Cisco Expands AI Learning Portfolio with AITECH Certification

As demand grows for hands-on AI knowledge among IT teams, Cisco is offering yet another learning path. Starting Dec. 18, you can avail of Cisco’s AI Technical Practitioner (AITECH) Certification, building on your skills in AI operations, automation, and solution design. It fills the practical gap that the AI Business Practitioner (AIBIZ) track doesn’t cover.

What Does AITECH Certification Cover?

AI now plays a major part in how your networks, applications, and infrastructure work. Cisco says many IT teams understand AI, but only at a basic level, and even fewer know how to put it into practice. 

The AITECH Certification helps close that skills gap. The program focuses on real workflows, real tools, and real use cases that you can apply in day-to-day operations. Skills covered include: 

• Use AI for Code Generation and Refactoring: Build faster with AI-assisted coding workflows, from rapid prototyping to writing and improving production-ready code.

• Apply Generative AI to Data Analysis: Clean, transform, and explore datasets while surfacing insights your team can act on.

• Design Multi-Step AI Workflows: Create automated, AI-assisted processes and understand how agentic systems coordinate complex tasks.

• Evaluate and Customize AI Solutions: Compare approaches like fine-tuning and RAG, choose the right deployment strategy, and design reliable end-to-end AI workflows.

• Work With Pre-Trained Models: Explore, test, fine-tune, and deploy models—and build Retrieval-Augmented Generation systems for smarter, more accurate outputs.

• Monitor and Optimize AI Pipelines: Maintain performance, ensure data integrity, and keep AI-powered workflows secure.

AITECH Core Capabilities

Before diving into specific skills, Cisco sets the expectation that you will work through labs and guided exercises. These labs mirror the tasks you face when supporting AI-driven systems in production.

Automation Workflows

Learn how to connect AI tools with automation. These include orchestration and building routines that help systems run consistently.

Data Analysis

You practice how to prepare and understand the data behind AI models. This helps you evaluate performance and troubleshoot problems in a structured way.

AI Solution Design

You then apply what you learned to build and deploy AI-enabled features within existing IT environments.

If you want to build the right foundation before starting AITECH, you can explore CBT Nuggets Cisco Training Courses. It covers all the fundamentals you need to begin your AITECH training seamlessly.

Structure of Cisco’s AI Learning Options

The AITECH Certification is part of a larger Cisco learning structure. Cisco offers three main ways to build AI skills, based on your role and level of experience.

• AI Business Practitioner (AIBIZ) for leaders and managers (now available)

• AI Technical Practitioner (AITECH) for technical professionals who design and deploy AI systems (coming Dec.18, 2025)

• Data Center AI Infrastructure Specialist (DCAI) for AI and machine learning workload managers (coming Feb. 9, 2026)

While testing begins in December, the AITECH exam blueprint is now available. You can check out the exam topics here.

How to Start Preparing for AITECH Certification  

You can get ahead by building strong fundamentals in Cisco automation. These skills will make it easier to move into the AITECH Certification. Think about mastering:

• Automation routines, scripting workflows, and connecting tools

• Data analysis and preparation for AI-powered systems

• cloud services, infrastructure automation, and network operations

Want to learn more about Cisco topics? Check out the CBT Nuggets Cisco Training Courses. These courses offer training for CCNA, CCNP, DevNet, and the platforms you’ll rely on in an AI-rich Cisco environment. 

Start with the CBT Nuggets’ 7-day free trial and see for yourself which of these courses suits your needs. Begin your training worry-free, and start developing the AI skills that modern IT teams need.