Scrum.org has two AI Essentials certifications: one for Scrum Masters, one for Product Owners. They look alike from the outside, with the same format, price and pass mark. The difference is in what they ask.
What they have in common
- 40 questions in 60 minutes, 85% to pass
- $200 USD per attempt, no prerequisite, no expiry
- Two shared focus areas: AI Theory and Primer and AI Security and Ethics
- Questions that assume you know Scrum, and that test judgement more than definitions
Where they differ
| PSM-AI Essentials | PSPO-AI Essentials | |
|---|---|---|
| For | Scrum Masters, agile coaches | Product Owners, product managers |
| Focus areas | 4 | 3 |
| Role-specific areas | Effective AI Prompting, AI for Scrum Masters | AI Product Ownership |
| Core question | How does a team use AI well within Scrum? | How does AI help deliver more value? |
| Typical topics | Prompting, AI in the Scrum events, the Definition of Done, coaching on AI | Discovery, the Product Backlog, AI features, Evidence-Based Management |
Which one to choose
Take PSM-AI if you facilitate, coach or lead change. It is about how a team works with AI: prompting well, keeping the Scrum events meaningful and making sure AI-generated work meets the Definition of Done.
Take PSPO-AI if you decide what gets built. It is about using AI in discovery and Product Backlog management, building products that contain AI, and measuring whether any of it creates value.
If you hold PSM I or PSPO I already, the matching AI certification builds on what you know. And because two of the focus areas are shared, the second AI certification has much less new material once you have the first.
Prepare for either
We have a learning path for each, with video and audio lessons, quizzes and two practice exams in the real format: