Ask your program about their guidelines for incorporating information generated by ChatGPT and other AI in your papers. When permissible to use that information directly, make sure to cite a generative AI tool whenever you paraphrase, quote, or incorporate any content (whether text, image, data, or other) that was created by it.
Use the information below to learn more about specific guidelines for each major citation style.
While the American Psychological Association (APA) has not released official guidelines on citing generative AI quite yet, the recent post on the APA Style Blog provides guidance on citing ChatGPT adaptable to other AI tools.
The general recommendation is for the Methodology and/or Introduction of your paper to specify the following:
As for the in-text citation and the Bibliography/Reference/Works Cited item that will follow this description, follow the examples below:
In-text example:
(OpenAI, 2023)
Reference example:
OpenAI (2023). ChatGPT (May 24 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat
The Chicago Manual of Style provides guidance for citing ChatGPT and generative AI tools within its newly issued 18th edition, Section 14.112. To ethically incorporate the information product generated by ChatGPT or other AI, the Manual’s recommendation is to cite “[a]ny specific content, whether quoted or paraphrased,...where it occurs, either in the text or in a note. Like personal communications (see 14.111) and social media posts (see 14.106), chatbot conversations are not usually included in a bibliography or reference list.” The specific information to include in the text or in the note when citing AI-generated content is as follows:
The prompt used when utilizing ChatGPT or other AI;
The AI software used to create the content (e.g., ChatGPT) and the software’s publisher or developer (e.g., OpenAI);
The date when the content was generated;
The URL (if available) of a publicly archived copy of the conversation;
In-text example:
The following definition of a multi-site case study comparison method was generated on September 9, 2024, by ChatGPT-4o, using the prompt “Explain what is a multi-site case study comparison method using recent published examples.”
Note example:
1. Response to “Explain what is a multi-site case study comparison method using recent published examples," ChatGPT-4o, OpenAI, September 9, 2024, https://chat.openai.com/share/90b8137d-ff1c-4c0c-b123-2868623c4am4.
Please note that similar guidelines apply to citing an image created by/with the help of AI (see 3.38):
In-text example:
Fig. 3 Image generated by ChatGPT-4o, September 12, 2024, from the prompt “Create an image of libraries in France.”
MLA now provides preliminary official guidance for citing information produced by generative AI. According to MLA, writers should:
Additionally, writers should not credit the AI as an author. The description of the content of the generated product should be treated as the title of the source, as if it were an article or chapter title.
In-text example:
While the green light in The Great Gatsby might be said to chiefly symbolize four main things: optimism, the unattainability of the American dream, greed, and covetousness (“Describe the symbolism”), arguably the most important—the one that ties all four themes together—is greed.
Works Cited entry example:
“Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald” prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.
'APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6th edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page'.
MyBib is an online citation and bibliography generator that helps users create citations in various styles, including APA, MLA, Chicago, and more. It is designed to assist students, researchers, and writers in formatting their references accurately.
EasyBib is a widely used online citation generator that helps users create citations and bibliographies in various citation styles, including APA, MLA, Chicago, and more. EasyBib simplifies the process of formatting citations for different types of sources, such as books, articles, websites, and more.
"Citefast" is a web-based citation generator that helps users create citations in various formats such as APA, MLA, and Chicago. It's a tool designed to simplify the process of generating accurate and properly formatted citations for different types of sources, including books, articles, websites, and more.
Free web-browser add-on; Collects citation data from articles, webpages, PDF files, ebooks; Formats in numerous citation styles including MLA, APA, and Chicago/Turabian; Citation data is organized and stored in a personal library with options for note-taking and sharing. It creates works cited pages and in-text citations in MS Word.