<p>Enhancing cybersecurity awareness and digital literacy in the Internet era is increasingly important for young people. Digital games, with their interactivity and immersion, have been applied to the cultivation of cybersecurity awareness among adolescents. However, general digital games lack targeted guidance, making it difficult to sustain deep engagement and limiting academic performance. To this end, this study proposes an AI Agent-Integrated Digital Game Learning Approach (AIDG-approach) that integrates an AI agent-based adaptive feedback system to enhance middle school students’ academic performance, learning motivation, and classroom engagement in the Principles of the Internet course. To verify the effectiveness of the approach, 102 students (mean age 12.3 years) from a middle school in eastern China were recruited and assigned to an experimental group (<i>n</i> = 53) and a control group (<i>n</i> = 49). The experimental group used a digital game learning approach (AIDG-approach) integrating an AI agent-based adaptive feedback system, and the control group used a conventional digital game learning approach (CDG-approach). The results of the study showed that the experimental group was better than the control group in terms of academic performance and learning motivation, but the difference was not significant; while in terms of classroom engagement, the experimental group had a significant improvement over the control group. The interview results further revealed that the AI agent’s personalized feedback feature effectively enhanced students’ learning interest and task engagement, but the accuracy of its feedback and task complexity still limited the further improvement of motivation and performance. This study provides empirical evidence for the application of an AI agent–based adaptive gamified learning approach, enriches relevant theoretical frameworks, and offers guidance for design and deployment in educational practice.</p>