With the widespread application of artificial intelligence technology across various industries, our society has embarked on the journey towards the 4.0 intelligent era. To foster high-quality development in teaching reform at colleges and universities, which is empowered by information technologies such as artificial intelligence, in-depth interviews with 20 managers, implementers and educates involved in teaching reform across 11 colleges and universities were conducted. Qualitative analysis was performed using NVIVO software. Through analyzing the current application of artificial intelligence in teaching reform at colleges and universities, both achievements and challenges are identified. Finally, it is proposed to advance the intelligent application of teaching reform in colleges and universities from four perspectives such as people-oriented philosophy, talent support, financial support and institutional support.