Build skills that matter—faster—with AI-assisted learning and Applied Skills

Jeana Jorgensen: Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Learning

Curtis Lee: Vice President, Azure Experiences & Ecosystems

Microsoft Learn is committed to empowering individuals and organizations with the skills needed to innovate, adapt, and thrive in the AI economy.

We’re excited to share how we’re evolving the way you learn using AI to enable faster skill acquisition personalized to your needs. We’re also announcing the availability of new Microsoft Applied Skills that range from beginner scenarios to equip aspiring professionals with practical tools to kickstart their careers, to new AI-focused scenarios that help you accelerate app development with GitHub Copilot. And, we’re sharing how you can enter to win a free certification exam as part of the AI Skills Fest Challenge!     

Grow your skills faster with AI-assisted learning

Microsoft Learn uses AI to help you build your skills with features that adapt to your learning needs and preferences. At this year’s Microsoft Build, May 19–22, 2025, we’re sharing four more ways that you can benefit from the power of AI on Microsoft Learn. Here’s an introduction to these features.

1. Get personalized assistance with Ask Learn, now expanding across Microsoft Learn

Last November at Ignite, we announced Ask Learn, our AI assistant. Initially available to support your training on Microsoft Learn, Ask Learn is now expanding to all documentation to help you find answers and troubleshoot faster. Available in Microsoft Azure documentation now, and expanding further in the coming weeks, Ask Learn will also factor in your interactions as you move through the site to refine your experience. So whether you are looking to understand the potential use cases for Agentic AI, which model to use in Azure AI Foundry for your latest project, or the steps to follow to complete tasks with Microsoft products, Ask Learn provides personalized assistance.

To get real-time advice and support while you learn—right from within any training topic and in Azure documentation—just click the “Ask Learn” button and write your prompt. Try it now on the Azure App Service documentation page or explore your favorite training topic on Microsoft Learn. 

Click the Ask Learn button to get advice as you learn from our AI assistant in training and documentation.

2. Learn where you code—with Ask Learn in Visual Studio Code (coming soon!)

Ask Learn is also coming to Visual Studio Code as an extension and you can request early access. Whether you’re new to development or an experienced developer, you’ll soon be able to seamlessly transition from learning about topics on Microsoft Learn to putting them to work. Within Visual Studio Code, Ask Learn will provide:

• Coaching on concepts. Want to learn when you should apply one development technique vs another? Get digestible, bite-sized guidance to help you make better decisions and improve the quality of your code.
• Step-by-step instruction. Trying to accomplish a specific task and want help? Ask Learn connects you to the right information right when and where you need it.
• A dynamic development experience. Have a question while you’re building your next feature? Dynamically switch between coding in Visual Studio Code and learning with Ask Learn, whenever you need to.

To request early access, you can submit your information at aka.ms/AskLearnInVSCode

Use Ask Learn in Visual Studio Code for step-by-step guidance within your development environment.

3. Quickly create learning plans tailored to your specific needs

At Microsoft Ignite, we announced AI-generated plans to quickly curate the best training tailored for your individual needs.  Over the coming days and weeks, we’ll be rolling out improvements to enhance the experience further, allowing you to:

• Prepare for specific credentials. Customize your plan with credential study guide content aligned to Certifications and Applied Skills to help you achieve your aspirations.
• Improve fine-tuning. You’ll be able to generate plans that mix and match modules across learning paths based on your exact scenario, along with enhancements to how you edit, save and share plans.
• Create group plans. Whether you’re looking to help a team or group keep pace with technology, get project-ready, or develop their professional skills, you’ll be able to generate a plan to meet your team’s needs.

You can get started generating plans today, and these additional enhancements will be rolling out over the next few weeks.  At aka.ms/LearnAtBuild you can also access pre-made plans on key topics from Microsoft Build with guided learning from Microsoft and GitHub.

Choose a goal to start creating an AI-generated learning plan.

4. Improve your focus with AI-powered assessments

Microsoft Learn now offers an improved experience to help you gain real-time insights into your competencies as you complete modules. You can test your knowledge more thoroughly with an increased number of questions generated dynamically with AI. As you pass each one of these module assessments, it helps build a more complete picture of your progress through a given topic, which can be seen on a learner transcript you can share with your employer for credit. This feature is rolling out now and will expand to all modules on Microsoft Learn over the next several weeks. Test your knowledge with Microsoft Learn module assessments.

Test your knowledge at the end of training modules to gain real-time insights.

Introducing new Microsoft Applied Skills—now featuring beginner level, GitHub Copilot, and AI scenarios

As you build skills on Microsoft Learn, consider demonstrating your expertise with Microsoft Applied Skills. These credentials validate your knowledge of Microsoft products and services through practical application to real-world scenarios, enabling you to succeed in your job or advance your career with confidence.

According to IDC¹, scenario- and project-based skills are increasingly used to hire and promote employees, with more than 60% of organizations highlighting that micro-credentials like Applied Skills allow them to test and validate specific technical skills. We have two significant updates to help learners at all stages prove their skills and advance their careers.

1. New beginner-level Applied Skills

If you’re a student, just starting out, or changing career, check out our new beginner-level Applied Skills that help you apply and validate foundational skills in cloud and emerging technologies. Gain practical experience to establish a strong foundation for your career.

The new beginner-level Applied Skills scenarios include, with more coming soon:

• Get started with classes, properties, and methods in C#
• Get started with identities and access using Microsoft Entra

2. Expanded Applied Skills for AI scenarios, including GitHub Copilot  

GitHub Copilot has been paving the way for worldwide adoption of generative AI, and we are excited to offer a new credential designed to accelerate app development with GitHub Copilot. In addition, there are now more credentials on Copilot to help you demonstrate your ability to build, extend, and automate with AI—skills that are increasingly in demand across industries.

The new intermediate-level Applied Skills scenarios include:

• Accelerate app development by using GitHub Copilot
• Create agents in Microsoft Copilot Studio
• Extend Microsoft 365 Copilot with declarative agents by using Visual Studio Code*

*Coming soon

Explore all Applied Skills on Microsoft Learn.

New Applied Skills for beginners, GitHub Copilot and AI scenarios.

Join the Microsoft AI Skills Fest Challenge for the chance to win a free Microsoft Certification exam

As you deepen your AI skills, be sure to participate in the Microsoft AI Skills Fest Challenge through May 28, 2025. It’s your chance to gain in-demand skills in agent creation, AI Security, Azure AI Foundry, GitHub Copilot, Fabric, and more, and you can enter the Challenge Sweepstakes for a chance to win a free Certification exam. Don’t miss out!

Unlock your potential

AI has the power to unlock your potential, and we can’t think of anything more rewarding than helping you build and prove your abilities—one skill at a time. We’re glad to share the ongoing updates to the Microsoft Learn portfolio of offerings and experiences, and we’re with you all along the way.

¹IDC InfoBrief, Sponsored by Microsoft, Skilling Up! Leveraging Full and Micro-Credentials for Optimal Skilling Solutions, Doc. #US52019124, June, 2024.