In the Artificial Intelligence era, organizations face unprecedented challenges and opportunities. The use of technology has not only changed the way work is done, but also had a significant impact on employee behavior patterns and performance. The innovative work behavior of employees greatly influences the sustainable development of enterprises. How AI affects explicitly employees’ innovative work behaviors and the mechanism of its impact on work performance is unclear. An in-depth analysis of this process is essential for optimizing the application of AI, promoting employees’ innovative behaviors, and improving job performance. The study of AI’s influence on employees’ innovative behavior and its effect on job performance was conducted using multiple regression and path analysis methods. It was discovered that the use of AI significantly impacts employees’ innovative behavior and work performance. In the paper, after controlling for factors such as gender, education, and enterprise size, the positive influence coefficient of AI on employees’ innovative behavior is 0.305 (p<0.01), and the positive influence coefficient on job performance is 0.520 (p<0.001). The relationship between artificial intelligence and employee innovative behavior is mediated by interpersonal trust. Artificial intelligence directly affects employees’ innovative work behavior, enhances their intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and indirectly promotes work performance improvement. To encourage employee innovative behavior and improve work performance, enterprises should actively adopt AI technology while maintaining interpersonal trust.