The restructuring of employment patterns and the optimization of social security systems in the era of artificial intelligence (AI) have become global challenges. Targeting the knowledge-intensive gig economy, this paper defines its concept, characteristics, and classification. By employing transaction cost theory and signaling theory, the paper analyzes the mechanisms through which AI influences the development of knowledge-intensive gig economy. The findings indicate that AI facilitates the growth of this economy through a dual mechanism of reducing transaction costs and enhancing signal transmission. While the knowledge-intensive gig economy unleashes workers’ innovative potential and enhances national innovation capacity, it simultaneously presents new challenges to national governance capabilities, regulatory capacity, and the exercise of state authority. In order to provide insights for the future development of China’s knowledge-intensive gig economy, this paper summarizes the experiences of representative countries in leveraging artificial intelligence to foster this sector, and analyzes the current situation and challenges facing China.