{"id":102048,"date":"2026-09-30T10:37:24","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T05:07:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/?p=102048"},"modified":"2026-09-30T10:46:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T05:16:43","slug":"gcp-agentic-architect-exam-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/gcp-agentic-architect-exam-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"GCP Agentic Architect Exam Guide: Format, Domains, and Beta vs GA (2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-102048-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Google_Agentic_Architect_Certification_Blueprint.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Google_Agentic_Architect_Certification_Blueprint.mp3\">https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Google_Agentic_Architect_Certification_Blueprint.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_76 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #ea7e02;color:#ea7e02\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #ea7e02;color:#ea7e02\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/gcp-agentic-architect-exam-guide\/#GCP_Agentic_Architect_Exam_Guide\" >GCP Agentic Architect Exam Guide<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/gcp-agentic-architect-exam-guide\/#What_Is_the_Google_Cloud_Professional_Agentic_Architect_Certification\" >What Is the Google Cloud Professional Agentic Architect Certification?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/gcp-agentic-architect-exam-guide\/#Who_Should_Take_the_Professional_Agentic_Architect_Certification\" >Who Should Take the Professional Agentic Architect Certification?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/gcp-agentic-architect-exam-guide\/#Agentic_Architect_Exam_Details_at_a_Glance\" >Agentic Architect Exam Details at a Glance<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/gcp-agentic-architect-exam-guide\/#How_the_Agentic_Architect_Certification_Works_Exam_Plus_Hands-On_Labs\" >How the Agentic Architect Certification Works: Exam Plus Hands-On Labs<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/gcp-agentic-architect-exam-guide\/#Part_1_The_Agentic_Architect_Multiple-Choice_Exam\" >Part 1: The Agentic Architect Multiple-Choice Exam<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/gcp-agentic-architect-exam-guide\/#Part_2_The_Hands-On_Labs_on_Google_Skills\" >Part 2: The Hands-On Labs on Google Skills<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/gcp-agentic-architect-exam-guide\/#Agentic_Architect_Beta_Exam_vs_GA_Which_Should_You_Take\" >Agentic Architect Beta Exam vs GA: Which Should You Take?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/gcp-agentic-architect-exam-guide\/#What_the_Agentic_Architect_Beta_Exam_Offers\" >What the Agentic Architect Beta Exam Offers<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/gcp-agentic-architect-exam-guide\/#Beta_vs_GA_Exam_Comparison\" >Beta vs GA Exam Comparison<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/gcp-agentic-architect-exam-guide\/#Should_You_Wait_for_the_GA_Exam\" >Should You Wait for the GA Exam?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/gcp-agentic-architect-exam-guide\/#Professional_Agentic_Architect_Exam_Domains_and_Weightage\" >Professional Agentic Architect Exam Domains and Weightage<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/gcp-agentic-architect-exam-guide\/#Section_1_Building_Agents_Using_Low-Code_Tools_13\" >Section 1: Building Agents Using Low-Code Tools (~13%)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/gcp-agentic-architect-exam-guide\/#Section_2_Using_Coding_Agents_for_Application_Development_17\" >Section 2: Using Coding Agents for Application Development (~17%)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/gcp-agentic-architect-exam-guide\/#Section_3_Developing_Custom_Agents_33\" >Section 3: Developing Custom Agents (~33%)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/gcp-agentic-architect-exam-guide\/#Section_4_Evaluating_and_Deploying_Agentic_Workflows_22\" >Section 4: Evaluating and Deploying Agentic Workflows (~22%)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-17\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/gcp-agentic-architect-exam-guide\/#Section_5_Securing_and_Governing_Agentic_Workflows_15\" >Section 5: Securing and Governing Agentic Workflows (~15%)<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-18\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/gcp-agentic-architect-exam-guide\/#Key_Google_Cloud_Tools_for_the_Agentic_Architect_Exam\" >Key Google Cloud Tools for the Agentic Architect Exam<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-19\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/gcp-agentic-architect-exam-guide\/#Try_the_Whizlabs_Free_Practice_Test_for_the_Agentic_Architect_Exam\" >Try the Whizlabs Free Practice Test for the Agentic Architect Exam<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-20\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/gcp-agentic-architect-exam-guide\/#FAQs_on_the_Google_Cloud_Professional_Agentic_Architect_Certification\" >FAQs on the Google Cloud Professional Agentic Architect Certification<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-21\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/gcp-agentic-architect-exam-guide\/#Conclusion\" >Conclusion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"GCP_Agentic_Architect_Exam_Guide\"><\/span><strong>GCP Agentic Architect Exam Guide<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AI agents have quickly become a major focus for Google Cloud. At Next &#8217;26 in April, Google announced Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, a comprehensive platform to build, scale, govern, and optimize agents, which the company describes as an evolution of Vertex AI. A few months later, Google followed it up with a certification built around these skills.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Google Cloud Professional Agentic Architect certification is Google&#8217;s newest professional-level credential, and it&#8217;s currently open as a beta. In this GCP Agentic Architect Exam guide, we&#8217;ll walk through what the certification covers, who it&#8217;s for, how the agentic architect exam and labs work, and what to know about the beta before you register.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Is_the_Google_Cloud_Professional_Agentic_Architect_Certification\"><\/span><b>What Is the Google Cloud Professional Agentic Architect Certification?<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Professional Agentic Architect certification validates your ability to design, build, and run AI agents on Google Cloud. According to Google, a certified Professional Agentic Architect is a technical practitioner who designs and manages autonomous, AI-driven agentic workflows in Google Cloud, building agentic solutions while considering reliability, performance, cost, security, and scalability.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The certification goes beyond prompting and LLM basics. It covers the full lifecycle of an agent, from building it with low-code tools or code, to connecting it with enterprise data, coordinating multiple agents, testing it, deploying it to production, and keeping it secure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It&#8217;s also a hybrid certification. You take a proctored exam first, and then complete hands-on labs. We&#8217;ll cover both parts in detail below.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Who_Should_Take_the_Professional_Agentic_Architect_Certification\"><\/span><b>Who Should Take the Professional Agentic Architect Certification?<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Professional Agentic Architect certification is a professional-level GCP agentic AI certification, so Google recommends at least three years of hands-on work with cloud solutions, covering everything from building and testing to deployment and management. At least one of those years should involve building agentic solutions on Google Cloud.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This certification is a good fit if you work in one of these roles and your work involves building AI-powered applications:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AI or machine learning engineer<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Generative AI developer<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cloud or solutions architect<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Software engineer<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Platform engineer<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Technical lead<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DevOps or MLOps professional<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you&#8217;ve worked with Vertex AI before, that experience still counts. Many of the tools covered in the exam come from the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform launch, and several services were renamed along the way. For example, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/services.google.com\/fh\/files\/misc\/professional_agentic_architect_exam_guide_english.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the exam guide lists<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Agent Runtime (formerly Agent Engine) and Agent Search (formerly Vertex AI Search).<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Agentic_Architect_Exam_Details_at_a_Glance\"><\/span><b>Agentic Architect Exam Details at a Glance<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Detail<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>Information<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Certification level<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Professional<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Exam cost<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">$120 during beta, $200 at general availability (plus tax where applicable)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Exam duration<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3 hours during beta, 2 hours at general availability<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Exam format<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Multiple choice and multiple select questions, followed by hands-on labs<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Exam delivery<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Online proctored or at a test center, delivered by Pearson<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Language<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">English<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Validity<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1 year<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prerequisites<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">None<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recommended experience<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3+ years in cloud, including 1+ year building agentic solutions on Google Cloud<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Source: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/cloud.google.com\/learn\/certification\/agentic-architect\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/cloud.google.com\/learn\/certification\/agentic-architect<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_the_Agentic_Architect_Certification_Works_Exam_Plus_Hands-On_Labs\"><\/span><b>How the Agentic Architect Certification Works: Exam Plus Hands-On Labs<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most cloud certifications end once you finish the exam. This one has a second step.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Part_1_The_Agentic_Architect_Multiple-Choice_Exam\"><\/span><b>Part 1: The Agentic Architect Multiple-Choice Exam<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The multiple-choice exam assesses conceptual knowledge, system design choices, and architectural standards and is delivered by Pearson. This is where you show you understand how agentic systems should be designed and which tools fit which situations.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Part_2_The_Hands-On_Labs_on_Google_Skills\"><\/span><b>Part 2: The Hands-On Labs on Google Skills<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The labs are delivered in Google Skills and validate hands-on execution and coding ability in an active cloud environment. You only get access to them after passing the exam. The estimated time to complete the labs is less than 5 hours, and once they become available, you have two months to complete them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These labs are different from the ones in Google&#8217;s learning path. If you pass the multiple-choice exam, you&#8217;ll be asked to complete a separate set of labs that are distinct from those in the learning path.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most important thing to remember is that you need both. Passing the multiple-choice exam alone does not grant certified status. You must pass both the exam and the hands-on labs to earn the credential and digital badge.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-102051\" src=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Image-1-7.webp\" alt=\"How the Agentic Architect Certification Works\" width=\"1678\" height=\"1375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Image-1-7.webp 1678w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Image-1-7-300x246.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Image-1-7-1024x839.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Image-1-7-768x629.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Image-1-7-1536x1259.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Image-1-7-150x123.webp 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1678px) 100vw, 1678px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Agentic_Architect_Beta_Exam_vs_GA_Which_Should_You_Take\"><\/span><b>Agentic Architect Beta Exam vs GA: Which Should You Take?<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_the_Agentic_Architect_Beta_Exam_Offers\"><\/span><b>What the Agentic Architect Beta Exam Offers<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google opens new certifications as a beta before releasing the final version. Beta exams contain a large pool of questions, and not all of them will meet the standards for the general availability (GA) exam. Google analyzes how the questions perform and uses that data to build the final exam.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Taking the beta comes with some benefits. According to Google, beta participants get early access to the new exam content, receive a 40% discount off the retail price, can give question-level feedback on the exam, and receive all certification benefits by passing a beta exam.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The trade-off is time. Because of the larger question pool, beta exams can take up to twice as long to complete as a final exam, and results take longer too.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Beta_vs_GA_Exam_Comparison\"><\/span><b>Beta vs GA Exam Comparison<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><b>Beta<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>GA<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Availability<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">September 8 to 30, 2026<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mid-November 2026<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cost<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">$120<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">$200<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Exam length<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3 hours<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2 hours<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Exam results<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Late October 2026<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">7 to 10 business days<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hands-on labs<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Late October to December 2026<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Two months after passing the exam<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Registration for the beta closes September 30, 2026, and the GA exam will be available to the public in mid-November. The GA version will follow the same two-part structure as the beta, with a 2-hour exam and official results in 7 to 10 business days.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Should_You_Wait_for_the_GA_Exam\"><\/span><b>Should You Wait for the GA Exam?<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you already meet the recommended experience and can prepare in time, the beta is a good way to save on the exam fee and get certified early. If you&#8217;re still building your hands-on experience, or you&#8217;d rather have faster results and a shorter exam, waiting for the GA release in November makes sense.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Why Is the Agentic Architect Certification Valid for Only One Year?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most Google Cloud professional certifications stay valid for two years, but this one only lasts for one. Google&#8217;s reasoning is that agentic AI is moving fast, with frequent software updates and new developments in how these systems work. To help certified professionals keep up, Google plans to offer a continuous education path for maintaining an active status.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That makes sense for a field that&#8217;s changing this quickly. The tools covered in the exam were only announced this year, and many of them will likely keep evolving.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since this is a brand-new certification, some details, including the validity period, could change after the beta ends and the exam moves to general availability. We&#8217;ll update this guide if Google makes any changes, and you can always check the official certification page for the latest information.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Professional_Agentic_Architect_Exam_Domains_and_Weightage\"><\/span><b>Professional Agentic Architect Exam Domains and Weightage<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The exam is split into five sections. Here&#8217;s how they&#8217;re weighted:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-102052\" src=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Image-2-8.webp\" alt=\"GCP Agentic Architect Domain Weightage\" width=\"1678\" height=\"821\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Image-2-8.webp 1678w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Image-2-8-300x147.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Image-2-8-1024x501.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Image-2-8-768x376.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Image-2-8-1536x752.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Image-2-8-150x73.webp 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1678px) 100vw, 1678px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Section_1_Building_Agents_Using_Low-Code_Tools_13\"><\/span><b>Section 1: Building Agents Using Low-Code Tools (~13%)<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This section covers building agents without writing every component from scratch. You&#8217;ll need to know how to configure state-based workflows using pages, transition routes, and event handlers in Gemini Enterprise tools such as Agent Designer and CX Agent Studio, and how to write system instructions and prompt templates that guide agent behavior. It also covers connecting agents securely to enterprise data and working with unstructured data like video, audio, and images.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Section_2_Using_Coding_Agents_for_Application_Development_17\"><\/span><b>Section 2: Using Coding Agents for Application Development (~17%)<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here the focus moves to AI-assisted software development. The exam guide covers configuring coding agents with MCP servers, custom skills, and access to tools, using coding agents in secure sandboxes such as GKE and Cloud Workstations, and using them to refactor code and patch application-layer vulnerabilities. You&#8217;ll also need to know how to customize coding agents for enterprise work using Antigravity and Agents CLI.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Section_3_Developing_Custom_Agents_33\"><\/span><b>Section 3: Developing Custom Agents (~33%)<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the largest section, making up about a third of the exam. It&#8217;s all about building agents in code, and it covers a lot of ground.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You&#8217;ll need to know how to choose the right language model for a use case, considering factors like cost and security. The exam guide mentions comparing LLMs and SLMs, self-hosted and SaaS options, and open-source and proprietary models. You&#8217;ll also build custom agents with the Agent Development Kit (ADK) and configure sessions and memory.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The section also covers bringing enterprise knowledge into agents through RAG pipelines and vector retrieval, including embedding models, similarity scoring, and reranking. Finally, it tests how you orchestrate multiple agents using protocols like MCP and Agent2Agent (A2A), and how you coordinate handoffs through parallel, sequential, and graph-based workflows.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Given its weight, this is the section most candidates should spend the most time on.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Section_4_Evaluating_and_Deploying_Agentic_Workflows_22\"><\/span><b>Section 4: Evaluating and Deploying Agentic Workflows (~22%)<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building an agent is only part of the job. This section covers testing and running agents in production. On the evaluation side, you&#8217;ll need to know how to create test sets using golden data, prompts, and edge cases, and build continuous evaluation pipelines that assess an agent&#8217;s tool execution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the deployment side, you&#8217;ll choose the right runtime for a workload, such as Agent Runtime, Cloud Run, or GKE. You&#8217;ll also need to troubleshoot common problems like drift, tool invocation latency, agent reasoning loops, and system failures, and monitor agents for performance, reliability, and cost.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Section_5_Securing_and_Governing_Agentic_Workflows_15\"><\/span><b>Section 5: Securing and Governing Agentic Workflows (~15%)<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Agents can access company data and take actions on their own, which makes security a big part of the certification. This section covers authentication and secure tool execution, such as agent-to-tool API calls using OAuth 2.0. It also covers setting up governance with tools like Agent Identity, Agent Gateway, Agent Registry, and Model Armor, and designing guardrails that include human-in-the-loop controls.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Key_Google_Cloud_Tools_for_the_Agentic_Architect_Exam\"><\/span><b>Key Google Cloud Tools for the Agentic Architect Exam<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The exam guide lists the tools that are in scope for the exam. Here&#8217;s how they group together:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Agent development and runtime:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Agent Development Kit (ADK), Agent Runtime, Agents CLI, Antigravity, Gemini Enterprise, Skill Registry, and agent evaluation tools.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Security and governance:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Agent Identity, Agent Gateway, Agent Registry, Model Armor, Auth Manager (OAuth 2.0), and Sensitive Data Protection.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Protocols and integration:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Model Context Protocol (MCP), MCP servers, and Agent2Agent (A2A).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Models and retrieval:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Gemini LLMs, Model Garden, RAG Engine, Agent Search, Agent Retrieval, and Vector Search.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Data and infrastructure:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> BigQuery, Cloud Run, Cloud SQL, Cloud Storage, Firestore, GKE, Memorystore for Redis, and Google Cloud Observability.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Try_the_Whizlabs_Free_Practice_Test_for_the_Agentic_Architect_Exam\"><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/google-cloud-professional-agentic-architect\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-schema-attribute=\"about mentions\"><b>Try the Whizlabs Free Practice Test for the Agentic Architect Exam<\/b><\/a><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you&#8217;re planning to take the Professional Agentic Architect exam, it helps to know where you stand before you book. Our free practice test for the certification is now live on Whizlabs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/google-cloud-professional-agentic-architect\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-schema-attribute=\"about mentions\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-102053\" src=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Image-3-6.webp\" alt=\"GCP Agentic Architect Free Practice Test Whizlabs\" width=\"1678\" height=\"711\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Image-3-6.webp 1678w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Image-3-6-300x127.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Image-3-6-1024x434.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Image-3-6-768x325.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Image-3-6-1536x651.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Image-3-6-150x64.webp 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1678px) 100vw, 1678px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/google-cloud-professional-agentic-architect\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-schema-attribute=\"about mentions\">Try the Free Practice Test<\/a><\/strong><\/h6>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQs_on_the_Google_Cloud_Professional_Agentic_Architect_Certification\"><\/span><b>FAQs on the Google Cloud Professional Agentic Architect Certification<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>Can I get certified if I only pass the multiple-choice exam?<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No. You need to pass both the multiple-choice exam and the hands-on labs to earn the certification and digital badge.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>When will the agentic architect exam be generally available?<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google plans to release the GA version of the exam in mid-November 2026. The beta is open until September 30, 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>How much does the Professional Agentic Architect certification cost?<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The beta costs $120, which is 40% off the regular price. Once the exam reaches general availability, it will cost $200, the same as other Google Cloud professional exams. Taxes may apply.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>How long do I have to complete the labs?<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once the labs become available to you after passing the exam, you have two months to complete them. Google estimates they&#8217;ll take less than 5 hours.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Is this certification suitable for someone new to agentic AI?<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It&#8217;s aimed at experienced practitioners. Google recommends 3+ years of cloud experience and at least a year building agentic solutions on Google Cloud. If you&#8217;re newer to the field, it&#8217;s worth building hands-on experience with agents first.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span><b>Conclusion<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Google Cloud Professional Agentic Architect certification is Google&#8217;s first credential focused entirely on building and running AI agents. It&#8217;s a hands-on, professional-level certification, and the one-year validity shows how fast this area is moving. Whether you&#8217;re taking the beta or waiting for the November release, now is a good time to see how ready you are. Start with the Whizlabs free practice test and find out where to focus next.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/google-cloud-professional-agentic-architect\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Take the Free Practice Test<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GCP Agentic Architect Exam Guide AI agents have quickly become a major focus for Google Cloud. At Next &#8217;26 in April, Google announced Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, a comprehensive platform to build, scale, govern, and optimize agents, which the company describes as an evolution of Vertex AI. A few months later, Google followed it up with a certification built around these skills. The Google Cloud Professional Agentic Architect certification is Google&#8217;s newest professional-level credential, and it&#8217;s currently open as a beta. In this GCP Agentic Architect Exam guide, we&#8217;ll walk through what the certification covers, who it&#8217;s for, how the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":448,"featured_media":102049,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-google-cloud"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Blog-Banner-9.webp",1200,628,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Blog-Banner-9-150x150.webp",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Blog-Banner-9-300x157.webp",300,157,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Blog-Banner-9-768x402.webp",768,402,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Blog-Banner-9-1024x536.webp",1024,536,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Blog-Banner-9.webp",1200,628,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Blog-Banner-9.webp",1200,628,false],"profile_24":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Blog-Banner-9-24x24.webp",24,24,true],"profile_48":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Blog-Banner-9-48x48.webp",48,48,true],"profile_96":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Blog-Banner-9-96x96.webp",96,96,true],"profile_150":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Blog-Banner-9-150x150.webp",150,150,true],"profile_300":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Blog-Banner-9-300x300.webp",300,300,true],"tptn_thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Blog-Banner-9-250x250.webp",250,250,true],"web-stories-poster-portrait":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Blog-Banner-9-640x628.webp",640,628,true],"web-stories-publisher-logo":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Blog-Banner-9-96x96.webp",96,96,true],"web-stories-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Blog-Banner-9-150x79.webp",150,79,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Hamsha Vhardhni R","author_link":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/author\/hamsha-vhardhni-r\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"GCP Agentic Architect Exam Guide AI agents have quickly become a major focus for Google Cloud. At Next &#8217;26 in April, Google announced Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, a comprehensive platform to build, scale, govern, and optimize agents, which the company describes as an evolution of Vertex AI. A few months later, Google followed it up&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/448"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102048"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102062,"href":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102048\/revisions\/102062"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}