Google Cloud ACE exam changes: the new guide and the new names
The Associate Cloud Engineer guide was rewritten: new section weights, thirteen additions, three dropped bullets and a set of products with new names or retired. Here is every change, each one linked to the Google source it comes from.
The short version
Google's Associate Cloud Engineer exam page says: "This exam was updated to reflect recent branding changes. Refer to the exam guide to review product names used on the exam." The standard exam guide (PDF) has no version number and no date, and the official pages we read do not say when the current version took effect, so we do not quote a date. What we can show is the difference: we compared the guide downloaded on October 15, 2026 with a copy of the same file from September 12, 2025.
The outline now has 4 sections, 12 sub-sections and 94 bullets. Two sections changed weight, there are thirteen additions, three bullets are gone, and the guide uses current product names throughout. The role description also changed: an Associate Cloud Engineer now performs common platform tasks "supported by AI tooling".
The exam page also notes that Google may update exam content at any time, so check the guide before you book.
Change 1: new section weights
| # | Section | September 2025 guide | Current guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Setting up a cloud solution environment | ~23% | ~20% |
| 2 | Planning and implementing a cloud solution | ~30% | ~30% |
| 3 | Ensuring the successful operation of a cloud solution | ~27% | ~30% |
| 4 | Configuring access and security | ~20% | ~20% |
Change 2: thirteen additions to the outline
Topics and wording in the current guide that were not in the same place in the September 2025 copy. Sub-section numbers are Google's; each topic links to the Google source we used.
| Sub-section | Added in the current guide | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Configuring Workforce Identity Federation | docs.cloud.google.com docs |
| 2.1 | Identifying whether to use GPUs or TPUs | exam guide (PDF) |
| 2.1 / 3.1 | Agent Runtime on Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform (formerly Vertex AI Agent Engine): choosing it, then deploying an agent to it | docs.cloud.google.com docs |
| 2.2 | Google Cloud Managed Lustre among the storage products | exam guide (PDF) |
| 2.3 | VPC Network Peering when creating a VPC, and VPC firewall rules next to Cloud NGFW policies | docs.cloud.google.com docs |
| 2.4 | Section renamed to "using tooling", with AI-assisted planning and implementation: Gemini CLI, Google Antigravity, Gemini Cloud Assist, Application Design Center | docs.cloud.google.com docs |
| 3.1 | Attaching GPUs and TPUs | exam guide (PDF) |
| 3.1 | Managing notebooks in Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform Workbench (formerly Vertex AI Workbench) and BigQuery | docs.cloud.google.com docs |
| 3.1 | Managing developer environments (e.g., Cloud Workstations) | exam guide (PDF) |
| 3.2 | Configuring customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK) | exam guide (PDF) |
| 3.4 | Using Cloud Hub to monitor active events and application health data | docs.cloud.google.com docs |
| 4.1 | Attaching roles and policy inheritance in the Organization hierarchy | docs.cloud.google.com docs |
| 4.2 | Google-managed service accounts, and provisioning Workload Identity Federation | docs.cloud.google.com docs |
Change 3: what was dropped
- Knative serving is no longer listed among the compute choices in 2.1.
- "Planning and executing infrastructure as code deployments, including versioning, state management, and updates" is gone from 2.4, which is now about tooling: IaC tools plus AI-assisted planning.
- "Adding a subnet to an existing VPC" is gone from 3.3; "Resizing a subnet's IPv4 address range" remains.
Dropped from the outline does not mean forbidden. Google's FAQ also says it does not guarantee that every topic in a guide is assessed.
Change 4: renamed and retired products
The exam uses the current names. Older courses and books still use the old ones. Each row links to the Google documentation page that says so.
| Current name (use this) | Previous name or status | What Google's documentation says | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artifact Registry | Container Registry | Container Registry is deprecated; since March 18, 2025 it is shut down and writing images to it is unavailable. | docs.cloud.google.com |
| Cloud Run functions | Cloud Functions (2nd gen); 1st gen is now Cloud Run functions (1st gen) | A function is a Cloud Run service deployed from source code. Cloud Run functions (1st gen) was formerly known as Cloud Functions (1st gen). | docs.cloud.google.com |
| Infrastructure Manager (Terraform) | Cloud Deployment Manager | Cloud Deployment Manager reached end of support on March 31, 2026. Infrastructure Manager deploys infrastructure defined in Terraform. | docs.cloud.google.com |
| Agent Runtime on Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform | Vertex AI Agent Engine | Google's name-changes page maps Vertex AI Agent Engine to Agent Runtime, and Vertex AI Workbench to Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform Workbench. | docs.cloud.google.com |
| gcloud storage | gsutil | gsutil is a legacy Cloud Storage CLI, minimally maintained and not the recommended CLI; use gcloud storage commands instead. | docs.cloud.google.com |
| Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform Workbench | Vertex AI Workbench | Listed on the same name-changes page; the guide writes "(formerly Vertex AI Workbench)" in 3.1. | docs.cloud.google.com |
The gsutil page also says that after March 2027 gsutil will no longer be part of the Google Cloud CLI installation package. In the Agent Platform API the Agent Runtime resource is still called ReasoningEngine.
Change 5: details that are easy to get wrong
How to adjust your preparation
- 1
Check the guide first
Open the guide from the exam page and compare it with your notes. It has no version date, so read the bullets themselves.
- 2
Relearn the names
Artifact Registry, Cloud Run functions, Infrastructure Manager, Agent Runtime on Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, gcloud storage. Answer options use the new vocabulary.
- 3
Spend ~60% of your time on sections 2 and 3
Deploy something end to end: a VM in a managed instance group, a GKE workload, a Cloud Run service with a traffic split, a bucket with lifecycle rules, then alerts and log routing.
- 4
Cover the new topics
GPUs vs TPUs, Workforce and Workload Identity Federation, CMEK, Cloud Hub and what each AI-assisted tool is for.
- 5
Practice on questions written for the current guide
Use timed 60-question exams weighted 12/18/18/12 and read every option's explanation. 75% on unseen exams is our practice target; Google publishes no passing score.
Start with the 10 free Google Cloud ACE questions. Prefer Spanish? Read el examen Associate Cloud Engineer en español. All courses are on the catalog.
Practice on the current guide, not the old one
Six 60-question practice exams weighted 12/18/18/12, written with the current product names, every option explained.
Google Cloud ACE exam changes FAQ
When did the Associate Cloud Engineer exam guide change?
Google does not print a version number or date on the guide, and the official pages we read do not give the date the current version took effect. Google's exam page says the exam was updated to reflect recent branding changes. Comparing the guide with a copy from September 12, 2025 shows the content changed.
What are the new section weights?
Setting up a cloud solution environment ~20% (was ~23%), Planning and implementing a cloud solution ~30% (unchanged), Ensuring the successful operation of a cloud solution ~30% (was ~27%), and Configuring access and security ~20% (unchanged).
What was removed from the guide?
Knative serving as a compute choice, the bullet on planning and executing infrastructure as code deployments including versioning, state management and updates, and adding a subnet to an existing VPC. Resizing a subnet's IPv4 address range remains.
Which product names does the exam use?
The current ones, such as Artifact Registry, Cloud Run functions, Infrastructure Manager, Agent Runtime on Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform and gcloud storage. Container Registry is shut down for new images, Cloud Deployment Manager reached end of support on March 31, 2026, and gsutil is a legacy CLI.
Did the exam format change?
The current exam page lists 2 hours, 50-60 multiple choice and multiple select questions, English, Japanese, Spanish and Portuguese, 3-year validity and no prerequisites. Google reports pass or fail only and does not publish a passing score. Since March 2, 2026 the exams are delivered by Pearson, and Google says no changes were made to exam content because of that move.
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