AZ-204 Is Retiring: How to Switch to the AI-200 Exam
The Microsoft AZ-204 exam retires on July 31, 2026. If you are starting Azure developer prep today, study the new AI-200 exam instead. Here is exactly what changed and how to make the switch.
Last updated:
⚠️ Key dates
- AZ-204 retirement: July 31, 2026
- AI-200 status: Live (replaces the associate-level Azure developer path)
- Action: New candidates should study AI-200, not AZ-204
Why is AZ-204 being replaced?
Microsoft is shifting the Azure developer associate path toward AI-driven application development. The new AI-200 (Developing AI Cloud Solutions on Azure) keeps the production-grade skills from AZ-204 — containers, messaging, serverless, secrets, and monitoring — but adds the skills modern developers need to wire AI into real applications: vector databases, retrieval augmented generation (RAG), and distributed observability.
What overlaps and what's new
If you already know AZ-204 material, you have a major head start. Here is how the topics map:
| Topic | Status in AI-200 |
|---|---|
| Azure Container Registry & containers | Mostly the same |
| Azure Container Apps, AKS, KEDA | Expanded in AI-200 |
| Azure Functions (triggers & bindings) | Mostly the same |
| Service Bus & Event Grid messaging | Mostly the same |
| Key Vault & App Configuration | Mostly the same |
| Cosmos DB vector search (DiskANN) | NEW in AI-200 |
| PostgreSQL + pgvector & RAG | NEW in AI-200 |
| Azure Managed Redis vector search | NEW in AI-200 |
| OpenTelemetry & KQL observability | Expanded in AI-200 |
| Blob Storage-centric development | De-emphasized |
Your free AI-200 study path
Focus your time on the NEW data-service modules first, then review the overlapping topics. All 9 modules below are free, aligned with Course AI-200T00-A:
- 📦 Module 1: ACR & App Service — 20–25%
- 🚀 Module 2: Azure Container Apps — 20–25%
- ☸️ Module 3: Azure Kubernetes Service — 20–25%
- 🌍 Module 4: Cosmos DB for NoSQL — 25–30%
- 🐘 Module 5: PostgreSQL & pgvector — 25–30%
- ⚡ Module 6: Azure Managed Redis — 25–30%
- 🔗 Module 7: Service Bus, Event Grid & Functions — 20–25%
- 🔐 Module 8: Key Vault & App Configuration — 20–25%
- 🔍 Module 9: Azure Monitor & KQL — 20–25%
Frequently asked questions
Is AZ-204 really being retired? +
Yes. Microsoft is retiring the AZ-204 (Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure) exam on July 31, 2026. The associate-level developer path moves to the new AI-200 (Developing AI Cloud Solutions on Azure) exam.
Does my AZ-204 certification still count? +
If you already passed AZ-204, your Azure Developer Associate certification remains valid through its normal renewal cycle. New candidates should study for AI-200 instead, since the AZ-204 path will no longer be available after retirement.
How much overlap is there between AZ-204 and AI-200? +
Roughly 50-60% overlaps: containers (ACR, Container Apps, AKS), messaging (Service Bus, Event Grid), Azure Functions, Key Vault, and monitoring. The new material is AI-focused data services — Cosmos DB vector search, PostgreSQL + pgvector, and Azure Managed Redis vector search.
How long does it take to transition from AZ-204 to AI-200? +
If you already know AZ-204 material, most candidates need 2-4 weeks focused mainly on the new AI data services (vectors, RAG patterns) and modern observability (OpenTelemetry, KQL).
Ready to start?
Begin with the full free module list and work through each learning path.
Browse All Modules →