Artificial intelligence has become an effective tool for assisting education and enhancing students’ learning outcomes. Universities are increasingly offering AI courses to cultivate students’ scientific literacy, improve learning efficiency, and enhance their thinking abilities. This study aims to explore the impact of generative AI-assisted creative thinking training on the artistic creativity of university art students. The study selected 48 s-year students from a university in Guangzhou as the sample, organized into natural classes. Among them, 20 students formed the experimental group, who received teaching interventions using generative AI-based creative thinking courses; 28 students formed the control group, who did not undergo any creative thinking training and did not use AI tools. Both groups were administered pre- and post-tests using the “Creativity Self-Report Scale” and the “Williams Creativity Tendency Scale.” The results showed that students in the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group in certain aspects of “creativity self-perception,” while changes in creativity tendencies were not significant. Conclusion: Generative AI-based creative thinking training can serve as an effective means to enhance the creativity self-perception of university art students. It is recommended to promote its application in art education, with future research exploring its applicability in different educational contexts and tool optimization.