A4Q AI

Why take the A4Q AI Essentials Exam?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming business, public administration, and daily life faster than ever before. The A4Q AI Essentials Exam provides a clear and well-grounded introduction to AI, with a special focus on legal and ethical fundamentals such as the EU AI Act and the GDPR.

With this certification, you demonstrate that you:

• understand the basic principles and risks of AI,
• are familiar with the legal requirements of the EU AI Act,
• can contribute to responsible decision-making within your organization,
• and ensure transparency, data protection, and ethics in AI implementation.

Whether in procurement, HR, marketing, IT, or management: AI affects (almost) every job today. The A4Q AI Essentials Exam delivers the foundational knowledge needed to act confidently and in compliance.

Who is the A4Q AI Essentials Certification for?

This certification is explicitly designed for both non-technical and technical professionals:

• Executives and decision-makers responsible for managing or procuring AI projects
• Business units using AI systems (HR, marketing, compliance, sales, etc.)
• IT and project managers responsible for implementation and operations
• Data protection and legal departments assessing risks and obligations
• Public institutions and authorities using AI in administration or education
• Career starters or students seeking future-relevant knowledge

No prior knowledge of AI or programming is required. We recommend attending our online training course, which will be available soon.

The outcomes of the A4Q AI Essentials Exam

The content follows the official syllabus and is taught in a compact, practice-oriented way:

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Topic of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Difference between rule-based and learning-based AI
• Relevance to the EU AI Act and risk assessment

Chapter 2: Overview of the EU AI Act
• Objectives, scope, and risk-based approach
• Overview of prohibited, high-risk, and low-risk systems

Chapter 3: Transparency and Disclosure
• Transparency requirements for chatbots, generative AI, and emotion recognition
• Requirements under Article 52 of the EU AI Act

Chapter 4: Connection to GDPR Core Principles
• Core principles such as data minimization and accountability
• Connection between AI usage and GDPR compliance

Chapter 5: Human Oversight
• Options for intervention and control in AI systems
• Importance of Human-in-the-Loop and similar approaches

Chapter 6: Risks and Ethics
• Algorithmic bias and discrimination
• Responsibility and fair AI decisions in organizations

Bonus: Prompt Engineering (optional)
• Fundamentals of AI interaction (e.g., with ChatGPT)
• How well-crafted prompts produce better results

Exam Details

Format: 16 multiple-choice questions
Duration: 20 minutes
Passing score: 75% (at least 12 correct answers)
Certificate: Officially issued by A4Q
Validity of the certificate: 24 months
Access: Online and onsite

You can book the A4Q AI Essentials exam here.

Downloads

Download the syllabus:
English: A4Q AI Essentials / Syllabus
German: A4Q AI Essentials / Syllabus

Why the A4Q AI Foundation Level Certification?

The A4Q AI Foundation Level Certification is the advanced follow-up to A4Q AI Essentials. While AI Essentials focuses on awareness and legal fundamentals (EU AI Act, GDPR, transparency, ethics), the Foundation Certification goes much further:

• From basic knowledge to strategic implementation: You will learn not only to understand AI but also to use it to create value within organizations.
• Technology + Business: You will combine technological fundamentals with real-world use cases, governance, and change management.
• Practice instead of theory: With exercises on prompt engineering, roadmap development, and AI implementation in business processes.

With AI Foundation, you become a competent driver of AI initiatives – and gain the ability to combine business benefits with compliance and ethics.

What will you learn in AI Foundation?

Chapter 1 – AI Fundamentals

• Historical development and significance of AI
• Distinction: AI, Machine Learning, Deep Learning
• Economic relevance and current areas of application

• Key milestones like Dartmouth Conference, AI Winters, and influence of Big Data and GPUs.

Chapter 2 – Technological Overview

• Machine Learning, Deep Learning, neural networks
• Natural Language Processing (NLP) & Computer Vision
• Training methods and data foundations
• Generative AI: ChatGPT, Gemini
• AI data lifecycle, governance roles (e.g., Data Steward), and training methods like Supervised, Unsupervised Learning.

Chapter 3 – Practice: Increasing Revenue & Efficiency with AI

• AI-powered data analysis for marketing & sales
• Dynamic pricing · Using ChatGPT and generative AI in data analysis
• Evaluating AI tools and vendors based on business, legal, and technical criteria.

Chapter 4 – Prompts & Prompt Engineering

• What is a prompt and why is it important?
• Characteristics of effective prompts
• Iterative prompt development for better results
• Types and components of prompts, creating reusable templates.

Chapter 5 – AI Assistance Systems

• What are AI assistance systems and where are they used?
• Potential, limitations, and ROI considerations
• Functionality and application areas like automating repetitive tasks.

Chapter 6 – Regulations & Ethics

• EU AI Act, GDPR, and ISO standards
• Ethical principles: fairness, transparency, traceability
• Guidelines for trustworthy AI
• Security risks (e.g., adversarial attacks) and best practices for robust AI.

Chapter 7 – Change Management for AI Projects

• Employee integration and communication
• Strategies to foster acceptance
• Effective strategies including training and cultural transformation.

Chapter 8 – Developing an AI Roadmap

• Importance of a clear roadmap
• Four dimensions & five phases of a roadmap
• Best practices for successful AI projects
• Governance frameworks with roles like AI Product Owner and risk management.
• Recommended course duration: At least 14 hours (840 minutes), allocated based on chapter complexity (e.g., more time for technology and prompts).

Business Outcomes – Your Added Value

• Evaluate and implement AI technologies
• Identify and execute AI business cases
• Create prompts to use AI productively
• Ensure compliance with the EU AI Act & GDPR
• Develop an AI roadmap for your company
• Contextualize historical AI development and economic relevance.
• Select suitable training methods and data governance.
• Use AI for customer insights, pricing adjustments, and efficiency.
• Iterative prompt optimization and template management.
• Assess AI assistants and change strategies.
• Adhere to ethical and legal guidelines.
• Develop structured roadmap phases (vision, use cases, etc.).

Benefits for You and Your Organization Holistic qualification:

• Technology, business, governance, ethics
• Practice-oriented: With use cases and tools like ChatGPT
• Strategic competence: You drive AI projects forward
• Legally compliant & future-proof: Based on the EU AI Act and international standards Internationally recognized: A4Q certificate
• Based on learning objectives (K1-K3: Remember, Understand, Apply) and recommended literature/standards.

The outcomes of the A4Q AI Exams

In short:

Essentials = What is AI and how is it regulated by the EU AI Act?
Foundation = How do we use AI strategically and profitably in business?

Exam Details

Format: 40 multiple-choice questions
Duration: 60 minutes
Passing score: 65%
Certificate: Officially issued by A4Q
Validity of the certificate: 24 months
Access: Online and onsite

You can book your exam here.

Download Syllabus:

• German syllabus: Download
• English syllabus: Download

Recommended Reading:

• Books: "The Second Machine Age" by Brynjolfsson & McAfee.
• Reports: McKinsey "The State of AI in 2025".
• Standards: ISO/IEC 42001 (AI Management System)