Education is a dynamic field in which individuals' access to information and learning styles are constantly changing. Within this change, artificial intelligence stands out with its potential to make learning processes more effective, student-centred and personalised. However, the limited research on artificial intelligence-supported teaching methods shows that more information is needed about the integration of these technologies into education. This study aims to examine the effect of artificial intelligence-supported instruction on 8th grade students' motivation and perceptions about artificial intelligence in the subject of “Acids and Bases” in science course. The research was carried out with 40 students determined by convenience sampling method in the 2023-2024 academic year. An experimental method was adopted in the study and a pretest-posttest control group design was applied. Qualitative data were collected through a metaphor test for the concept of artificial intelligence and evaluated by content analysis method. Quantitative data were obtained with the Science Motivation Scale and analysed using SPSS 25 software. As a result of the qualitative findings, the experimental group students emphasised the ‘technological/robotic’ dimension more after the artificial intelligence-supported teaching process and especially expressed the ‘ChatGPT’ application used during the lesson frequently in their metaphorical simulations. This shows that students associate artificial intelligence with more concrete, systematic and functional aspects. References to abstract concepts (e.g., ‘Market’ and ‘Water’) in the pre-test were replaced by more specific and experiential expressions in the post-test. This result shows that AI-supported instruction can improve students' ability to both understand technology and to contextualise this technology in educational processes. Quantitative findings showed that there was no significant difference (p > .05) between AI-supported instruction and traditional methods in terms of motivation. However, the higher motivation scores of the experimental group compared to the control group indicate the motivation-enhancing effect of AI-supported instruction. This study sheds light on the effects of AI-supported teaching methods on student perceptions.