With the continuous progress of artificial intelligence technology, its application in the field of education is increasingly extensive, which has brought profound changes to the traditional teaching mode. Under the background of education informatization, the application of artificial intelligence technology not only changes the way we obtain and process information but also greatly improves the personalized level of education, especially in the field of English education, its application potential is particularly significant. This paper makes an in-depth analysis of the dilemma of “empowering” English teaching by artificial intelligence. It puts forward the corresponding teaching model innovation path from the aspects of building an intelligent teaching resource base, formulating personalized learning plans, developing an intelligent teaching platform, developing intelligent language learning software, and strengthening teacher information technology training, hoping to provide useful references for college English teaching reform.