AB-731 study plan: pass in 4 weeks
You can prepare for AB-731 in four weeks with about four to five hours a week: one week on generative AI value, one on Microsoft’s AI products, one on governance and adoption, and one on practice and gaps. The exam is conceptual and scenario-based, so the work is reading, comparing and practising decisions rather than labs. The plan assumes you are a working leader with limited time.
Week 1: generative AI and its business value (35–40%)
Goal: be able to explain, in plain words to a colleague, how generative AI works and where it pays off.
- Read the business value guide.
- Learn the vocabulary: model, pretrained, fine-tuned, token, prompt, grounding, RAG, fabrication, bias.
- Write down one use case from your own organisation and test it: is the data good enough, what would it cost per use, what could go wrong?
- Open Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat or any chat assistant and try three prompting techniques (role, examples, step-by-step instructions) on the same task. Note the difference.
- Do the first set of questions in the free practice test.
Week 2: Microsoft AI apps and services (35–40%)
Goal: match a need to the right product without hesitating.
- Read the Microsoft AI apps guide.
- Build a one-page table: need on the left, then Copilot Chat, Copilot in an app, Copilot Studio, Researcher or Analyst, or Foundry Tools on the right.
- Learn what Microsoft Graph adds (your work data, within permissions) and the build, buy or extend decision.
- Learn the Foundry Tools names in the outline: Azure Vision in Foundry Tools, Azure AI Search, Microsoft Foundry.
- Skim the Copilot Studio and Microsoft Foundry documentation introductions that Microsoft’s study guide links.
Week 3: strategy, governance and adoption (20–25%)
Goal: describe a practical rollout and defend each step.
- Read the adoption guide.
- Memorise the responsible AI principles listed in the outline: fairness, reliability, safety, privacy, security, inclusiveness, transparency, accountability.
- Sketch your own AI council (who sits on it, what it decides) and an adoption team with champions.
- List the barriers you have seen to adoption, and one fix for each.
- Learn the licensing vocabulary: pay-as-you-go, monthly, included in a subscription; for Foundry Tools, pay-as-you-go and commitment tiers.
Week 4: practice and gaps
- Take Microsoft’s free practice assessment cold. Record your weakest area.
- Do the sample questions and the full practice test under a 45-minute timer.
- For every miss, find the objective it belongs to and reread that guide section.
- Read the exam tips and the cheat sheet the day before.
If you already have experience
| You are | Adjust the plan |
|---|---|
| A Copilot rollout lead | Skip most of week 3; spend the time on Foundry Tools and fine-tuning, RAG and token cost. |
| An IT or Azure professional | Skip week 2 basics; focus on responsible AI, councils, champions and the business framing of cost. |
| New to AI | Add a week at the start for plain-language AI concepts from the prerequisites page. |
How to know you are ready
- You score 80% or more on two different realistic practice sets, not the same one twice.
- You can explain RAG, grounding and fine-tuning in one sentence each, with a business example.
- You can name the right Microsoft product for five different business needs without notes.
- You can describe the first three actions of an AI adoption plan and who owns them.
- You finish a 20-question set in under 10 minutes without rushing.
If one of these fails, spend two more evenings on that area before booking. Resources are listed in study resources.