As the new round of scientific and technological revolution advances in tandem with the green and low-carbon transition, how to leverage industrial intelligence policies to simultaneously improve economic performance and environmental performance has become a critical issue for the long-term high-quality sustainable development of enterprises. Based on data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2013 to 2024, and treating the National New Generation Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Development Pilot Zones as a quasi-natural experiment, a multi-period difference-in-differences method was employed to examine the impact of artificial intelligence policies on corporate sustainable development performance. The findings indicate that artificial intelligence policies significantly enhance corporate sustainable development performance. Mechanism tests show that artificial intelligence policies promote corporate sustainable development performance through two channels: stimulating corporate green innovation and optimizing capital allocation efficiency. Human capital positively moderates the enabling effect of artificial intelligence policies on corporate sustainable development performance. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that the enhancing effect of artificial intelligence policies on corporate sustainable development performance is more pronounced in high-tech industries, non-heavily polluting industries, and regions with low environmental regulatory intensity. Further analyses indicate that artificial intelligence policies generate spillover effects, which contribute to the improvement of sustainable development performance among other firms within the same industry and the same city. These conclusions not only elucidate the micro-mechanisms through which artificial intelligence policies enhance corporate sustainable development performance, but also provide policy implications for optimizing the strategic layout of artificial intelligence and promoting high-quality development.