Accelerating the emergence of new quality productivity is a pivotal strategy for securing a proactive stance in the developmental trajectory of the contemporary era and forthcoming journey. Intelligent transformation plays a key role in this process. This study uses advanced text processing techniques and analyzes corporate annual reports to quantify the extent of intelligent transformation in listed Chinese firms between 2011 and 2022. It explores the holistic influence, underlying mechanisms, and diverse attributes of intelligent transformation in the cultivation of new quality productivity in enterprises. The results provide several key insights. (1) Intelligent transformation exerts a substantial positive effect on enterprises’ new quality productivity enhancement, which persists after considering endogeneity concerns and performing rigorous robustness checks. (2) Regarding the underlying mechanisms, intelligent transformation catalyzes an increase in enterprises’ new quality productivity by amplifying their technological innovation capabilities. (3) The magnitude of intelligent transformation’s impact on new quality productivity varies markedly across enterprises, influenced by factors such as ownership structure, geographical locale, and marketization degree.

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