As AI technologies are introduced into the language classroom, their impact on teacher development—especially in terms of professional identity—requires thorough exploration. This qualitative exploratory study investigated how twelve pre-service ELT teachers (semester-long practicum) constructed and negotiated their professional identities while incorporating AI-supported classroom instruction. Data sets included reflections written each week, teaching artifacts (lesson plans and classroom video recordings), and interviews given at the end of the semester in a semi-structured format, all of which were thematically analyzed with NVivo, along with triangulation achieved through the different types of data. The findings indicated that initially AI overlapped participants’ traditional conceptions of role, whereby uncertainty about authority and creativity ensued, but with many participants again redefining themselves as facilitators and instructional designers and practitioners of data information. Participants also identified continuing gaps between technological efficiency and humanistic commitments and other emotional labor while mediating AI-student interaction. The study indicated that AI accelerates the negotiations of identity and foregrounds autonomy and pedagogical creativity and ethics matters in tech-enhanced ELT. The author recommends the embedding of structured support for identity building such as guided reflections, mentoring, and modules on critical digital pedagogy within teacher education.