With the deep integration and development of artificial intelligence technology in the economy and society, intelligent manufacturing provides a new opportunity for “overtaking in corners” to improve green total factor productivity. In order to clarify the relationship between the application of intelligent manufacturing and local green development, based on the panel data of 262 cities at or above the prefecture level in China from 2008 to 2019, this paper analyzes the impact of intelligent manufacturing on the total factor productivity of urban green and investigates the role of man-machine matching in it by using the panel smooth transformation regression model. The research results show that the development of intelligent manufacturing can obviously promote the urban green total factor productivity, but this promotion effect will show an invisible slowdown with the continuous improvement of the application level of intelligent manufacturing. At the same time, intelligent manufacturing can significantly improve the green total factor productivity of China’s non-resource cities, cities with a high level of digital economy development, and eastern regional cities. Further research found that when the man-machine matching degree crossed the threshold, intelligent manufacturing could fully release the promotion of green total factor productivity. The research conclusions and suggested measures are of great significance for China to grasp the technical characteristics and advantages of intelligent manufacturing and promote low-carbon economic transformation.