A laundry folding appliance includes one or more folding panels mechanically coupled to a cabinet and at least partially defining a folding surface for receiving articles of clothing. An actuating assembly selectively pivots the folding panels to fold the articles of clothing and a camera assembly is positioned in view of the folding surface. A controller obtains one or more images using the camera assembly, identifies the laundry articles positioned on the folding surface by analyzing the one or more images using a laundry identification model, determines a folding protocol for folding the laundry article, and operates the actuating assembly to fold the laundry article in accordance with the folding protocol.