<p>The complexity of modern engineering problems requires creative solutions, and students need to develop creativity to make meaningful contributions to both their profession and society. This study discusses the impact of using artificial intelligence-generated content (AIGC) tools in engineering courses focused on creative problem-solving on the creativity of engineering students. A 2-month intervention was conducted, with creativity assessed using the Creative Engineering Design Assessment (CEDA) scale. The study consisted of an experimental group (<i>N</i> = 54) using AIGC tools and a control group (<i>N</i> = 59) relying on traditional methods. The data were analyzed using SPSS (V. 24.0), and the results revealed important findings: Before the intervention, the experimental and control groups exhibited no significant differences across all creativity dimensions—fluency, flexibility, originality, and usefulness—indicating a balanced baseline suitable for comparison. Following the intervention, the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group across all creativity dimensions, with notable gains in fluency (+ 15.574) and flexibility (+ 15.283), alongside improvements in originality (+ 11.222) and usefulness (+ 2.641) (<i>p</i> &lt; .05), while the control group showed no significant changes. The creativity enhancement effect of the AIGC-based teaching method was significantly greater than that of traditional teaching methods. These findings suggest that AIGC tools in the creative problem-solving process can serve as an effective catalyst for engineering students’ creativity, underscoring the potential of technology integration to improve educational outcomes in engineering education. This study has implications for both the theoretical expansion of engineering education and its pedagogical practice.</p>