Salicylic acid (SA) is an important phenolic compound that plays a key role in plant defenses and is widely used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and personal care products due to its significant anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities. Currently, the production of SA mainly relies on plant extraction and chemical synthesis, which suffers from complex processes, severe environmental pollution, and high dependence on petrochemical resources. With the rapid development of synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, the green synthesis of SA through intelligently designed microbial cell factories, empowered by machine learning algorithms and automated platforms, has become an important research direction to replace conventional production methods. This review systematically summarizes the microbial biosynthetic pathways of SA. With a focus on the intelligent design theme, this paper highlights the application of AI and synthetic biology tools in the discovery and utilization of natural SA-producing microbial resources and the rational reconstruction and optimization of the SA biosynthetic pathway in model microorganisms via intelligent metabolic engineering strategies. Furthermore, it introduces the key intelligent technologies for enhancing yields and the challenges faced. Finally, it discusses the future trends in this field.