Based on the PICRAT model, this study conducted a questionnaire survey among 1, 008 primary school English teachers based in Shanghai. The research aimed to investigate how the teachers utilise digital and intelligent technologies to enhance textbook use, identify factors influencing their use of technology, and propose strategies to address the challenges they face. The findings reveal that the teachers’ technology use mainly focuses on improving efficiency and providing additional resources. The technologies are most frequently used to “Replace” existing teaching media, followed by applications to “Amplify” teaching and learning practices, and the use to “Transform” practices is minimal. The teachers face challenges such as insufficient technological literacy, limited access to tools, resource misalignment, inadequate policy support and collegial networks. To advance from merely “teaching with technology” to “empowering learning through technology,” it is essential to build a robust teacher-education support system for AI-empowered textbook use and promote the use of AI toward the “Creative” and “Transformative” dimensions of the PICRAT model. By applying the PICRAT model to technology-empowered textbook use and exploring the application of technology integration theory in primary school English education, this study provides data-driven insights and recommendations for the “AI+ Education” initiative, thereby supporting the improvement of teachers’ digital literacy.