A Fresh Look at Microsoft Certifications

For your job, a Microsoft certification can sometimes be helpful—or even required. But which certification is the right fit for you? And do you need any prior knowledge before getting started?
Microsoft is updating its certification curriculum to better match the different roles within organizations. In this blog, I share a brief overview of some Power Platform–related roles and their corresponding Microsoft certifications to help you choose what fits best and plan your learning journey.

Exams to be retired

PL Code	Certification name
PL-200	Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant
PL-500	Power Automate RPA Developer Associate
PL-600	Microsoft Power Platform Solution Architect

Beta exams

Beta exam code	Certification name
AB‑620	AI Agent Builder Associate
AB‑250	Dynamics 365 Contact Center AI Engineer Associate
AB‑210	Dynamics 365 Sales AI Consultant Associate
AB‑410	Intelligent Applications Builder Associate

Although a number of exams are still in beta and certain exam codes will be retired over time, it is already possible to outline a provisional learning path that shows how the final situation may take shape. The learning paths are visualized using Mermaid diagrams, with a separate path defined for each role.

Business / Non‑technical Role

flowchart TB
    PL900[PL-900<br/>Power Platform Fundamentals]
    AB900[AB-900<br/>Copilot & Agent Administration Fundamentals]
    AB730[AB-730<br/>AI Business Professional]
    AB731[AB-731<br/>AI Transformation Leader]

    PL900 --> AB900
    AB900 --> AB730
    AB730 --> AB731

Power Platform App Builder / Functional Consultant

flowchart TB
    PL900[PL-900<br/>Power Platform Fundamentals]
    PL200[PL-200<br/>Functional Consultant]
    PL400[PL-400<br/>Power Platform Developer]
    AB410[AB-410<br/>Intelligent Applications Builder Associate]
    AB620[AB-620<br/>AI Agent Builder Associate]

    PL900 --> PL200
    PL200 --> PL400
    PL400 --> AB410
    AB410 --> AB620

    classDef retiring fill:#FFE0B2,stroke:#FB8C00,stroke-width:2px,color:#000;
    class PL200 retiring;

AI Agent Builder / Developer

flowchart TB
    PL900[PL-900<br/>Power Platform Fundamentals]
    PL500[PL-500<br/>Power Automate RPA Developer]
    PL400[PL-400<br/>Power Platform Developer]
    AB410[AB-410<br/>Intelligent Applications Builder Associate]
    AB620[AB-620<br/>AI Agent Builder Associate]
    AB100[AB-100<br/>Agentic AI Business Solutions Architect]

    PL900 --> PL500
    PL500 --> PL400
    PL400 --> AB410
    AB410 --> AB620
    AB620 --> AB100

    classDef retiring fill:#FFE0B2,stroke:#FB8C00,stroke-width:2px,color:#000;
    class PL500 retiring;

Solution / Enterprise Architect

flowchart TB
    PL900[PL-900<br/>Power Platform Fundamentals]
    PL600[PL-600<br/>Power Platform Solution Architect]
    AB410[AB-410<br/>Intelligent Applications Builder Associate]
    AB620[AB-620<br/>AI Agent Builder Associate]
    AB100[AB-100<br/>Agentic AI Business Solutions Architect]

    PL900 --> PL600
    PL600 --> AB410
    AB410 --> AB620
    AB620 --> AB100

    classDef retiring fill:#FFE0B2,stroke:#FB8C00,stroke-width:2px,color:#000;
    class PL600 retiring;