AWS Certified AI Practitioner: a foundational AI exam for people who work beside the builders

By Alexander Shick · Updated November 5, 2026

Who AWS aims AIF-C01 at

AWS says the certification "validates foundational knowledge of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and generative AI concepts", along with where AWS services fit those uses. The exam guide lists coding models, feature engineering, tuning and building ML pipelines as out of scope. That makes it a credential for people who choose, buy, sell or govern AI work on AWS, not for the engineers who build it.

Business-side readers have a second option. AWS's new Business Certifications group holds AWS Certified AI Business Strategist (AIB-C01), aimed at product and program managers, sales, line-of-business leaders, consultants, marketers and business analysts. AWS says it "does not assess AWS services knowledge." It is in beta at $50 (standard price $100), with 85 questions in English and Japanese, and an Early Adopter badge for passing by February 15, 2027. AWS's certification page gives 170 minutes; its exam guide says 130, so check the time when you book. Choose AIF-C01 if you need to know which AWS services fit a use case; choose AIB-C01 if your work is AI strategy, business cases and governance.

What AIF-C01 asks for, and the exam itself

Eligibility: AWS lists no prerequisite; anyone can book. Recommended background: up to 6 months of exposure to AI on AWS and familiarity with core services such as Amazon S3, AWS Lambda, Amazon Bedrock and SageMaker AI, IAM, the shared responsibility model and AWS pricing. AWS adds that people new to IT and AWS should start with Cloud Practitioner Essentials or AWS Technical Essentials, and that holders of Cloud Practitioner or an Associate certification can skip them.

Format: 65 questions in 90 minutes, of which 50 are scored. Besides multiple choice and multiple response, the exam uses ordering and matching items. Scores run from 100 to 1,000 and 700 passes; you pass on the overall score, not per section. AIF-C01 is the current version, and AWS's exam guide list shows no replacement. AWS's certification page says the Italian and German versions were retired after October 15, 2026.

Applying foundation models is the largest area, so expect scenario questions about choosing a model, prompting and retrieval rather than definitions alone.

Study options for AIF-C01

• AWS Skill Builder, free. The AIF-C01 Exam Prep Plan runs 22 hours 50 minutes and includes the Official Practice Question Set; the 8-hour AI Practitioner learning plan fills gaps. This suits most candidates. The Official Pretest needs a Skill Builder subscription, listed at $29 a month.
• Independent practice exams. Tutorials Dojo sells a set with a 65-question final test and one year of access. Useful in the last week to find weak areas.
• AWS's own classroom courses. AWS lists a one-day Exam Prep: AWS Certified AI Practitioner (AIF-C01) course and a one-day Generative AI Essentials on AWS course, both taught by AWS and its training partners. The first reviews the exam; the second teaches concepts with labs. They suit people whose employer pays, or who learn better with an instructor.

Published prices for AIF-C01 preparation

Costs people miss: a retake costs the full $100 again, and AWS makes you wait 14 days before retaking. Skill Builder's free tier covers the prep plan; the Official Pretest and other items marked Subscription need the $29 monthly subscription. Bedrock experiments in your own account are billed by AWS, so set a budget alert before you try them.

Picking a one-day AIF-C01 class

• Exam review or concepts course. Global Knowledge's class has the same title as AWS's one-day exam prep course; ask whether it uses AWS's official courseware. New Horizons' Generative AI Essentials on AWS teaches concepts and does not target the exam. Choose the one that matches what you lack.
• Voucher. Neither class listing in the table includes the $100 exam. Ask before you compare.
• Labs. New Horizons lists three Amazon Bedrock labs. Ask Global Knowledge whether its exam prep day has hands-on work or is question review only.
• Session dates. New Horizons marks its sessions guaranteed to run; for other providers, ask whether your date can be cancelled.

Renewing after three years

The credential is valid for 3 years. You renew by passing the latest AI Practitioner exam, or by passing the latest Machine Learning Engineer Associate or Generative AI Developer Professional exam. AWS's recertification page lists no Skill Builder maintenance route for this one. A 50% discount voucher in your AWS Certification Account applies to the renewal exam.

For teams adopting AI on AWS

Because the free plan covers the material, a manager can put a whole non-technical group through AIF-C01 for the exam fees alone. Staff who shape AI strategy but never touch AWS services fit AIB-C01 better, and it is $50 while in beta. Send engineers who will build on Bedrock toward an associate-level exam instead.

Common questions

How much does AWS AI Practitioner cost?

The exam is $100 in the US as of November 2026; free AWS prep keeps the total at that.

Do I need to know how to code?

No. AWS lists coding models and building pipelines as out of scope.

What score do I need?

700 on a scale of 100 to 1,000.

Should I take Cloud Practitioner first?

AWS does not require it. If you are new to AWS, AWS suggests a free fundamentals course first; Cloud Practitioner is an option if you also want that credential.

Next step

Send your role and exam date and we will point you to the shortest route to AIF-C01.

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