6.1. Exam Strategy
Know the format. 85 questions in 130 minutes gives you about 90 seconds per question. Multiple-choice items have one correct answer among four options. Multiple-response items have two or more correct answers among five or more options and state how many to choose ("Select TWO"); you must select all correct options to earn credit. Scoring is compensatory across domains, unanswered questions count as wrong, and there is no penalty for guessing.
Pace in three passes.
- First pass (about 75 minutes): answer every question you can decide in roughly a minute. For anything slower, choose your best current answer, flag it, and move on. Never leave a blank.
- Second pass (about 40 minutes): return to flagged items with fresh eyes. Many will be easier after you have seen related questions.
- Final check (about 15 minutes): confirm that every multiple-response item has the required number of selections and that nothing is unanswered.
Read the scenario for its decision type. Before reading the options, ask: What decision is this question really about? Most AIB-C01 items fall into a handful of patterns:
| If the scenario is about… | It is usually testing… | Look for… |
|---|---|---|
| Choosing a technology or approach | Solution-type fit (Phase 2) | The least complex option that solves the stated problem |
| Spending, sourcing, or prioritizing | Strategy discipline (Phase 3) | Value, feasibility, sustainability, alignment; staged commitment |
| Proving value | Measurement (Phase 3) | Baselines first, full cost, leading indicators |
| Harm, fairness, compliance, oversight | Governance (Phase 4) | Proportionate controls, early integration, human accountability |
| Stalled programs or resistant people | Readiness and change (Phase 5) | Organizational fixes: sponsorship, data ownership, communication, skills |
| Moving to production or scaling | Scaling discipline (Phase 5) | Governance plus operational requirements; iterative waves |
Apply the strategist filter. The exam's target candidate does not build AI. If an option describes a hands-on engineering task (tuning hyperparameters, writing code, configuring a service, cleaning data personally), it is rarely the right answer to "what should the business leader do?" Prefer options that set requirements, make decisions, engage the right people, or measure outcomes.
Watch for distractor patterns.
- Partial measures: a single control where a combination is needed (monitoring alone, a policy without enforcement, guardrails without human review).
- Right tool, wrong problem: a chatbot where an agent is needed, fine-tuning where RAG fits, generative AI where a forecast model fits, AI where rules suffice.
- Too much, too soon: enterprise-wide rollouts, big-bang transitions, maximum investment regardless of readiness.
- Too little, too late: responsible AI only at launch, measuring only after deployment, waiting for a better model.
- Absolutes: "eliminate all risk," "guarantee accuracy," "never requires review."
For multiple-response items, evaluate each option independently as true or false for the scenario, then check that your selections together form a sensible strategy (for example, one preventive control plus one governed path).
