Administering Microsoft 365 is no longer just about creating accounts and mailboxes. With Microsoft 365 Copilot and agents, every overshared file can surface in an answer, and every agent becomes an identity to govern. The AB-650 training, successor to MS-102, prepares Microsoft 365 administrators for this new scope: a well-run tenant, protected data and AI services under control.
The official Microsoft curriculum has 17 modules. You provision the tenant, manage licensing and billing for AI services, configure Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive, then secure identities with Microsoft Entra, email with Defender for Office 365 and data with Microsoft Purview. The final part is about AI: Microsoft Copilot readiness and rollout, agent identities with Microsoft Entra Agent ID, agent governance with Agent 365 and cost monitoring. You leave prepared for the AB-650 exam.
Module 1: Provision and brand a Microsoft 365 tenant
Module 2: License Microsoft 365 and AI services at scale
Module 3: Keep a Microsoft 365 tenant resilient and healthy
Module 4: Configure Exchange Online and Microsoft Teams workloads
Module 5: Govern SharePoint and OneDrive for Microsoft Copilot
Module 6: Provision and govern identities in Microsoft Entra
Module 7: Implement authentication and access in Microsoft Entra
Module 8: Secure email and collaboration with Microsoft Defender for Office 365
Module 9: Protect information with Microsoft Purview information protection
Module 10: Prevent data loss and govern the data lifecycle with Microsoft Purview
Module 11: Assess readiness and roll out Microsoft Copilot
Module 12: Configure Microsoft Copilot settings and extensibility
Module 13: Establish agent identities and secure access with Microsoft Entra Agent ID
Module 14: Curate and control agents with the Agent Registry and Agent 365 tools
Module 15: Monitor and manage agents with Microsoft Agent 365
Module 16: Govern agents using Agent 365
Module 17: Monitor and optimize Microsoft 365 AI services
Microsoft retires the MS-102 Microsoft 365 Administrator course on November 30, 2026. Its successor, AB-650, does more than refresh the curriculum. It redefines the role: the Microsoft 365 administrator now runs a tenant where users, Microsoft 365 Copilot and agents work together.
The format changes too. MS-102 lasted five days, AB-650 lasts three. The foundations remain: tenant, domains, licensing, Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint, Microsoft Entra, Defender and Purview. They are covered more tightly and always from the same angle: what they change for a tenant where AI reads the company’s data.
Microsoft Copilot answers from whatever the user is allowed to see. A SharePoint site opened to the whole organization for convenience becomes a source of answers for everyone. The course spends a full module on this: finding overshared sites, limiting discovery with Restricted Content Discovery without cutting access, or restricting access itself with Restricted Access Control.
Microsoft Purview completes the picture. Sensitivity labels, data loss prevention for AI apps and agents, and Data Security Posture Management let you check that Copilot relies on properly classified data. For Swiss organizations subject to the revised FADP or sector requirements, this is often the condition for opening Copilot beyond a pilot group.
This is the newest part of the curriculum. An agent acts on behalf of the organization: it needs an identity, an owner and access rules. With Microsoft Entra Agent ID, you assign a sponsor and an owner to each agent, automate their transfer when someone leaves and apply Conditional Access to agent identities.
The Agent Registry and Microsoft Agent 365 then give you the full picture: which agents exist, who published them, on which channels, with which tools and MCP servers. You learn to approve or block those tools, monitor agent activity and review audit logs.
AI services add a budget dimension administrators can no longer ignore. The course covers assigning Microsoft 365 Copilot and Agent 365 licenses to the right populations, pay-as-you-go billing and reconciling Copilot and agent costs. The final module teaches you to read usage reports to answer management’s questions: who uses Copilot, with what effect and at what cost.
The AB-650 exam (Administering Microsoft 365 and AI Services) leads to the Microsoft 365 Certified: Microsoft 365 and AI Services Administrator Associate certification, offered in beta at launch. It assesses three areas: configuring and managing Microsoft 365 tenants and workloads (20 to 25%), governing and securing them (40 to 45%), and managing and securing Microsoft 365 AI services (35 to 40%). The exam is booked with Microsoft and remains optional.
ITTA, a Microsoft Learning Partner, delivers AB-650 with MCT-certified trainers, in person in Geneva and Lausanne or in a virtual classroom, using official Microsoft courseware and 180 days of access to the official labs.
I am MS-102 certified: what happens to my certification?
Your Microsoft 365 Administrator certification stays valid until it expires. AB-650 becomes the reference path for Microsoft 365 administrators: the training brings you up to date on Copilot, agents and Agent 365, which MS-102 did not cover.
Why three days instead of five for MS-102?
Microsoft tightened the course around the skills assessed by the AB-650 exam. Prior experience administering Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Entra ID is therefore expected: the course does not go back over the basics of the service.
Who is the AB-650 training for?
Current Microsoft 365 administrators, Exchange, Teams or SharePoint administrators broadening their scope, and teams preparing a Microsoft 365 Copilot rollout or the arrival of agents in the organization.
Do I need to know PowerShell?
Some familiarity with Microsoft Graph PowerShell is recommended, notably for bulk identity management. You do not need to write complex scripts.
Does the course cover device management with Intune?
The course places the endpoint management ecosystem in context but does not cover it in detail. To manage and secure devices with Intune, the MD-102 training is the right complement.
Which roles value this certification in Switzerland?
Microsoft 365 administrators, collaboration platform owners, systems engineers and Microsoft 365 consultants. In French-speaking Switzerland, many organizations are rolling out Copilot and look for people who can do it while keeping control of their data.
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