Best AI Certifications in 2026

AI credentials cover three kinds of work: using AI tools in everyday jobs, building and running AI systems, and governing AI risk. Choose the kind of work first, then the platform.

Google AI Essentials credential artwork

Google AI Essentials

Google · Course certificate

Validates foundational skills in using generative AI at work, including AI basics, productivity tools, prompting and responsible use.

49EntryNo prerequisites
AWS Certified AI Practitioner credential artwork

AWS AI Practitioner

AWS · Exam AIF-C01

Validates foundational knowledge of AI and generative AI concepts, foundation models, responsible AI and AWS AI services.

100EntryNo prerequisites
Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals credential artwork

Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals

Microsoft · Exam AI-901

Validates foundational knowledge of AI concepts, responsible AI and building generative AI, vision and speech solutions.

99EntryNo prerequisites

Validates knowledge of AI governance foundations, relevant laws and frameworks, and governing AI development and deployment.

799IntermediateNo prerequisites

Validates knowledge of generative AI concepts, Google Cloud generative AI offerings, improving model output and leading responsible adoption.

99EntryNo prerequisites

Validates skills in preparing data, building and tuning models, and deploying and securing machine learning workloads on AWS.

75IntermediateNo prerequisites
GitHub Copilot credential artwork

GitHub Copilot

GitHub · Exam GH-300

Validates knowledge of using GitHub Copilot across IDE, CLI and chat, covering prompting, data handling and policy controls.

99IntermediateNo prerequisites
GitHub Certified: Agentic AI Developer credential artwork

GitHub Agentic AI Developer

GitHub · Exam GH-600

Validates knowledge of running AI coding agents in GitHub workflows, including tool use, state, evaluation, orchestration and guardrails.

165IntermediateNo prerequisites
AWS Certified AI Business Strategist credential artwork

AWS AI Business Strategist

AWS · Exam AIB-C01

Validates knowledge of AI fundamentals, business value creation, responsible AI governance and leading organizational AI transformation.

50IntermediateNo prerequisites

Validates ability to apply Claude to everyday business tasks, including prompting, checking output, choosing features and models, setting up Projects and using AI responsibly.

99EntryHas prerequisites

Validates knowledge of building production Claude applications, including API integration, agents, tools and MCP, prompt and context engineering, evals, security and cost.

125EntryHas prerequisites

How to choose a certification

Which certification fits your goal?

What to know before choosing

  • Separate AI use from AI engineering. Using AI tools well and building production AI systems are different skills. Pick the credential whose tasks match your work.
  • Study for the current exam version. AI exams are revised often: AWS's ML Engineer exam is moving to MLA-C02, and Google revised its ML Engineer exam guide in June 2026. Use study material written for the current version.
  • Apply it to a real project. For technical credentials, build and evaluate a small solution, including data handling and monitoring. For governance, apply the material to a real AI use case and its risks.