AB-730 exam format: questions, score and cost

AB-730 gives you 45 minutes, requires a scaled score of 700 out of 1000 to pass, and is priced per country at the booking step. Microsoft does not publish the number of questions. Below is everything else it publishes, and what it means for your preparation. All of it comes from Microsoft’s certification page and study guide.

Which outline this guide follows

Microsoft states that the English version of the exam is updated on October 20, 2026. This section is written to the newer outline, which is the one the study guide labels “skills measured as of October 20, 2026”. If you sit the English exam before that date, you are tested on the previous outline; if you sit it after, on the new one. If Microsoft revises the outline again, the study guide on Microsoft Learn is the authority and this section will be updated to match; see also exam changes.

Localised versions are updated roughly eight weeks after English. If you take the exam in another language soon after October 20, the questions may still follow the earlier outline.

The four skill areas

The earlier outline had three areas: fundamentals, managing prompts and conversations, and drafting and analysing business content. The change log in the study guide says that all three of those shrank in percentage, that the old agents objective was removed from the prompts area, and that a new agents area was added. It names two new objective groups there: prebuilt agents, and business tasks with Microsoft Copilot Cowork. The old percentages are not reproduced here because they apply only to the retiring outline.

What the weights mean for revision

Three areas sit at 20–25% and one at 25–30%, so no area can be skipped. Nearly a quarter of the exam is new material (agents and Cowork), and these are recent product features that older courses do not cover. Fundamentals is the most reliable source of marks if you are disciplined about the responsible AI vocabulary. Prompts and chats is the most concrete: saving, scheduling and sharing prompts, and managing chats and notebooks, are features you can try in minutes.

Forty-five minutes

Forty-five minutes is the standard length for a Microsoft beginner exam. Most items are short scenarios. If one stalls you, mark it for review and move on; do not trade three easy items for one hard one.

Question types

Expect the usual Microsoft mix: single and multiple-answer multiple choice, matching, dropdown completion of a statement, and yes/no series about one scenario. Microsoft notes the exam may have interactive components. The exam sandbox shows the interface without testing content and is worth ten minutes before the day.

The passing score is scaled

700 of 1000 is not 70% correct. Microsoft scales scores and does not publish the conversion. Aim for a consistent 80% or better on realistic practice questions instead of trying to calculate a margin.

Preview features

Microsoft says most questions cover generally available features, but that preview features may appear if they are commonly used. Copilot changes quickly, so check current Microsoft Learn documentation, not a screenshot from last year.

Retakes, cost and booking

If you fail, you can retake after 24 hours; later attempts need 14 days between them, with at most five attempts in 12 months, under Microsoft’s retake policy. The price depends on the country where you sit the exam; the official page gives no fixed figure. See certification costs for how Microsoft pricing generally works. Microsoft recommends booking with a personal Microsoft account, not a work or school account, because records tied to an organisational account can be lost if you leave. If the exam is not offered in your preferred language, you can request an extra 30 minutes.

For the day itself, see the exam day guide.