If you were part way through the PL-200 study path, that route closed on 31 August 2026. Exam AB-410: Building Intelligent Applications is the replacement, and it leads to the Microsoft Certified: Intelligent Applications Builder Associate certification. The exam went live on 30 July 2026 after a beta window that opened in April.
The short version: AB-410 keeps most of what PL-200 tested, then adds a layer of AI work on top. You still need Dataverse modelling, canvas apps, model-driven apps and cloud flows. On top of that you now need prompts and AI models in AI Hub, Copilot features inside apps, and agents built from Copilot Studio.
This post covers the official skills measured with their published weightings, what the exam costs, what Microsoft has and has not disclosed about the format, and where the genuinely new material sits.
What AB-410 Replaces, and What Happens to Your PL-200
PL-200 and the Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate certification retired on 31 August 2026. AB-410 is the named successor. We covered the decision on whether to sit PL-200 before that deadline while the window was still open.
Two points that matter and get confused constantly:
- Retirement does not revoke anything. If you already hold the Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate certification, it stays valid until its expiry date. What retirement stops is new candidates earning it and existing holders renewing it.
- There is no migration path. Microsoft is not converting PL-200 holders into Intelligent Applications Builder Associates. If you want the new badge, you sit AB-410 and pass it like anyone else.
The role framing has shifted too. PL-200 described a functional consultant configuring low-code solutions. AB-410 describes someone building AI-powered solutions with Copilot, natural language prompts and low-code tools, connecting apps and flows to agents, AI models and prompts.
Exam Tip: Microsoft's own audience profile for AB-410 lists Power Pages sites as expected experience. PL-200 candidates who skipped Power Pages entirely will find that gap shows up in the design and integration questions.
AB-410 Exam Topics: The Official Domains and Weightings
Microsoft publishes three skill areas for AB-410. These are the figures from the official study guide, not estimates.
| Domain | Weighting |
|---|---|
| Create a foundation for intelligent applications | 25 to 30% |
| Create intelligent applications | 25 to 30% |
| Build business application logic and automation | 40 to 45% |
That third domain is the one to plan around. At 40 to 45% it is close to half the exam on its own, and it is where the AI Hub material lives.
Domain 1: Create a Foundation for Intelligent Applications (25 to 30%)
Two halves. The first is solution design using AI-enabled tools: analysing requirements to identify components and implementation options, evaluating which built-in agents belong in a solution, recommending extensibility options and environment types, and applying a Power Platform solution and ALM strategy.
The second half is data modelling in Dataverse, and it is more detailed than the PL-200 equivalent:
- Creating and editing tables in the data workspace
- Creating and modifying standard tables, and configuring table properties
- Creating and modifying columns, and configuring table relationships
- Configuring prompt columns and row summaries
- Configuring public views, main forms and security
Prompt columns and row summaries are the new entries. Both are AI features sitting inside Dataverse itself, and neither existed as a PL-200 objective.
Domain 2: Create Intelligent Applications (25 to 30%)
Split across model-driven apps and canvas apps.
For model-driven apps: forms and views, composing the app, configuring access to forms, views and the app itself, and building charts and dashboards. The addition here is creating generative pages by using natural language.
For canvas apps, the list runs deeper than most candidates expect:
- Creating a canvas app from data
- Designing for accessibility, performance, responsiveness and usability
- Automating business processes from canvas apps
- Creating reusable components, including named formulas, user-defined functions and component libraries
- Managing variables and collections
- Implementing error handling
- Testing canvas apps, including using Monitor
- Creating a Copilot Studio agent from a canvas app
Named formulas and user-defined functions are Power Fx features. If your Power Fx stops at basic formula writing, that bullet is worth real study time.
Domain 3: Build Business Application Logic and Automation (40 to 45%)
The heaviest domain, in three parts.
Cloud flows. Recommending triggers, evaluating and recommending connectors, managing approvals, configuring actions, implementing flow control with conditions and loops, and testing and troubleshooting.
Prompts and models in AI Hub. This is the block with no PL-200 equivalent at all:
- Building prompts from templates or from blank
- Consuming a prompt in apps and in cloud flows
- Adding knowledge to a prompt
- Customising prompt settings, including which model is used
- Adding inputs to a prompt
- Consuming an AI model in apps and in cloud flows
Business and process logic. Business rules, business process flows, calculated, rollup and formula columns, and evaluating use cases for business logic. This part is close to unchanged from PL-200.
Exam Tip: Notice the repeated "in apps and in cloud flows" pattern in the AI Hub objectives. Microsoft is testing the same prompt from two consumption points. Practise building one prompt and calling it from both a canvas app and a flow, because that is how the objective is written.
AB-410 Cost, Pass Mark and Exam Format
Pass mark: 700 out of 1000. This is confirmed on the Microsoft Learn study guide for AB-410. The 1000-point scale is not a percentage, so 700 does not mean 70% of questions correct.
Cost: 165 USD. AB-410 is an associate-level exam, and Microsoft prices associate, expert and specialty exams at 165 USD in the United States. The price on the exam page adjusts for your selected country or region, so check it before you book rather than budgeting from a US figure.
On format, be sceptical of what you read elsewhere. Microsoft does not publish a question count or a time limit for AB-410. Any page quoting an exact number of questions or minutes is inferring it. What is reasonable to expect, based on Microsoft's associate exams generally, is scenario-based question types including sets where several questions hang off one scenario.
One more practical detail from the official page: the Microsoft Practice Assessment for AB-410 is not currently available. Microsoft usually publishes those within eight weeks of an exam leaving beta and reaching general availability. AB-410 went generally available on 30 July 2026, so the free official practice assessment may still be pending when you book.
AB-410 vs PL-200: How the Difficulty Actually Compares
The honest answer is that AB-410 is not deeper than PL-200, it is wider.
| PL-200 | AB-410 | |
|---|---|---|
| Certification | Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate | Intelligent Applications Builder Associate |
| Status | Retired 31 August 2026 | Live since 30 July 2026 |
| Dataverse modelling | Yes | Yes, plus prompt columns and row summaries |
| Canvas and model-driven apps | Yes | Yes, plus generative pages via natural language |
| Cloud flows | Yes | Yes |
| AI Hub prompts and models | No | Yes, inside the 40 to 45% domain |
| Copilot Studio agents | No | Yes, including building one from a canvas app |
| Power Pages | Limited | Listed in the audience profile |
Everything PL-200 asked of you is still on the exam. The added surface is the AI layer: prompts, AI models, agents and the Copilot features that plug into apps and flows.
That has a specific consequence for study planning. A candidate coming from PL-200 revision is not starting over, but they are also not nearly finished. The realistic gap is the AI Hub block and the Copilot Studio integration points, which sit almost entirely inside the largest domain.
If you have never touched Power Platform at all, treat AB-410 as a full associate-level build rather than a top-up. Microsoft's stated prerequisites include familiarity with Copilot across Power Apps, Power Automate, Power Pages and Dataverse, awareness of agent creation in Copilot Studio, foundational knowledge of AI models and prompts in AI Hub, and comfort with Power Fx.
Is AB-410 Worth Sitting in 2026?
Take it if you work in Power Platform. The functional consultant credential you would otherwise be chasing no longer exists to earn, so AB-410 is the current certification for that role.
Take it early if you want the ranking and reputational benefit of being one of the first holders. The exam has been generally available since 30 July 2026, so the population of certified people is still small.
Be more cautious if you are new to Microsoft certification entirely. AB-410 is an intermediate-level exam with a broad prerequisite list. Starting at fundamentals level, then moving up, is the more reliable route.
AB-410 also sits inside a much larger Microsoft reshuffle. Eleven certifications, three applied skills and three exams were retired or replaced between April and September 2026, most of them with AI-focused successors. Our full list of Microsoft certifications retiring in 2026 tracks the rest, and the PL-500 and PL-600 retirement covers what happened to the other Power Platform exams.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is PL-200 being replaced with?
PL-200 is replaced by exam AB-410: Building Intelligent Applications, which leads to the Microsoft Certified: Intelligent Applications Builder Associate certification. AB-410 became generally available on 30 July 2026, a month before PL-200 retired.
Is PL-200 retired?
Yes. PL-200 and the Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate certification retired on 31 August 2026. If you already hold the certification it remains valid until it expires, but you can no longer earn it or renew it.
How hard is the AB-410 exam compared with PL-200?
AB-410 is broader rather than harder. It keeps the Dataverse, canvas app, model-driven app and cloud flow material from PL-200, then adds AI Hub prompts and models, Copilot Studio agents and generative pages. The pass mark is 700 out of 1000.
How much does the AB-410 exam cost?
AB-410 is an associate-level exam, priced at 165 USD in the United States. Microsoft adjusts the price by country and region, so confirm the figure on the exam page for your location before booking.
Does passing AB-410 renew my PL-200 certification?
No. The two are separate credentials with no migration path between them. Passing AB-410 earns you the Intelligent Applications Builder Associate certification, and it has no effect on an existing Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate credential, which cannot be renewed after retirement.
Ready to Start Practising?
The 40 to 45% domain is where AB-410 is won or lost, and the AI Hub objectives inside it are the part no PL-200 study material covers. Build one prompt, consume it from a canvas app, then consume the same prompt from a cloud flow. That single exercise maps directly onto how Microsoft has written the objectives.
CertCrush runs exam-style practice questions with full explanations across the Microsoft certification range, including the AB-series. If you are working through the new agentic Microsoft path, the Microsoft AB-650 course is the closest neighbour to AB-410, and you can see the full course catalogue for the rest.
Create a free CertCrush account and start practising properly.