The development of artificial intelligence (AI) has brought great revolutions to the development of human society, and new applications based on AI have been continuously emerging. Owing to the powerful capability in controlling electromagnetic (EM) waves and the flexible designs of EM and optical metamaterials, especially the real-time digital control abilities of programmable metamaterials, the AI technologies could easily be brought into the design and intelligent applications of EM metamaterials. As for the AI technology combined with electromagnetic and optical metamaterials, this paper reviews the main research progresses and achievements of structural optimization, architectural design, and system applications from the three aspects of intelligent design, neuromorphic architecture, and smart system. In addition, the future development direction of intelligent metamaterials is prospected.