Which AI Certification Should You Take First?
New AI certifications appear almost every month, and the choice can feel overwhelming. A good way to cut through the noise is to ask two questions: which platform do you or your employer already use, and do you want to understand AI or build with it? This guide walks through the main entry options, compares them on one page and gives you a decision table.
The main entry-level AI exams at a glance
| Exam | Level | Practice tests | Questions | Per test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-901) | Fundamentals | 5 | 225 | 45 questions, 45 min |
| AWS Certified AI Practitioner (AIF-C01) | Foundational | 5 | 325 | 65 questions, 90 min |
| Google Cloud Generative AI Leader | Foundational | 5 | 300 | 60 questions, 90 min |
| NVIDIA Certified Associate: Generative AI LLMs (NCA-GENL) | Associate | 5 | 250 | 50 questions, 60 min |
| ISACA Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals Certificate | Foundational | 5 | 275 | 55 questions, 120 min |
Figures are for the practice-test sets on this site. Check the provider’s own page for the real exam format.
Number of original practice questions across all tests for each exam on this site.
If you work on Microsoft platforms
Start with Microsoft AI-901, a fundamentals exam on AI concepts and Azure AI services. It suits students, career changers and anyone who needs the vocabulary before going further. If your goal is to build apps and agents on Azure, the next step is the associate-level AI-103.
If your company is on AWS
AWS AIF-C01 covers AI and machine learning fundamentals and how AWS services fit together. It is a strong first step toward the more technical AWS machine learning exams, and it is useful for people in sales, product and project roles who work with AWS customers.
If you use Google Cloud, or you lead teams
The Google Cloud Generative AI Leader exam is aimed at people who need to understand generative AI and make decisions about it, rather than write code. It works well for managers, product people and consultants.
If you want to build with language models
NVIDIA NCA-GENL focuses on generative AI and large language models. It suits learners who are comfortable with some technical material and want to move toward building.
If your interest is governance and risk
ISACA AI Fundamentals and the AI governance exam AIGP suit people in audit, risk, privacy and compliance who need to understand how AI is governed rather than how it is built.
A simple decision table
| Your situation | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Complete beginner, no preferred platform | The fundamentals exam of the platform your target employers use | You learn the vocabulary and the services you will meet at work |
| Manager, product or consulting role | Google Cloud Generative AI Leader or Microsoft AB-731 | Focus on decisions and use cases, not code |
| Developer or technical student | A fundamentals exam, then a builder-level one | Fundamentals first saves time later |
| Audit, risk or privacy professional | ISACA AI Fundamentals or AIGP | Covers governance, risk and controls |
| Want to build with language models | NVIDIA NCA-GENL | Hands on with generative AI concepts |
Common questions
- Do I need to know how to code? Not for the fundamentals and leader-level exams. You will need it before builder-level ones.
- Should I take more than one provider’s exam? Only if your work requires it. Pick the platform you will use and go deeper there.
- Will the certification expire? Rules differ by provider and change. Check the provider’s page for renewal terms.
To see how these fit into a longer journey, open the AI path from foundations to builder. It shows the steps in order and lets you choose by platform. If you want to know what jobs this leads to and what they pay, see our machine learning and AI engineer role page.
Related on Be Ready Education
- Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-901) practice tests
- AWS Certified AI Practitioner (AIF-C01) practice tests
- Google Cloud Generative AI Leader practice tests
- NVIDIA Certified Associate: Generative AI LLMs (NCA-GENL) practice tests
- AI path: from foundations to builder (study path)
- Machine learning and AI engineer (job role)
Ready to practise?
Original, timed practice tests with every answer option explained. Pick your exam and see exactly what you will get.
Browse practice testsAsk us a questionNot affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any certification vendor or exam body. Certification names, exam codes and product names are trademarks of their respective owners and are used only to identify the exam a practice product prepares for. Our questions are original and are not actual exam questions. Exams and requirements change, so always confirm details on the provider’s official site.
