Artificial intelligence (AI) had roared back into the headlines of the investing world this week. As a result, Australian investors might be on the hunt for ASX AI stocks to invest in.

The revelation earlier in the week that the Chinese AI program DeepSeek had been developed at a relatively low cost upended global markets. This, in turn, resulted in some dramatic share price movements.

Once again, the potential of this technology to change the world has been on full display.

Investing in AI remains difficult, though. As this technology is still very much in its infancy, it can be hard to know which companies will be the long-term winners of the AI revolution, and which might go the way of Netscape Navigator.

That's why I think the best ASX AI stock to invest $1,000 in right now is actually an exchange-traded fund (ETF).

A top ASX AI stock to buy with $1,000

The Global X Artificial Intelligence ETF (ASX: GXAI) was only launched in April of last year. It offers investors access to a portfolio of global companies that potentially stand to benefit from the adoption of AI technology. As well as companies that make the chips and infrastructure that underpin it.

If you wish to invest in ASX AI stocks but don't know where to start, this company is a great choice, in my view. It offers exposure to a wide variety of companies in this endeavour. These range from Tesla, Qualcomm and Netflix to Oracle, Alibaba and NVIDIA. There are currently a total of 84 stocks in this ETF's portfolio. All have at least some form of exposure to AI.

This ETF isn't going to capture the full returns of the AI revolution's biggest winners. But I think it's a great way of harnessing at least some of the upside that AI is poised to bring to investors. Particularly for those who might not have a deep understanding of how AI technology operates.

As such, I think anyone wishing to inject some AI exposure into their ASX stock portfolios would do well to take a look at this ETF.

The Global X Artificial Intelligence ETF charges a management fee of 0.57% per annum. Since its inception last year, this ASX AI stock has delivered a performance of 21.9% (as of 31 December). Over the past five years, the index that this ETF tracks has returned an average of 20.7% per annum.