Aims: The aim of this study was to explore healthcare leaders' perceptions of the contribution of artificial intelligence (AI) to person-centred care (PCC). Methods: The study had an explorative qualitative approach. Individual interviews were conducted from October 2020 to May 2021 with 26 healthcare leaders in a county council in Sweden. An abductive qualitative content analysis was conducted based on McCormack and McCance's framework of PCC. The four constructs (i.e. prerequisites, care environment, person-centred processes and expected outcomes) constituted the four categories for the deductive analysis. The inductive analysis generated 11 subcategories to the four constructs, representing how AI could contribute to PCC. Results: Healthcare leaders perceived that AI applications could contribute to the four PCC constructs through (a) supporting professional competence and establishing trust among healthcare professionals and patients (prerequisites); (b) including AI's ability to facilitate patient safety, enable proactive care, provide treatment recommendations and prioritise healthcare resources (the care environment); (c) including AI's ability to tailor information and promote the process of shared decision making and self-management (person-centred processes); and (d) including improving care quality and promoting health outcomes (expected outcomes). Conclusions: The healthcare leaders perceived that AI applications could contribute to PCC at different levels of healthcare, thereby enhancing the quality of care and patients' health. © Author(s) 2025.