AB-100 Cheat Sheet 2026: Quick Reference
Every domain condensed to a table, plus the one thing most AB-100 guides bury: the full list of associate certifications you need before Microsoft will actually issue the expert badge.
Exam Snapshot
Every domain weight and reference link below is pulled directly from Microsoft's official AB-100 exam page and cross-checked against our 500-question AB-100 bank, which we audit against Microsoft Learn documentation before anything goes live.
1. Plan AI-Powered Business Solutions (25-30%)
| Concept | Tool / Where it lives | Quick note |
|---|---|---|
| AI adoption strategy | Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure | Reused for AI-specific adoption phases |
| Multi-agent solution design | Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Studio, Foundry | Combine platforms for cross-channel agents |
| Prebuilt agent use cases | Copilot Studio agent templates | Start here before building custom |
| Build vs. buy vs. extend | ROI / TCO analysis | Compare before committing engineering time |
| Prompt library guidelines | Copilot Studio | Governance for reusable prompts |
| Small language models | Microsoft Foundry | Narrow task, low latency, private-network fit |
| AI Center of Excellence | Org-wide governance body | Standards, review, enablement across teams |
2. Design AI-Powered Business Solutions (25-30%)
| Concept | Tool / Where it lives | Quick note |
|---|---|---|
| Task agents | Copilot Studio | Fixed, repeatable sequence — no independent decisions |
| Autonomous agents | Copilot Studio | Independent judgment required |
| Prompt & response agents | Copilot Studio | Conversational Q&A pattern |
| Topics + fallback | Copilot Studio | CLU for defined intents, generative fallback for the rest |
| MCP extensibility | Model Context Protocol | Standardized tool/data access for an agent |
| A2A coordination | Agent2Agent protocol | Peer-to-peer coordination between autonomous agents |
| Computer Use | Copilot Studio | UI automation on systems with no API |
| Custom models | Microsoft Foundry | When prebuilt or generative doesn’t fit the task |
| Well-Architected Framework | Power Platform | Design guardrails for intelligent app workloads |
3. Deploy AI-Powered Business Solutions (40-45%)
| Concept | Tool / Where it lives | Quick note |
|---|---|---|
| Agent monitoring | Telemetry & metrics | Track performance, tune based on measured data |
| ALM for agents | Copilot Studio / Foundry environments | Dev, test, and production promotion path |
| Responsible AI review | Microsoft Responsible AI Standard | Required before and at deployment |
| Security & governance | Model and data security | Covers vulnerabilities incl. prompt manipulation |
| Data residency | Regional compliance | Model + grounding data location must match regulation |
| Audit trails | Change logging | Tracks changes to models and data over time |
| Testing strategy | Validation criteria | Test scenarios spanning multiple Dynamics 365 apps |
4. Prerequisite Cert Options at a Glance
Passing AB-100 is only half the requirement. Microsoft also requires you to hold one of these associate certifications before issuing the expert credential:
| Code | Certification | Status |
|---|---|---|
| PL-400 | Power Platform Developer Associate | Current |
| AI-103 | Azure AI Apps and Agents Developer Associate | Current |
| AI-300 | Machine Learning Operations Engineer Associate | Current |
| AB-620 | AI Agent Builder Associate | Current |
| AB-210 | Dynamics 365 Sales AI Consultant Associate | Current |
| AB-410 | Intelligent Applications Builder Associate | Releasing 7/30/2026 |
| AB-250 | Dynamics 365 Contact Center AI Engineer Associate | Releasing 7/30/2026 |
| MB-230 | Dynamics 365 Customer Service Functional Consultant Associate | Current |
| MB-310 | Dynamics 365 Finance Functional Consultant Associate | Current |
| MB-500 | D365 Finance and Operations Apps Developer Associate | Current |
| MB-800 | Dynamics 365 Business Central Functional Consultant Associate | Current |
| MB-820 | Dynamics 365 Business Central Developer Associate | Current |
| MB-280 | Dynamics 365 Customer Experience Analyst Associate | Retiring 7/31/2026 |
| PL-200 | Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate | Retiring 8/31/2026 |
| MB-330 | D365 Supply Chain Management Functional Consultant Associate | Retiring 12/31/2026 |
Status current as of the August 2026 check against Microsoft's official AB-100 exam page. Retiring certs still count if earned before their retirement date.
5. Acronym Quick List
| ALM | Application Lifecycle Management — dev/test/prod process for agents and connectors |
| MCP | Model Context Protocol — standard for connecting agents to tools and data |
| A2A | Agent2Agent — protocol for coordination between autonomous agents |
| ROI / TCO | Return on Investment / Total Cost of Ownership — build-vs-buy-vs-extend criteria |
| CLU | Conversational Language Understanding — intent recognition for defined topics |
| NLP | Natural Language Processing — standard, non-generative language handling |
| SLM | Small Language Model — narrow, low-latency, often privately hosted model |
| D365 | Dynamics 365 — Microsoft’s business applications suite |
| CoE | Center of Excellence — governance body for AI standards and enablement |
| GA | General Availability — feature status most exam questions assume |
AB-100 FAQ
How is this cheat sheet different from the AB-100 study guide?
The study guide walks through a week-by-week plan in narrative form. This page skips the narrative for a printable, tables-only pass right before the exam.
Is AB-100 available in languages other than English?
Per Microsoft's official exam page, it's currently English-only, with no localized version listed yet.
What happens if my prerequisite certification retires before I take AB-100?
Earning it before the retirement date keeps it valid as a prerequisite — retirement blocks new candidates, it doesn't revoke certifications already issued. Confirm against Microsoft's current policy before relying on this.
Can I print this AB-100 cheat sheet?
Yes — every table here is plain HTML, so a browser print or "print to PDF" renders cleanly with no layout breakage.
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