Here is what the exam was like
Walking into the testing center, I thought general Azure cloud experience and skimming documentation would be enough. It wasn't. The AI-200 examination is highly specific, scenario-driven, and unforgiving on exact CLI syntax and architectural boundaries.
The test heavily focuses on Domains 2 and 3
A significant number of the questions came from Domain 2 and Domain 3, particularly covering topics related to Cosmos DB and PostgreSQL.
If you are spreading your preparation evenly across all domains, you are not managing your time effectively. Instead, you should prioritize these two domains first.
Pay close attention to vector indexing policies (DiskANN vs HNSW), distance operators (<=> vs <->), consistency levels, and connection pooling with PgBouncer.
You can access Microsoft Learn during the exam, but do not depend on it
Yes, you are allowed to open Microsoft Learn documentation while taking the test.
It may seem like a helpful resource, but it can actually slow you down. Each time you look something up, you lose valuable minutes, and the documentation is quite lengthy.
My approach:
- If you know the answer, select it and move on.
- If you are unsure, mark the question and come back to it later with any remaining time to look it up.
Avoid spending too much time reading documentation on one question and then rushing through the remaining questions at the end.
Case studies are lengthy
The case studies are detailed and include a lot of information.
Read through the entire scenario before attempting any questions. Some questions that appear straightforward at first glance often depend on a single requirement that is hidden within the context. If you skim through it, you may end up selecting the incorrect option.
Commands are an area where I lost points
I often forgot the exact commands.
Under exam pressure, knowing the general purpose of a command is not enough. Keep cheat sheets handy while studying and practice them until they become second nature. This is an area where you can easily gain marks if you prepare adequately.
What I would advise you to do
- Focus your preparation on Domains 2 and 3, especially Cosmos DB and PostgreSQL.
- Practice with real exam-style questions rather than just reading documentation.
- Memorize important commands using cheat sheets.
- Practice reading long case studies and identifying key requirements.
- Use Microsoft Learn only as a backup during the exam.
Why I created ai200prep.com
I failed by 74 points.
I believe that if I had studied using the materials now available on this site, I would have passed comfortably. That is why I built ai200prep.com around what I wish I had access to:
- Questions organized by domain so you can focus on the areas the exam emphasizes
- Priority questions based on what I actually encountered
- Cheat sheets for the commands that are easy to forget
Start with the priority questions, then work through each domain. If you are preparing for AI-200, give this site a try and let me know how your exam goes.