In April of 2024, the IAPP, formerly known as the International Association of Privacy Professionals, launched the Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional (AIGP) certification. In less than two short years, the AIGP certification has already become the leading credential for lawyers, engineers, compliance officers and others seeking to establish or validate their expertise in AI governance.
As it does with all of its certification programs, the IAPP lays out what topics are subject to testing on the AIGP certification exam in a document known as the AIGP Body of Knowledge and Exam Blueprint. With the rapid pace of change in the field of AI, it is little surprise that the IAPP will continuously update this document to ensure that the AIGP exam remains current and reflects industry reality.
The IAPP recently released version 2.1 of the AIGP Body of Knowledge. It becomes effective on February 2, 2026. In other words, if you are sitting for the AIGP exam on or after that date, you need to be aware of the changes to the subject matter that IAPP is likely to test, as set forth in this document.
What is the Format for the New AIGP Body of Knowledge?
Like it does with all other certifications, the IAPP BoKs are set forth in a structure that provides a list of high-level “competencies,” which are matched with a set of “performance indicators.” Competencies represent “clusters of connected tasks and abilities that constitute a body of knowledge domain,” while performance indicators “are the discreet tasks and abilities that constitutes the broader competence group.”
Changes to the AIGP Body of Knowledge
At this point you’re probably asking yourself: “So, what changed?” The short answer is, a few new items were added, some wording was changed slightly, and at least one topic was removed. Before diving, it is important to understand that, historically, the IAPP has stated (unless otherwise indicated) that annual updates to its various certification exams include new content that will consist of no more than 10-15% of the overall exam. Simply put, this is a recalibration, not an entire overhaul.
Did the Domains Change?
When the IAPP moved from v.1.0 to v.2.0.1 of the AIGP Body of Knowledge in February 2025, it restructured the BoK to streamline the exam from seven high-level “domains,” to just four domains. With the upcoming changes, this same four-level structure remains in place. Those four domains are:
- Domain I – Understanding the Foundations of AI Governance
- Domain II – Understanding How Laws, Standards and Frameworks Apply to AI
- Domain III – Understanding How to Governance AI Development
- Domain IV – Understanding How to Govern AI Deployment and Use
Are There Any New Topics or Concepts That Have Been Added?
The list of new topics and concepts added to the AIGP Body Knowledge this year is relatively modest. They include the following:
- Performance Indicator I.C.2 – Modified to now include evaluating and updated data governance and intellectual property policies for AI.
- Performance Indicator I.C.3 – Modified to now include updated third-party risk documents, as well as assessments and contracts to manage third parties. Acceptable use policies are now also included in the list of documents that present third-party risk.
- Performance Indicator II.A.1 – Included an understanding of how transparency and lawful basis requirements under data privacy laws impact the use of AI.
- Performance Indicator II.A.3 – Included an understanding of how automated decision-making rules under data privacy laws impact the use of AI.
- Competency II.C – Now states that one must “Understand the main elements of AI-Specific laws,” whereas this competency previously applied only to the E.U. AI Act. As noted elsewhere this reflects the reality that students must know not just about the major elements of the E.U. AI Act, but also the South Korean AI Basic Law, as well as U.S. federal and state AI laws that apply to private sector organizations. The wording of many of the associated performance indicators were also updated to reflect this broader scope.
- Performance Indicator II.D.3 – Added ISO Standard 42005 as a core ISO AI standard that students must know.
- Performance Indicator IV.A.3 – Agentic architectures were added to the list of examples related to understanding the differences in AI deployment options.
In addition to the above, the IAPP has also reworded a number of competencies and performance indicators to cover both AI models and AI systems. Previously, the way that IAPP used these terms in its BoK was slight haphazard, but it has now unified it to make clearer its intent. The following are examples of this word change:
- Performance Indicator I.C.1 – Changed “model development” to “model and system development.”
- Competency III.A. – Changed from “Govern the designing and building of the AI model” to “Govern the designing and building of the AI system.” The associated performance indicators were also updated to reflect this change.
- Competency III.B – Changed from “Govern the collection and use of data in training and testing the AI model” to “Govern the collection and use of data in training and testing the AI model and AI system.” The associated performance indicators were also updated to reflect this change.
- Competency III.C – Changed from “Govern the release, monitoring and maintenance of the AI model” to “Govern the release, monitoring and maintenance of the AI system.” The associated performance indicators were also updated to reflect this change.
- Competencies IV.A, IV.B, and IV.C were also all updated to change wording from “AI model” to “AI system,” and the associated performance indicators were also likewise updated.
Were Any Topics or Concepts Removed?
The IAPP does not always remove topics from its BoKs when they are updated, but this year several topics have been removed from the AIGP certification. These include:
- Performance Indicator II.D.3 – “Understand the NIST ARIA program for methodologies, tools, metrics, and measurements on AI safety.”
- Performance Indicator III.A.3 – “Identify laws that apply to the AI model.”
- Performance Indicator IV.B.2 – “Identify laws that apply to the AI model.”
It should be noted that while prior performance indicators III.A.3 and IV.B.2 were removed, this is likely not a substantive change. Domain II already addresses what laws apply to AI models and systems, and this is necessary knowledge to successfully obtain AIGP certification. The removal of these performance indicators, therefore, likely reflects more of a reorganization than a substantive removal of content.
Did the Number of Questions Asked on Each Topic Change?
Another aspect of the BoK is that it sets forth the number of questions that one may see on the exam for each given competency, stated as a range. In other words, the IAPP does not just change the topics or concepts that may appear on the exam when it updates a Body of Knowledge, it also separately re-weights the importance of each of those topics or concepts.
The sole area that will receive greater emphasis come February is:
- Competency II.C – Understand the main elements of AI-specific laws (from 5-7 questions, to 6-8 questions)
This increased emphasis comes at the expense of one competency that that will be de-emphasized (though only slightly), which is:
- Competency II.D – Understand the main industry standards and tools that apply to AI (from 4-6 questions, to 3-5 questions)
No Announcement Related to Beta Exams
Some years, when the IAPP releases updated BoKs for its certification exams, it will also simultaneously announce a window during which professionals can sit for a beta exam. Beta exams offer students the chance to obtain discounted rates for exam fees in exchange for being a bit of a guinea pig for new exam questions. There was, however, no such announcement accompanying the release of the AIGP Body of Knowledge v.2.1. For this reason, we do not anticipate that the IAPP will offer beta exams this year for the AIGP exam.
Is Privacy Bootcamp’s AIGP Course Up to Date?
Yes, all Privacy Bootcamp courses are up to date.
When the IAPP releases an updated Body of Knowledge and Exam Blueprint, we set to work implementing changes to our courses. At Privacy Bootcamp, we comprehensively update our courses once a year to correspond to these changes. That is in addition to smaller updates that we release throughout the year.
It is common for us to begin working on our comprehensive annual updates months ahead of time based upon changes that we know have occurred in the privacy and AI governance industry, important events, and student feedback. In the coming weeks and months, we will be releasing our comprehensive annual update for our AIGP course. This update will happen seamlessly for all enrolled students; there is no action needed on the part of our students. Any updated content will be available weeks—if not months—ahead of the February 2, 2026, effective date for the changes discussed above.
