<p>Sustainable development is a growing trend in higher education. Equity is a fundamental and inevitable requirement of education, promoting its sustainable development. However, new inequity problems were induced by the increased use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in education. To empirically focus on under-researched regions and their clear linkage to equity concerns. A literature review and empirical investigation were conducted in this paper. First, we summarize the inequity and the solutions of using AI tools in education given in previous studies. Then, the usage of AI tools in education and the equitable awareness among teachers and students in five colleges in China’s central and western regions were studied using a questionnaire survey. The results showed that most of the college teachers and students like to use AI tools in education. However, most of them are not aware of the inequity caused by using AI tools in education. In addition, the inequality caused by using AI tools in education is real, especially for teachers in regions with different economic development levels. We advocate that governments and colleges should provide professional training about equitable awareness in using AI tools in education to teachers and students. In addition, a sound system of rules and regulations should be established to deal with rapidly evolving AI tool updates and abuses. These findings and suggestions provide critical insights for the sustainable development of higher education.</p>