Certified AI Foundations Associate (CAFA)

Who should get certified

CAFA is intended for candidates who want a recognized baseline AI literacy credential, including:

• University and college students, especially in non-technical disciplines (e.g., management, social sciences, humanities, law, business).
• Adult learners in lifelong learning programs.
• Early-career or mid-career professionals in any field who want to integrate AI into daily work.
• Office, administrative, and junior professional staff.
• Educators and trainers who want to validate foundational AI literacy.

CAFA is not aimed at machine learning engineers, data scientists, or people designing and training models from scratch.

What does the Certified AI Foundations Associate (CAFA) exam cover

Across these domains, the exam validates your ability to:

• Explain core AI concepts and terminology at a plain-language, conceptual level.
• Use generative AI tools in a structured, prompt-driven way to support real tasks.
• Apply AI tools for multimodal content (text, images, audio, video, presentations).
• Detect and manage hallucinations, bias, and misinformation, including deepfakes.
• Work safely with your own data using RAG-style tools and simple AI agents.
• Use AI in line with basic legal, ethical, and security expectations, including AI Act and GDPR principles.

Why get certified?

• Prove you can use modern AI tools safely, effectively, and responsibly in real study and work scenarios.
• Gain a vendor-neutral credential that signals practical AI literacy to employers and educational institutions.
• Build confidence working with generative AI, multimodal tools, and document-based AI systems (RAG-style tools and simple agents).
• Strengthen your ability to detect and manage hallucinations, bias, and misinformation (including deepfakes).
• Use CAFA as a stepping stone toward more advanced AI Professional Institute certifications.

Recommended knowledge and experience

There are no formal prerequisites for the CAFA exam. However, candidates are more likely to succeed if they have:

• 1–3 months of experimenting with or regularly using a conversational AI assistant (e.g., ChatGPT or similar).
• Experience with at least one generative media tool (images and/or video).
• Ideally, some experience with a document-based AI tool for summarizing or answering questions from uploaded files.
• General digital literacy: confident use of a computer, modern web browser, and typical productivity tools.
• English reading and writing at an intermediate level (approximately B1–B2).
• Basic critical thinking and willingness to verify information rather than trusting outputs blindly.

How to Get Certified?

1. Build your skills
   Complete the Foundations of Artificial Intelligence course aligned with CAFA (recommended) or prepare through self-study and hands-on practice with AI tools.
2. Register for the exam
   Book your online proctored exam via the AIPROI Exam Portal or an AIPROI Approved Exam Provider.
3. Pass the exam
   Achieve the passing score and meet all exam and identity verification requirements to earn your CAFA credential.

Preparation resources

• Read this exam blueprint and review the domains, weights, and objectives.
• Take the Foundations of Artificial Intelligence course (recommended) or follow a structured self-study plan.
• Practice with: (1) a conversational AI assistant, (2) an image or video tool, and (3) a document-based AI tool (RAG-style).
• Train on applied scenarios under time pressure (e.g., 60-minute practice sets) and review weak domains.
• Review exam-day rules and the most up-to-date AIPROI policies (Exam & Retake Policy, Candidate Agreement, Privacy & Data Protection Notice, Certification Code of Ethics & Exam Security Policy).

Exam details

Key facts

• Exam code: AIP-CAFA-100.
• Format: Multiple-choice (single answer) and multiple-response (select the required number of answers). Most items are short, scenario-based questions in realistic study/work contexts.
• Number of questions: 45 scored questions (all questions count toward your score).
• Duration: 60 minutes of standard testing time.
• Language: English (additional languages may be introduced in the future).
• Delivery method: Remote, online, proctored exam delivered via the official AIPROI exam platform or an AIPROI Approved Exam Provider using a secure exam client or browser.
• Passing score: 700 out of 1000 (scaled score range: 0–1000).
• Certification validity: 2 years from the date of certification issue.
• Retake policy (summary): Minimum 14-day waiting period between attempts; up to three attempts in any rolling 12-month period, according to the current AIPROI Exam & Retake Policy
• Accommodations: Additional 30 minutes of exam time and other accommodations may be available for eligible candidates, subject to approval and documented needs.

Scoring and reporting

CAFA uses scaled scoring (0–1000) with a fixed passing standard. Scaled scores help keep the passing bar consistent even if different exam forms vary slightly in difficulty.

Exam rules (high level)

• Identity verification and remote proctoring are required.
• External resources are not allowed during the exam (websites, notes, books, additional devices).
• Use of AI tools during the exam is strictly prohibited.

Exam availability

You can register and schedule CAFA through the AIPROI Exam Portal or through an AIPROI Approved Exam Provider listed on the official certification website. Available dates and time slots depend on provider availability.

After booking, you receive a confirmation email with your exam time, system requirements, and instructions for secure browser/client setup and check-in.

Maintaining your certification

CAFA is valid for 2 years. To keep your certification active, recertify before the expiry date by:

• Passing the current CAFA exam again, or
• Earning an approved higher-level AI Professional Institute certification (as defined by current program rules).