The short version
Take Agentforce Specialist if your work lives on Salesforce and you configure agents there. Take AB-620 if you build agents in Microsoft Copilot Studio and connect them to other systems. They test different platforms, so one does not substitute for the other. If your employer uses both, start with the platform you touch every day and add the second later.
The two exams in one table
| Agentforce Specialist | AB-620 | |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Salesforce | Microsoft |
| Credential | Salesforce Certified Agentforce Specialist | Microsoft Certified: AI Agent Builder Associate |
| Level | Not labeled by Salesforce | Intermediate (Microsoft) |
| Audience | Admins, developers, and consultants who configure agents, prompt templates, and data grounding | Professional developers and advanced builders of custom agents for enterprise solutions |
| Main platform | Agentforce on Salesforce | Microsoft Copilot Studio, with Power Platform and Azure |
| Questions | 60 scored multiple-choice, up to 5 unscored | Number not published |
| Time | 105 minutes | 120 minutes |
| Passing score | 72% | 700 on a scale of 1 to 1,000 |
| Delivery | Proctored, testing center or online | Proctored, scheduled through Pearson VUE; may include interactive components |
| Languages | English, French, Japanese | 13 languages |
| Prerequisite exam | None | None listed |
| Renewal | Trailhead maintenance module once a year | Free yearly renewal assessment |
The scoring scales differ. Salesforce gives a percentage of scored questions. Microsoft uses a scaled score where 700 passes, which is not the same as 70% correct. Do not compare the two numbers directly.
What each exam covers
Agentforce Specialist (aligned to Spring ’26)
- AI Agents, 35%
- Prompt Engineering, 20%
- Data 360 Fundamentals, 20%
- Testing, Deployment, and Maintenance, 10%
- Governance and Observability, 10%
- Multi-Agent Orchestration, 5%
AB-620
- Plan and configure agent solutions, 30-35%
- Integrate and extend agents in Copilot Studio, 40-45%
- Test and manage agents, 20-25%
What overlaps
Both exams are about the same life cycle: decide what an agent should do, give it knowledge and tools, test it, and keep it running. Both touch multi-agent designs and the open protocols MCP and A2A. Both ask about grounding an agent in company data, about testing with defined test sets, and about monitoring after launch. The ideas transfer: someone who understands why a deterministic step beats a prompt for an exact rule will see the same logic on either platform.
What differs
- Platform vocabulary. Salesforce talks about Employee and Service agents, Agent Script, Prompt Builder, the Agentforce Data Library, and Testing Center. Microsoft talks about topics, agent flows, connectors, child and connected agents, Application Insights, and solutions with Power Platform pipelines. Learning one list does not teach the other.
- Breadth of integration. AB-620 puts the most weight (40-45%) on integrating and extending agents with knowledge sources, tools, other agents, and Azure services. Agentforce Specialist puts the most weight (35%) on how agents work and are configured, with prompts and data grounding next.
- Expected background. Microsoft says candidates should know Power Fx, Dataverse, Power Platform environments, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft Foundry, and adaptive cards, plus REST APIs and generative AI concepts. Salesforce lists no prerequisites and suggests, but does not require, the Administrator and App Builder certifications.
- Retakes. Microsoft publishes a clear rule: a 24-hour wait after the first failure, 14 days between later attempts, and at most five attempts in 12 months. Salesforce lists a retake fee but no waiting period or attempt limit on the pages we checked.
- Upkeep. Salesforce asks for a yearly Trailhead maintenance module and expires the certification if you miss the date. Microsoft says associate certifications expire annually and renews them with a free, open-book, unproctored online assessment inside a six-month window.
How to choose
- Where do you work? The platform your employer or clients use usually decides.
- What do you build? If it is mostly configuration and prompts on a CRM, lean Salesforce. If it is connecting agents to APIs, flows, and other agents, lean Microsoft.
- What is your background? Admins from the CRM world find Agentforce Specialist a natural step. Power Platform developers find AB-620 closer.
- How much time do you have? Both need hands-on work. Plan study time from your own baseline, not from a table.
Taking both makes sense if you consult across platforms. If you cannot decide, pick the one where you can build something this week, because practice is what makes the scenario questions manageable.
Frequently asked questions
Is one harder than the other?
It depends on your background. Each is demanding if you have not built on that platform. See the difficulty pages of each exam for the specific traps.
Can I take AB-620 first and Agentforce Specialist later?
Yes. Neither lists the other as a prerequisite.
Do the study materials overlap?
Concepts such as grounding, testing, and multi-agent design overlap. The features, names, and settings do not.
More guides for AGENTFORCE-SPECIALIST
- Agentforce Specialist Study Plan
- Agentforce Specialist Domains Explained
- Agentforce Specialist Sample Questions
- Is the Agentforce Specialist Exam Hard?
- Agentforce Specialist Renewal and Retakes
- Is Agentforce Specialist Worth It?
- Agentforce Specialist Cheat Sheet
Next step
Read the overview pages for Agentforce Specialist and AB-620 and compare the domain lists with your own work. You can also look at the Agentforce Specialist exam format and prerequisites. When you have chosen, our Agentforce Specialist practice tests and AB-620 practice tests let you measure where you stand. For the vendors’ own details, see the Salesforce exam guide and the Microsoft AB-620 study guide.