If you have been told that AB-650 is just MS-102 with a new number, the AB-650 exam topics say otherwise. Microsoft has published the skills measured for Exam AB-650: Administering Microsoft 365 and AI Services, and the domain weightings show a genuinely different exam: classic tenant administration has been squeezed into a fifth of the paper, and a domain that did not exist on MS-102 now carries more weight than anything except security.
MS-102 retires on 30 November 2026 at 11:59pm Central Standard Time, per the retirement warning on its Microsoft Learn exam page. AB-650 is the exam that takes its place, and it is in beta now. Here is what is actually on it.
AB-650 Domain Weightings at a Glance
Microsoft lists three domains for AB-650, against four on MS-102. The weightings are the fastest way to see what changed.
| Exam | Domain | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| AB-650 | Configure and manage Microsoft 365 tenants and workloads | 20 to 25% |
| AB-650 | Govern and secure Microsoft 365 tenants and workloads | 40 to 45% |
| AB-650 | Manage and secure AI services in Microsoft 365 | 35 to 40% |
| MS-102 | Deploy and manage a Microsoft 365 tenant | 10 to 15% |
| MS-102 | Implement and manage Microsoft Entra identity and access | 25 to 30% |
| MS-102 | Manage security and threats by using Microsoft Defender XDR | 35 to 40% |
| MS-102 | Manage compliance by using Microsoft Purview | 15 to 20% |
Read the AB-650 column on its own and the shape of the exam is clear. Between them, governance and AI services account for 75 to 85 percent of the questions. Everything you might think of as traditional Microsoft 365 administration, the domains, the licences, the mailboxes and the SharePoint sites, sits inside a single 20 to 25 percent domain.
Exam Tip: A score of 700 or greater is required to pass AB-650, the same threshold Microsoft applies to MS-102 and its other role-based exams.
Domain 1: Configure and Manage Microsoft 365 Tenants and Workloads (20 to 25%)
This is the familiar material, compressed. Microsoft splits it into two skill areas.
Tenant configuration covers branding (logo, company URL, themes and backgrounds), domain management, organisational settings including security and privacy, and licence management including group-based licensing and pay-as-you-go. Two items here are new relative to MS-102: managing and monitoring licences for AI services (Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft Agent 365 and Microsoft Copilot Studio), and configuring Microsoft 365 Backup, including setup, restore and monitoring. You also need network connectivity insights and Service health monitoring with notification configuration.
Workload management covers mailboxes including shared mailboxes, Teams administration (channels, owners, members), Copilot settings for Teams meetings including transcription, and SharePoint site creation and permissions. The final bullet is the giveaway for where this exam is going: configuring SharePoint and OneDrive for Copilot, including SharePoint Advanced Management, Microsoft Search in SharePoint, and site exclusions.
If you have administered a tenant for a couple of years, this domain is revision. The two exceptions are Microsoft 365 Backup and the Copilot-facing SharePoint controls, which most administrators have never touched.
Domain 2: Govern and Secure Microsoft 365 Tenants and Workloads (40 to 45%)
The biggest domain, and the one that absorbed two separate MS-102 domains. Four skill areas sit inside it.
Identity in Microsoft Entra. Users, guest users and external access, groups including Microsoft 365 groups, roles including Privileged Identity Management, administrative units, contacts, and bulk management using Microsoft Graph PowerShell.
Authentication and access. Authentication methods, Microsoft Entra Password Protection, self-service password reset, investigating authentication failures, and Conditional Access policies including Microsoft Entra ID Protection and multifactor authentication.
Securing workloads. Defender for Office 365 alerts, threat policies and rules, investigating and responding to email and collaboration threats, and attack simulation training campaigns.
Data protection with Microsoft Purview. Identifying requirements for DLP policies across Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, endpoints and Copilot; information protection requirements including sensitive information types and sensitivity labels; data lifecycle management including retention labels and policies; responding to DLP alerts for Microsoft 365 and AI services; and monitoring AI activity using Purview Data Security Posture Management.
Notice the verb in the Purview bullets. Three of the five say identify requirements for, not configure. That phrasing usually signals scenario questions asking which control fits a stated business requirement rather than click-path questions about where the setting lives. Study the decision logic, not just the admin centre.
Domain 3: Manage and Secure AI Services in Microsoft 365 (35 to 40%)
This domain has no equivalent on MS-102, and it is more than a third of the exam. It breaks into four skill areas.
Enable and Manage Microsoft 365 Copilot
Tenant readiness assessment including in-app experiences, and resolving data readiness issues covering data leaks, oversharing and compliance. Then web search for Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, Microsoft 365 Copilot Search, and tenant-level Copilot settings: self-service purchases, Copilot in admin centres, release preferences, the AI disclaimer, and video and image generation. Also user experience management, Microsoft 365 Copilot Cowork, third-party AI providers, and Copilot connectors.
Implement and Manage Agents in Microsoft 365 and Agent 365
Agent identity lifecycle workflows using Microsoft Entra Agent ID, securing agent access with access packages and Conditional Access, agent owners, and agent settings covering allowed agent types, sharing, templates and user access. The agent registry gets four bullets of its own: discovering Microsoft and third-party agents, reviewing requests and publishing or rejecting agents, installing or blocking agents including custom uploads, and managing tools in Agent 365.
Secure and Govern Agents Using Agent 365
Monitoring agent activity, protecting sensitive data, and evaluating compliance gaps.
Monitor AI Services
Cost management for AI services, Copilot usage reports in the Microsoft 365 admin centre including workload-level adoption, and usage, adoption and service health through the Copilot Control System.
Exam Tip: Microsoft's study guide notes that most questions cover features at general availability, but preview features may appear if they are commonly used. In a domain built on Copilot and Agent 365, that caveat matters more than it usually does.
What This Means for Your Study Plan
The practical consequence of the weightings is that MS-102 study material covers, at best, the first two AB-650 domains. Nothing you used for MS-102 prepares you for Agent 365, the agent registry, Copilot Control System or Purview DSPM for AI.
Three things worth knowing before you book:
- Prerequisite knowledge is stated plainly. Microsoft expects experience with Microsoft 365 workloads and Microsoft Entra ID, an understanding of Defender XDR capabilities, and familiarity with Microsoft Graph PowerShell. Graph PowerShell appears explicitly in the bulk management objective, so it is examinable, not just assumed.
- The exam is English only during beta. The exam details page lists English as the sole language, where MS-102 shipped in seven.
- There is no practice assessment yet. Microsoft's exam page states the practice assessment is not currently available, and that these usually appear within eight weeks of an exam leaving beta.
Sitting AB-650 While It Is Still in Beta
Beta exams work differently, and the rules are worth understanding before you book a seat.
- Passing counts. Microsoft's beta exam policy states that passing a beta exam in the certification path counts toward your certification, and you do not need to retake the final version.
- Your score is delayed. You get no score at the test centre. Results arrive roughly 10 days after the exam goes live worldwide, which is approximately 10 to 12 weeks after the beta period begins. Depending on when you sit it, that can mean waiting up to 14 weeks.
- Failing means waiting. If you do not pass the beta, you cannot retake it until the exam goes live.
- Discounted seats are limited. Microsoft offers a limited number of 80 percent discount seats during a three to four week window, announced on the Microsoft Learn blog, on a first come first served basis. You can sit it at full price without a code.
- Some regions are excluded. Candidates located in China, India, Pakistan or Türkiye are not eligible to participate in beta exams.
The delay is the real trade-off. If you need a credential on your CV by a fixed date, the beta is the wrong route. If you administer Copilot and agents today and want to be certified in it before most of the market has heard of the exam code, the delay costs you nothing you were using anyway.
Should You Sit MS-102 Before 30 November Instead?
That decision turns on what you need the certification for rather than on exam difficulty, and we covered it in full in MS-102 Is Retiring: What AB-650 Means for Your M365 Path. The short version: MS-102 still earns Microsoft 365 Certified: Administrator Expert if you pass it before the retirement deadline, and a certification you already hold does not evaporate when its exam retires. AB-650 is the one that reflects what the job now involves.
If you are coming at Microsoft 365 from the fundamentals end instead, AB-900 Copilot and Agent Administration Fundamentals is the lighter starting point.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is AB-650 replacing MS-102?
Yes. MS-102 carries a retirement warning on Microsoft Learn with a deadline of 30 November 2026 at 11:59pm Central Standard Time, and AB-650 is the exam that takes over tenant administration. AB-650 sits under a new certification, Microsoft 365 Certified: Microsoft 365 and AI Services Administrator Associate, rather than the Administrator Expert path MS-102 fed.
What is the AB-650 pass mark?
700 out of 1000, per Microsoft's exam scoring documentation linked from the AB-650 study guide. That is the same pass mark as MS-102 and the rest of Microsoft's role-based exams.
How many domains does AB-650 have?
Three: tenant and workload configuration at 20 to 25 percent, governance and security at 40 to 45 percent, and AI services at 35 to 40 percent. MS-102 had four.
Are there AB-650 practice tests?
Microsoft's own practice assessment is not available yet, and the exam page says these usually arrive within eight weeks of an exam leaving beta. Third-party question banks built on the published objectives are the realistic option until then, which is what the CertCrush AB-650 course is mapped to.
Do I get my AB-650 score straight away?
No. Beta exams are scored after the beta period closes, so you receive your result about 10 days after the exam goes live worldwide, roughly 10 to 12 weeks after the beta period began.
Ready to Start Practising?
The AB-650 objectives are published, which means you can study them properly even while the exam is in beta and no official practice assessment exists. The gap between "I have read the skills measured list" and "I can answer a scenario question about agent registry approvals under pressure" is the part that decides whether you pass.
CertCrush practice questions for AB-650 are mapped to the three published domains and weighted the way Microsoft weights them, so your revision time lands where the marks are. Create a free account and start with the AI services domain. It is the one nothing you have studied before covers.