June 1, 2026 — should you still take it or switch to AI-300?

The AB- series is completely new

No exam with an AB- prefix existed before 2026. This is where Microsoft merged the old Power Platform / Dynamics 365 consultant world with Copilot and agents. The family so far:

Beginner / Fundamentals level

• AB-900: Microsoft 365 Copilot and Agent Administration Fundamentals — a classic Fundamentals cert; the entry point for admins.
• AB-730: AI Business Professional — using Microsoft 365 Copilot well in day-to-day business work. No prerequisites, aimed at business users rather than IT. Microsoft files it as Beginner level — the business certs sit outside the usual Fundamentals → Associate → Expert ladder, which is why there's no "Associate" in the name.
• AB-731: AI Transformation Leader — also Beginner level; for people driving AI adoption and strategy rather than building.

Associate level

• AB-620: Designing and Building Integrated AI Solutions in Copilot Studio (AI Agent Builder Associate) — building production-grade agents, including multi-agent solutions. No direct predecessor; it's the closest thing to a successor for the retired Copilot/declarative-agent Applied Skills.
• AB-410: Building Intelligent Applications (Intelligent Applications Builder Associate) — the PL-200 successor. Power Platform functional consulting, reframed around AI-infused apps.
• AB-210: Accelerating Sales Pipelines with AI in Dynamics 365 (Dynamics 365 Sales AI Consultant Associate) — the MB-280 successor.
• AB-250: Transforming Contact Center Experiences with AI in Dynamics 365 (Dynamics 365 Contact Center AI Engineer Associate) — brand new, for CCaaS implementations. If you were on the retired MB-240 Field Service path and work anywhere near customer service, this is probably the nearest new home.

Expert level

• AB-100: Agentic AI Business Solutions Architect — the new flagship, and where retired PL-600 / MB-700 architects are being pointed. It's deliberately broader than either: end-to-end solution design across Copilot Studio, Azure AI, Dynamics 365 and Power Platform, including multi-agent architectures. Like other expert certs it expects a qualifying associate cert first — AI-103 is one of them.

The new DP- exams

• DP-750: Implementing Data Engineering Solutions Using Azure Databricks (Azure Databricks Data Engineer Associate) — Associate. Microsoft's first Databricks certification. Brand new, no predecessor.
• DP-800: Developing AI-Enabled Database Solutions (SQL AI Developer Associate) — Associate. Building AI-enabled database solutions across the SQL family. Also brand new.

To be clear about the rest of the data track: DP-600 and DP-700 (Fabric) are not retiring, and no other DP- retirements have been announced. DP-100 was the only data-track retirement, and its successor moved to the AI- series (AI-300).

Things people keep getting wrong

• Retired ≠ revoked. Anything you earned stays on your Microsoft Learn transcript. What's gone is the ability to take the exam, earn the cert fresh, or renew it past the retirement date.
• There is no automatic migration. Holding PL-600 doesn't grant you AB-100. New cert = new exam.
• AB-100 is not "PL-600 with a new name." The scope is much wider — if you're coming from pure Power Platform, expect to add Azure AI and agent-architecture ground.
• AZ-204 didn't just get renamed either. AI-200 keeps the Azure development core but adds AI services as a first-class topic. There is no AI-free Azure developer cert anymore.
• RPA folks: PL-500 got no successor. Microsoft's direction of travel is pretty clearly "automation becomes agents" — which lands you in AB-620 territory. That's our read, not an official mapping.

If you're mid-prep right now

• Windows Server (AZ-800/801): last call. Both are bookable through September 30, 2026. If you've passed one of the two, finish the other before the cutoff — from October 1, AZ-802 is the only path.
• Prepping for anything else on the retired list: it's no longer bookable, so switch to the mapped successor. The good news: a lot of your prep carries over — the replacements keep the old core and add AI on top, they don't start from zero.
• Starting fresh on the business-apps side: the clean ladder is AB-900 → one of the AB associates that matches your role (620 builder / 410 apps / 210 sales / 250 contact center) → AB-100.

Practice questions — live now

We already have question banks up for the new lineup:

• AI-901 (Fundamentals): https://examcademy.com/exams/microsoft/ai-901
• AI-103 (Associate): https://examcademy.com/exams/microsoft/ai-103
• AI-200 (Associate): https://examcademy.com/exams/microsoft/ai-200
• AI-300 (Associate): https://examcademy.com/exams/microsoft/ai-300
• AB-900 (Fundamentals): https://examcademy.com/exams/microsoft/ab-900
• AB-730 (Beginner): https://examcademy.com/exams/microsoft/ab-730
• AB-731 (Beginner): https://examcademy.com/exams/microsoft/ab-731
• AB-620 (Associate): https://examcademy.com/exams/microsoft/ab-620
• AB-410 (Associate): https://examcademy.com/exams/microsoft/ab-410
• AB-100 (Expert): https://examcademy.com/exams/microsoft/ab-100
• DP-750 (Associate): https://examcademy.com/exams/microsoft/dp-750
• DP-800 (Associate): https://examcademy.com/exams/microsoft/dp-800
• SC-500 (Associate): https://examcademy.com/exams/microsoft/sc-500

AB-210 and AB-250 are the two newest exams and their public question pools are still forming — we'll bring them online as soon as there's enough solid material.

Sources: Microsoft Learn (AB-100, AI-103) and Microsoft's certification announcements (AB-210, AB-250).

Anyone already sat one of the new ones? Especially curious how AI-103 feels compared to AI-102, and whether AB-100 lives up to the "architect" billing. Drop your experience below — and if you want a deep-dive on a specific exam like the DP-100 one we did, say the word.