Google Cloud Generative AI Leader study guide (by exam domain)
This guide restructures the official Generative AI Leader exam guide into a checklist. The exam is 50-60 multiple choice questions in 90 minutes and costs $99 (plus tax where applicable). Google does not publish a passing score on the certification page.
Last checked 2026-10-16 against the official sources listed below.
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Domain 1: Fundamentals of gen AI (~30%)
- Core concepts: AI, NLP, machine learning, generative AI, foundation models, multimodal foundation models, diffusion models, prompt tuning, prompt engineering, LLMs.
- ML approaches (supervised, unsupervised, reinforcement) and the ML lifecycle: data ingestion, preparation, training, deployment, management, plus the Google Cloud tools for each stage.
- Choosing a foundation model for a business use case: modality, context window, security, availability and reliability, cost, performance, fine-tuning and customization.
- Data: quality and accessibility (completeness, consistency, relevance, availability, cost, format), structured vs unstructured, labeled vs unlabeled.
- Layers of the gen AI landscape: infrastructure, models, platforms, agents, applications.
- Google foundation models and their strengths: Gemini, Gemma, Imagen, Veo.
Domain 2: Google Cloud’s gen AI offerings (~35%, the largest)
- Google Cloud strengths: AI-first approach, enterprise-ready platform, ecosystem, open approach, AI-optimized infrastructure (hypercomputer, TPUs, GPUs, data centers).
- Data control (security, privacy, governance) and democratized AI (low-code/no-code, pre-trained models, APIs).
- Prebuilt offerings for work: the Gemini app and Gemini Advanced (e.g., Gems), Gemini Enterprise, Gemini for Google Workspace.
- Customer experience: Agent Search on Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, Google Search, Customer Engagement Suite (Conversational Agents, Agent Assist, Conversational Insights, Contact Center as a Service).
- Building with AI: Agent Platform (Model Garden, Agent Search, AutoML), RAG offerings, custom agents.
- Agent tooling: extensions, functions, data stores, plugins; services such as Cloud Storage, Cloud Run, Cloud Functions and the pre-built AI APIs (Speech-to-Text, Translation, Document AI, Vision, Natural Language and more); when to use Agent Studio vs Google AI Studio.
Domain 3: Techniques to improve gen AI model output (~20%)
- Foundation model limitations: data dependency, knowledge cutoff, bias, fairness, hallucinations, edge cases.
- Mitigations: grounding, RAG, prompt engineering, fine-tuning, human in the loop; continuous monitoring (versioning, drift monitoring, performance tracking, Feature Store).
- Prompting: zero-, one- and few-shot, role prompting, prompt chaining, chain-of-thought, ReAct.
- Grounding with first-party, third-party and world data; pre-built RAG with Agent Search, RAG APIs, Grounding with Google Search.
- Sampling parameters: token count, temperature, top-p, safety settings, output length.
Domain 4: Business strategies for a successful gen AI solution (~15%)
- Types of gen AI solutions, factors that shape needs (business requirements, technical constraints), choosing a solution, integration steps, measuring impact.
- Secure AI: security across the ML lifecycle, Google’s Secure AI Framework (SAIF), IAM, Security Command Center, workload monitoring.
- Responsible AI: transparency, privacy (anonymization, pseudonymization), data quality, bias and fairness, accountability and explainability.
A free study plan weighted by the exam
- Read the official exam guide once end to end and tick off each bullet above.
- Spend the most time on Domain 2 (~35%) and Domain 1 (~30%); together they are about two thirds of the exam.
- Use the official learning path linked from the certification page.
- Product names changed recently: the official page says the exam was updated for branding changes, so learn the names used in the current guide (for example, Agent Platform and Agent Search).
- Check whether you qualify for a discounted or free voucher before you pay.
FAQ
- Which Generative AI Leader domain carries the most weight?
- Google Cloud’s gen AI offerings, at about 35% of the exam per the official exam guide.
- How many questions are on the Generative AI Leader exam?
- 50-60 multiple choice questions in 90 minutes, per the official certification page.
- Do I need technical experience?
- No. Google describes it as business-level knowledge with no hands-on technical experience required, and lists no prerequisites.
- What is the passing score?
- Google does not publish one on the certification page.
Recommended resources
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Sources
- Official exam guide (PDF) (last checked 2026-10-16)
- Official certification page (last checked 2026-10-16)
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