AI-102 vs AI-103: Do You Need Microsoft’s New Azure AI Cert?

Let’s clear up the biggest confusion first: AI-102 is not retired. Despite what a wave of SEO roundups claims, Microsoft frames AI-103 as a new credential launched alongside AI-102 — not a replacement. Unlike AI-900 (retired June 30, replaced by AI-901) and DP-100 (retired June 1, replaced by AI-300), AI-102 remains bookable and renewable with no announced sunset date. So the real question isn’t “do I have to switch?” — it’s “which of two live certifications fits my work?”

Side by side

Take AI-102 if…

• Job listings you’re targeting name it — years of hiring-manager recognition are worth real money, and AI-103 is too new to have that yet
• Your team or employer has standardized on it for the Azure AI engineer role
• Your day job spans the breadth of Azure AI services rather than living inside generative AI and agents

Take AI-103 if…

• Your work (or the work you want) is generative AI applications and agents — that’s what a third of this exam measures, with Microsoft Foundry at the center
• You’re Python-first — AI-103 is explicitly built around Python and Foundry
• You’re starting fresh in 2026 and want the credential pointed where Microsoft’s AI platform is heading, not where it’s been

Will Microsoft retire AI-102?

Nobody outside Redmond knows, and we won’t pretend to. What we can say: Microsoft’s 2026 pattern has been to announce retirements explicitly with dates (AI-900’s June 30 sunset, DP-100’s June 1 sunset), and no such announcement exists for AI-102. Many in the community read AI-103 as the successor in spirit — the exam Microsoft would design today — but officially they’re siblings, not a succession. If a sunset date is ever posted, we’ll update this page the same week.

Can you hold both?

Yes, and for working Azure AI engineers it’s a genuinely sensible stack: AI-102 covers the service breadth employers recognize today, AI-103 adds the agent-focused depth the market is moving toward. Both renew annually for free, so the carrying cost of the pair is zero after the exams themselves.

Leaning AI-103? Start with our free AI-103 practice questions to see where you stand, then work through the AI-103 study guide domain by domain. For the full picture of Microsoft’s 2026 reshuffle — what retired, what replaced it, what’s new — see Microsoft AI certifications in 2026. And if you’re coming from the fundamentals side, AI-901 vs AI-103 covers that decision.