On this page, you will find guidance on how to cite artificial intelligence tools in three citation styles: APA, MLA, and Chicago Manual of Style.
Anytime your work has been produced or aided by someone or something other than yourself, you need to provide credit with a citation. This also applies to artificial intelligence tools.
Artificial intelligence tools include but are not limited to:
The 7th edition of APA Formatting and Style Guide does not currently have specific language on citing AI. The format below is from the APA Style blog entry "How to cite ChatGPT". Guidance may change with the next edition.
In APA, the author is the creator of the algorithm (ex. OpenAI for ChatGPT).
(Corporation, Year information was generated)
(OpenAI, 2023)
Currently, generative AI is being cited like a personal communication.
Corporation. (Date information was generated). AI Model (version date) [Large language model]. URL of model
OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. chat.openai.com/chat
The 9th edition of the MLA style guide does not currently have specific language on citing AI. The format below is from the MLA Style Center webpage, "How do I cite generative AI in MLA style?". Guidance may change with the next edition.
In MLA, there is no 'author' when citing AI. Use the prompt you typed into the tool to generate a response instead.
("Shortened prompt")
("List the themes")
"Prompt text" prompt. Model, version date, Corporation, Date retrieved, URL of Model
"List the themes in Animal Farm" prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023. chat.openai.com/chat
The 17th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style guide does not currently have specific language on citing AI. The format below is from the Chicago Manual of Style Online Q&A. Guidance may change with the next edition.
In Chicago, the AI model (ex. ChatGPT) is considered the author and the corporation that developed the model (ex. OpenAI) is considered the publisher. The URL is not considered an essential part of the citation and can be added or removed.
If the prompt has been included in the body of your text:
1. Text generated by AI Model, Corporation, Date retrieved, URL.
If the prompt has not been included in the body of your text:
1. AI Model, response to "Prompt," Corporation, Date retrieved, URL.
If the prompt has been included in the body of your text:
1. Text generated by ChatGPT, OpenAI, March 7, 2023, https://chat.openai.com/chat.
If the prompt has not been included in the body of your text:
1. ChatGPT, response to “Explain how to make pizza dough from common household ingredients,” OpenAI, March 7, 2023, https://chat.openai.com/chat.
Conversations with AI tools can only be seen by the user, unless you are using a browser extension like ShareGPT or A.I. Archives. This means that a conversation you have with ChatGPT is not publicly available or reproducible. For that reason, Chicago Style recommends that you cite ChatGPT in a footnote or endnote, but not in your bibliography: "you must credit ChatGPT when you reproduce its words within your own work, but unless you include a publicly available URL, that information should be put in the text or in a note—not in a bibliography or reference list." ("Citation, Documentation of Sources")