AWS Certified AI Business Strategist: Who It’s For and How to Prepare
AWS has introduced AWS Certified AI Business Strategist (AIB-C01), a new Business-category certification focused on AI strategy, business value, governance, and organizational transformation. Here’s who it’s designed for and what AWS Skill Builder offers to help you prepare.
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AWS Certified AI Business Strategist: Who It’s For and How to Prepare
On September 1, 2026, AWS announced a new certification: AWS Certified AI Business Strategist (AIB-C01).
Unlike certifications focused on building or implementing technical solutions, AI Business Strategist focuses on the decisions surrounding AI adoption: identifying opportunities, evaluating investments, measuring business value, establishing governance, and scaling successful AI initiatives across an organization.
AWS has also released a dedicated learning plan and exam preparation resources on AWS Skill Builder.
What is AWS Certified AI Business Strategist?
AWS Certified AI Business Strategist is a Business-category AWS Certification designed to validate strategic decision-making around AI.
The certification focuses on the ability to:
- Evaluate AI opportunities and investments
- Build and assess AI business cases
- Connect AI initiatives to measurable business outcomes
- Establish governance and responsible AI practices
- Evaluate organizational readiness
- Move AI initiatives from pilots to broader adoption
One of the most interesting aspects of this certification is that AWS service knowledge is not the primary subject being tested.
AWS services can appear as context, but the certification is focused on business judgment and strategic decision-making rather than technical implementation.
Who is it for?
AWS designed the certification for professionals who drive or aspire to drive AI outcomes within an organization.
AWS lists roles such as:
- Product managers
- Program managers
- Sales professionals
- Business development professionals
- Line-of-business leaders
- Consultants
- Business analysts
- Marketing professionals
The target candidate works alongside technical teams but does not necessarily build AI solutions.
AWS recommends approximately six months of experience working with or alongside AI initiatives, as well as basic familiarity with AI concepts.
However, there are no requirements for:
- Coding experience
- Hands-on AWS implementation experience
- Previous AWS Certifications
What does the exam cover?
The AIB-C01 exam is organized into four domains.
Domain 1 — AI Fundamentals and Literacy — 24%
This domain covers foundational AI knowledge in a business context.
Topics include AI, machine learning and generative AI concepts, data quality, AI solution types, AI agents, prompt engineering, context windows, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and fine-tuning.
Domain 2 — AI Strategy and Business Value Creation — 28%
This is the largest domain of the exam.
It focuses on identifying valuable AI use cases, aligning AI initiatives with business objectives, evaluating build-versus-buy-versus-partner decisions, defining KPIs, measuring ROI, prioritizing investments, and recognizing situations where AI may not be the appropriate solution.
Domain 3 — AI Governance and Responsible AI Leadership — 24%
This domain focuses on responsible AI and enterprise governance.
Candidates are expected to understand how organizations can manage AI risks, establish governance structures, address regulatory requirements, and make responsible decisions when deploying AI.
Domain 4 — Business Readiness, Leadership, and AI Transformation — 24%
The final domain focuses on organizational transformation.
It covers AI readiness, change management, workforce capabilities, data and infrastructure foundations, and the process of scaling AI initiatives from pilots to enterprise-wide adoption.
What is available on AWS Skill Builder?
AWS has already published dedicated training for the AI Business Strategist role in AWS Skill Builder.
For learners who are new to the material, AWS recommends starting with the AWS AI Business Strategist Learning Plan.
The learning plan maps directly to the four exam domains and contains 13 modules covering the knowledge required for the certification.
AWS has also published a dedicated certification preparation path:
The preparation resources currently include:
- The official exam guide
- Digital training aligned with the exam domains
- AWS Certification Official Practice Question Set
- Walk-through Questions
- Meeting Simulator
- Exam preparation resources for identifying knowledge gaps
The Official Practice Question Set currently contains 20 AWS-authored questions designed to demonstrate the style of questions used in the certification exam.
AWS also plans an Official Practice Exam, although it is not available during the beta period.
Beta exam details
The certification is currently launching through a beta exam.
Exam code: AIB-C01
Category: Business
Beta exam duration: 170 minutes
Questions: 85
Format: Multiple choice and multiple response
Beta price: USD 50
Standard price: USD 100
Beta languages: English and Japanese
Testing: Pearson VUE testing center or online proctored exam
Registration opened on September 1, 2026, and beta exam delivery begins on September 29, 2026.
Early Adopter badge
AWS is also offering an additional badge for early candidates.
Anyone who earns AWS Certified AI Business Strategist by February 15, 2027 will receive an Early Adopter digital badge in addition to the regular AWS Certification credential.
This gives candidates participating in the initial launch an opportunity to demonstrate that they were among the first professionals to earn the new certification.
AI Business Strategist vs. AI Practitioner
Although both certifications involve AI, AWS designed them to validate different skills.
AWS Certified AI Practitioner focuses on foundational understanding of AI, machine learning, generative AI, and AWS AI services.
AWS Certified AI Business Strategist focuses on the business decisions surrounding AI: determining which investments make sense, building business cases, managing risk and governance, and scaling successful initiatives.
AWS positions the two credentials as complementary rather than replacements for each other.
Getting started
If you are interested in the new certification, AWS recommends starting with the dedicated AI Business Strategist training available on AWS Skill Builder.
For the latest requirements, exam information, and updates during the beta period, always refer to the official AWS Certification page and exam guide.
Official resources
- AWS Certified AI Business Strategist
- AWS AI Business Strategist Learning Plan
- Exam Prep Plan: AWS Certified AI Business Strategist (AIB-C01)
- AWS Certified AI Business Strategist Exam
- AWS Training and Certification announcement
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