Currently, there is a growing trend for college and university teachers to use AI in their teaching work. However, existing research explores the impact of teachers’ usage of AI in the workplace on students. Based on resource preservation theory, this study examined the mechanism of the usage of AI in teaching on students’ innovative behavior and well-being with a sample of 356 college students from Zhejiang Province. The study found that the usage of AI in teaching significantly and positively affected students’ innovative behavior and well-being, with students’ positive emotion playing a mediating role. Students’ AI trust not only moderated the effect of the usage of AI in teaching on positive emotion, but also moderated the mediating role of positive emotion. The findings have important implications for teachers’ instructional management and practice.