This course introduces fundamental concepts related to artificial intelligence (AI), and the services in Microsoft Azure that can be used to create AI solutions. It teaches a mix of AI concepts and technology skills that are considered foundational to a successful career implementing AI solutions on Microsoft Azure.

Audience Profile

This course is for aspiring technology professionals at the beginning of their career in AI solution development. Some knowledge of Python coding syntax and programming techniques is useful. Additionally, knowledge of core cloud concepts, including cloud storage, cloud compute, and cloud-based authentication and authorization is recommended.

Course Syllabus

AI concepts for developers and technology professionals

Introduction to AI concepts

Curious about artificial intelligence? Want to understand what the buzz is about? This module introduces you to the world of AI.

• Introduction to AI
• Generative AI and agents
• Text and natural language
• Speech
• Computer vision
• Information extraction
• Responsible AI
• Exercise - Explore a simple AI agent
• Module assessment
• Summary

Introduction to generative AI and agents

Generative AI powers applications that can create content, answer questions, and assist with tasks. In this module, you'll explore the fundamentals of generative AI, including large language models (LLMs), prompts, and AI agents.

• Introduction
• Large language models (LLMs)
• Prompts
• AI agents
• Exercise - Explore generative AI
• Module assessment
• Summary

Introduction to natural language processing concepts

Natural language processing (NLP) supports applications that can analyze text to infer semantic meaning.

• Introduction
• Tokenization
• Statistical text analysis.
• Semantic language models
• Exercise - Explore text analytics
• Module assessment
• Summary

Introduction to AI speech concepts

Imagine AI apps and agents that you can talk to. Explore the concepts behind AI speech, including speech recognition and synthesis.

• Introduction
• Speech-enabled solutions
• Speech recognition
• Speech synthesis
• Exercise - Explore AI speech
• Module assessment
• Summary

Introduction to computer vision concepts

Introduction to computer vision concepts

• Introduction
• Computer vision tasks and techniques
• Images and image processing
• Convolutional neural networks
• Vision transformers and multimodal models
• Image generation
• Exercise - Explore computer vision
• Module assessment
• Summary

Introduction to AI-powered information extraction concepts

AI information extraction enables you to extract data values from documents, images, and other unstructured data sources.

• Introduction
• Overview of information extraction
• Optical character recognition (OCR)
• Field extraction and mapping
• Exercise - Explore AI information extraction
• Module assessment
• Summary

Get started with AI applications and agents on Azure

Get started with AI in Azure

Learn how Microsoft enables you to build AI with the latest technology, securely, and at scale.

• Introduction
• Understand Azure
• Developing AI apps on Azure
• Microsoft Foundry for AI
• Using Microsoft Foundry endpoints
• Exercise - Get started with Microsoft Foundry
• Knowledge check
• Summary

Get started with generative AI and agents in Azure

Learn how to use generative AI models and agents with Microsoft Foundry.

• Introduction
• Generative AI models
• Using a generative AI model
• Creating an agent
• Exercise - Get started with generative AI and agents in Microsoft Foundry
• Knowledge check
• Summary

Get started with text analysis in Azure

Explore Azure Language's text analysis features, which include sentiment analysis, key phrase extraction, named entity recognition, and language detection.

• Introduction
• Azure Language
• Azure Language SDK
• Azure Language MCP
• Exercise - Get started with text analysis in Microsoft Foundry
• Module assessment
• Summary

Get started with speech in Azure

Learn how to recognize and synthesize speech using Azure Speech in Foundry Tools.

• Introduction
• Speech recognition
• Speech synthesis
• Creating a speech-capable agent
• Exercise - Get started with speech in Microsoft Foundry
• Module assessment
• Summary

Get started with computer vision in Azure

This module introduces computer vision capabilities in Foundry, focusing on how developers can analyze images and generate visual content using multimodal, image‑generation, and video‑generation models.

• Introduction
• Multimodal models for image analysis
• Image generation models
• Video generation models
• Exercise - Get started with computer vision in Microsoft Foundry
• Module assessment
• Summary

Get started with AI-powered information extraction in Azure

AI gives you the power to unlock insights from your data. Learn how to use Azure Content Understanding in Foundry Tools to extract information from content.

• Introduction
• Extract information from documents
• Extract information from audio and video
• Exercise - Get started with Content Understanding in Microsoft Foundry
• Module assessment
• Summary