There is great potential for the application of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in fusion research, and substantial worldwide benefit if fusion power is realized. However, using AI comes with its own challenges, many of which can be mitigated if responsible and robust methodologies are built into existing approaches. To do that requires close, long-term collaborations between fusion domain experts and AI developers and awareness of the fact that not all problems in fusion research are best tackled with AI tools. In April 2025, experts from academia, industry, UK atomic energy authority and Science and Technology Facilities Council discussed how AI can be used to advance R&D in fusion energy at the first edition of The EconomistFusionFest event. This perspective is an expanded and updated summary of the roundtable discussion, providing more context and examples.