Student Guide to Generative AI

Citing Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools

• You should always review your course syllabus for guidelines on using AI in your classes. You may need to disclose your use of AI for any part of your writing or research process. 

• You should always refer to the detailed guidelines from the style you are using in your paper or project. 

• NOTE: (8/21/24) Since the major style guides updated their formats to include citing generative AI, two of the most commonly used free gen AI tools (ChatGPT and Gemini) allow you to share your exact prompt and the AI’s response, making that information citeable. Gemini’s share icon appears at the end of the output; in ChatGPT, you’ll need to click on the chat name in the left sidebar. You may want, although you’re not yet required, to provide that link instead of the generic home link of the AI.

Citation Examples from Major Style Guides: 

These are merely brief examples, you should go to the source for each style to read in-depth instructions for how to cite any material created by generative AI in your writing.

APA

Source: How to cite ChatGPT 

Quoting AI Tools in APA Style

If you quote text from an AI tool in your paper, doing this is more like quoting a person than a printed source. APA says that "nonretrievable data or quotations ... are usually cited as personal communications, [but] with ChatGPT-generated text there is no person communicating." Instead, credit the author (or creator) of the tool.

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Example 1 from APA Guideline: In-text + Reference

When prompted with “Is the left brain right brain divide real or a metaphor?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that although the two brain hemispheres are somewhat specialized, “the notation that people can be characterized as ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained’ is considered to be an oversimplification and a popular myth” (OpenAI, 2023).

Reference

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

Example 2 from APA Guideline: In-text + Reference w/ Appendix

When given a follow-up prompt of “What is a more accurate representation?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that “different brain regions work together to support various cognitive processes” and “the functional specialization of different regions can change in response to experience and environmental factors” (OpenAI, 2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript).

Reference

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

Example 3 from APA Guideline: Multiple Citations 

If you are citing multiple times from an AI tool, the in-text citation will look the same, (OpenAI, 2025). In order to differentiate the citations, follow existing APA guidance on sources with the same name and same year by adding an a, b, c, etc to each citation. 

In-text

(OpenAI, 2023a)

OpenAI. (2023a). ChatGPT (Feb 13 version) [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com/share/67b671a2-16c4-8011-ae0a-f318b84fd52e

OpenAI. (2023b). ChatGPT (Feb 13 version) [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com/share/67b7b444-4a50-8011-a2a2-afc52f1e1451

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Formatting Citations in APA Style:

NOTE: this guidance was adapted by APA from their guidelines for citing software. Although the examples here use ChatGPT, you can use this format to cite other large language models, such as Gemini, and similar software.
 

APA format:  OpenAI. (Year). ChatGPT (Month Day version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com

APA reference entry: OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Feb 13 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com

APA in-text citation: (OpenAI, 2023)

MLA

Source: How do I cite generative AI in MLA style? 

The MLA Style Center gives this general guidance for using technologies like ChatGPT:

• Cite a generative AI tool whenever you paraphrase, quote, or incorporate into your own work any content (whether text, image, data, or other) that was created by it.
• Acknowledge all functional uses of the tool (like editing your prose or translating words) in a note, your text, or another suitable location.
• Take care to vet the secondary sources it cites.

Works Cited:

When creating a reference in MLA style, include the prompt used to generate the response.
 

MLA format: “Text of prompt” prompt. ChatGPT, Day Month version, OpenAI, Day Month Year, chat.openai.com.

MLA Works Cited entry: “Explain antibiotics” prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 16 Feb. 2023, chat.openai.com.

MLA in-text citation: ("Explain antibiotics")

Chicago

Source: Recommendations on how to cite AI-generated content 

"You do need to credit ChatGPT and similar tools whenever you use the text that they generate in your own work. But for most types of writing, you can simply acknowledge the AI tool in your text (e.g., “The following recipe for pizza dough was generated by ChatGPT”). If you need a more formal citation—for example, for a student paper or for a research article—a numbered footnote or endnote might look like this:"

Example:

1. Text generated by ChatGPT, March 31, 2023, OpenAI, https://chat.openai.com.
 

If the prompt hasn’t been included in the text, it can be included in the note:

1. ChatGPT, response to “Explain how to make pizza dough from common household ingredients,” OpenAI, March 7, 2023.

AMA

The AMA Manual of Style's section Acknowledging Support, Assistance, and Contributions of Those Who Are Not Authors recommends noting the use of AI tools in the Acknowledgements or Methods section of your paper, depending on what you used the tool for.

"Authors should report the use of artificial intelligence, language models, machine learning, or similar technologies to create content or assist with writing or editing of manuscripts in the Acknowledgment section or the Methods section if this is part of formal research design or methods.¹¹ This should include a description of the content that was created or edited and the name of the language model or tool, version and extension numbers, and manufacturer. (Note: this does not include basic tools for checking grammar, spelling, references, etc.)"

Formatting Citations in AMA Style

The AMA Manual of Style includes guidance on citing AI tools in the section on software. "In research articles, provide the brand name in parentheses along with the version or extension number, manufacturer or owner, and date(s) used."

Example in-text citation:

On June 12, 2023, the original full text of the question was put into a fresh chatbot session (ChatGPT, model GPT-4, OpenAI) and the generated responses were saved.

Source: https://libguides.stcc.edu/c.php?g=1341872&p=9897575#s-lg-box-31268636

IEEE

According to the "Guidelines for Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Generated Text" (based on IEEE Author Center Submission Guidelines), the use of content generated by artificial intelligence (AI) (including but not limited to text, figures, images, and code) shall be disclosed in an acknowledgments section. The AI system used shall be identified, and specific sections of the document that use AI-generated content shall be identified and accompanied by a brief explanation regarding the level at which the AI system was used to generate the content. The use of AI systems for editing and grammar enhancement should be disclosed as noted above.

IEEE has not published an official guideline on citing AI-generated content yet. The IEEE Author Center recommends consulting the Chicago Manual of Style for guidance for any usage not included in the IEEE Editorial Style Manual. The Chicago Manual of Style has recommendations on how to cite AI-generated content.