Disclosed is an artificial intelligence (AI) apparatus comprising: a short-range communication module configured for sensing a plurality of laundry treatment apparatuses positioned around the AI apparatus; and a processor configured for: acquiring laundry information about laundry and characteristic information of each of the detected laundry treatment apparatuses; determining a laundry group corresponding to the laundry, based on the acquired laundry information; comparing characteristic information of the determined laundry group and characteristic information of each of the plurality of laundry treatment apparatuses with each other; and determining a laundry treatment apparatus for washing the laundry among the plurality of laundry treatment apparatuses based on the comparison result.