Agriculture is undergoing a new era in which digital technologies are becoming more prevalent in the crop production and pest management practices of traditional farmers. Although insect pests are still considered as a major problem to agricultural productivity there is a concern over excessive and indiscriminate use of pesticides which can pose environmental, economic and ecological issues. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a sustainable framework and is based on monitoring pest populations and making decisions about action on pests using a combination of biological, cultural, mechanical, physical and chemical methods. Digital agriculture can support this framework with artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), remote sensing, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), computer vision, geographic information systems (GIS) and digital decision-support systems. These technologies provide the ability to identify pests quickly, monitor them automatically, estimate population levels, provide early warning, map their location and take targeted action. The fusion of AI, field sensors and remote sensing may also have the potential to bring about a paradigm change in pest control, transitioning from reactive and calendar-driven approaches to timely, site-specific and information-driven interventions. Some constraint issues with data quality, model accuracy, infrastructure, cost, connectivity and field validation still exist, however. Finally, the smart crop protection of the future relies on the combination of digital technologies, pest ecology, economic thresholds, use of biological control, and farmer knowledge. Well-validated digital tools can be an important component of sustainable and precision-based IPM. This will be useful for anyone involved in digital agriculture or precision crop protection, as well as those interested in integrated pest management and AI in precision agriculture.