Tooltip for refitting them suggests otherwise

(wouldn't be the first or the only one misleading)
Ah, that's what you mean.
Yes, I remember people saying they were able to capture ships under refit. That was shortly after MTG.
But you need ships under refit. Not repair.
As for do AI refit, I don't think they do. I remember someone mentioning it's due to refit cost. If you really really want to see AI refit ships, maybe try mods where ship refit min cost is reduced and ask the mod creators to see whether they expect AI to refit in their mods.