How the exam works
Your ability.
Assessed through work.
Show how you use AI to complete a practical task: give it direction, check its answers, and decide what is ready to use.
20 minutes · No card · No account to start
01 / The task
The task is practical.
The judgement is yours.
Use the assistant to help with your task. Check what it produces against the source, make changes, and submit work you can stand behind.
- 01Read the brief
- 02Work with AI
- 03Hand in your work
This illustrative example shows the kind of decision an exam can explore. Your exam has its own task and questions. Paid exams also ask you to explain decisions about your work.
AI examiners mark every exam, and while the Examination Board has not approved automatic release, a person reviews each result before you see it. People decide every appeal. Read the technical manual
The brief
Keep your team informed.
Write a two-sentence update about a delayed delivery. The confirmed delivery date is Thursday 18 June.
An AI draft
“The delivery has been delayed. It will arrive early next week.”
Your decision
Check the date against the source. Replace the unsupported estimate with “Thursday 18 June.”
The skill you demonstrate: checking an AI answer before you use it.
02 / Your result
Leave with a clearer
view of your skills.
See which decisions helped your work and what to change next time, whether you pass or need another attempt.
A badge when you pass
Pass the free introductory exam to earn a verifiable Foundations badge. Paid exams award examination credentials for a specific skill or broader capability.
How to read your ratings
The ratings are Emerging, Developing, Proficient, Accomplished. To pass, you need Proficient overall, in Value and in Control, and at least 50 out of 100 in Reaching further.
Your feedback explains these ratings with examples from your work.
Understand the decisions
behind your result.
What you did well
You checked the delivery date against the source and corrected the draft before sharing it.
What to develop
Give the assistant the confirmed facts in your first request. It helps you avoid corrections later.
Your next practice step
Write a brief that names the audience, includes the facts, and sets the length.
03 / Before you start
A clear idea of
what to expect.
Check the exam rules, how results work, and what happens if you need another attempt.
The Academic Board of the Straits Institute for Applied AI reviews the SIAA Standard. Meet the Academic Board
Is there a camera? What do you record?
No camera. We keep your conversation with the assistant, your answers, and when you leave the page or paste. A person, never a machine, decides whether anything in that record is a problem.
Can I use ChatGPT or another assistant?
No. The assistant on the page is the one tool allowed. Use it to help with your task, then check its output before you submit. We assess how you use AI, including the decisions you make.
Who marks my exam?
AI examiners mark your work against a marking guide and quote your own words as evidence. At Applied AI Specialist and above, three AI examiners mark your work independently, a majority sets each score, and a named person signs the result. The assistant you use does not mark you or hold an answer key. On credential exams, safety events, integrity flags, and borderline results go to a person before release. You can always request a human review.
How long until I get my result?
We email you when your result is ready. Applied AI Specialist and Applied AI Strategist require a human countersignature. Any result held for review also waits for that decision. Your finish screen explains what happens next.
What happens if I do not pass?
You still receive ratings and feedback. You can retake Applied AI Foundations without a wait. A paid retake is a separate purchase after 7 to 60 days, depending on the exam. Your result shows when you can try again.
What is the pass mark?
The Examination Board sets a deliberately conservative first line before anyone takes the exam. A panel of subject experts replaces it once enough people have sat the exam to judge it, and reviews it at least every two years. We do not publish the pass mark or the marking guide, so nobody can work backwards to the answers.
How long is a credential valid?
Applied AI Foundations gives a practice badge that does not expire. The Applied AI Badge and Applied AI Certified are valid for 24 months. Applied AI Specialist and Applied AI Strategist are held for life and renewed every 24 months. Renewal is a new exam linked to your old serial.
How do I prepare?
Practice is free, up to 50 sessions a day, and a coach tells you what to change after every exercise. Nothing you do there counts towards a credential. See how practice works. If you want to learn a skill first, the Institute publishes the AI+ Library and teaches through AI+ Pro. Neither is required.
What if I disagree with my result?
Ask for a review within 14 days of your result. A named person who did not mark your exam reads your work again. A formal appeal follows within 21 days of that decision. Asking never counts against you. Every deadline, before you take an exam.
Who sees my result if my employer or school entered me?
Only what you agreed to before you started: pass or not yet, and your rating in each area only if you also chose to share it. Never your messages or answers. An employer that invited you to its own exam gets that report, as the invitation says.
Compare the exams
- Applied AI Foundations
20 minutes · Available
- Applied AI Badge
15 minutes · This exam is not open yet. Write to registrar@straitsai.institute and we will tell you when it opens.
- Applied AI Certified
32 minutes · Available
- Applied AI Specialist
45 minutes · This exam is not open yet. Write to registrar@straitsai.institute and we will tell you when it opens.
- Applied AI Strategist
60 minutes · This exam is not open yet. Write to registrar@straitsai.institute and we will tell you when it opens.
- Applied AI Engineer
90 minutes · This exam is not open yet. Write to registrar@straitsai.institute and we will tell you when it opens.
Your next step
Know where you stand.
Decide what comes next.
Get feedback on your work and earn your Foundations badge when you pass.
20 minutes · No card · No account to start