Any time 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:
Consult with your instructor before using any form of artificial intelligence (ChatGPT, Grammarly, etc.) for your work. If you have been given permission to use AI tools, you must always cite the tool you used.
Under Policy 60, Appendix A, Section 3.1, instructors could consider the use of AI as cheating under the following statement: "having ready access to and/or using aids or devices (including wireless communication devices) not expressly allowed by the instructor during an examination, test, quiz, or other evaluation."
The Senate has approved the following changes to Appendix A of Policy 60, specifically, under the category of "Misrepresentation of Personal Identity or Performance":
5.5. submitting work created in whole or in part by artificial intelligence tools unless expressly permitted by the Faculty/Contract Lecturer;
5.6. submitting work that does not reasonably demonstrate your own knowledge, understanding and performance
For more information on Academic Integrity and AI, visit Artificial Intelligence FAQs.
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 (e.g., OpenAI for ChatGPT or Google for Gemini).
(Corporation, Year information was generated)
(OpenAI, 2023)
(Google, 2025)
Currently, generative AI is being cited like a personal communication. The author is the creator (e.g., Google), the title is the name of the model (e.g., Gemini), the version is in parentheses following the title (e.g, Flash 2.0); this can be the version date, name, number or a combination: use the same system as the corporation creating it does.
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
Google. (2025). Gemini (2.0 Flash) [Large language model]. https://gemini.google.com/
Updated April 1/25
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")
("Help me learn about tariffs")
"Prompt text" prompt. Model, version date, Corporation, Date retrieved, URL of Model
"Help me learn about tariffs. Start with a detailed write up that explains what it is and why it's important" prompt. Gemini, 25 Mar. version, Google, 2 Apr. 2025. https://gemini.google.com/
"List the themes in Animal Farm" prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023. chat.openai.com/chat
The 18th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style guide contains guidance around citing generative AI in the following sections:
According to CMOS 18, any reliance on AI must be made clear somewhere in the text, preface, or other appropriate section. If referring to specific content generated by AI, whether it is quoted or paraphrased, a citation is required either in the text or in a note.
When quoting or paraphrasing content generated by AI, cite your use of AI either in the text or in a note.
If the prompt is included in the text:
1. Text generated by AI Model & Version number, Developer, Date retrieved, URL for public link.
If the prompt has not been included in the text, it can be added to the note. Multiple prompts in an extended conversation can be summarized.
1. Response to "Prompt," AI Model & Version number, Developer, Date retrieved, URL for public link.
If the prompt is included in the text:
1. Text generated by ChatGPT, OpenAI, March 7, 2023, https://chatgpt.com/share/67e312f8-7c3c-800f-9841-c03e1666477d.
2. Text generated by Gemini 2.0 Flash, Google, April 2, 2025, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1am9Sf2MZF-JqnX63y1ZVdai7rFlPoX0VuB5o4U1JgqQ/edit?usp=sharing.
If the prompt has not been included in the body of your text:
1. Response to “Recipe for sourdough,” ChatGPT-4, OpenAI, March 7, 2023, https://chatgpt.com/share/67e312f8-7c3c-800f-9841-c03e1666477d.
2. Response to "Help me learn about trade tariffs. Start with a detailed write up that explains what it is and why it's important, then include 2 examples from the real world. Finally include a list of links for more info." Gemini 2.0 Flash, Google, April 2, 2025, https://g.co/gemini/share/7e0a6f19e866
The following recipe for sourdough was generated on March 25, 2025, by ChatGPT-4.
The following write-up and examples about trade tariffs were generated on April 2, 2025, by Gemini 2.0 Flash.
Chatbot conversations do not usually need to be included in a bibliography or reference list. If there's a need to include an AI conversation in a bibliography, cite using the publisher or developer of the tool.
Developer. Response to "Prompt." AI Model & Version number, Date retrieved. URL for public link.
OpenAI. Response to "What is a literature review?" ChatGPT-4, March 25, 2025. https://chatgpt.com/share/67e30b33-bbe0-800f-ae5f-23cc57f4bcd6.
Google. Response to "Help me learn about trade tariffs. Start with a detailed write up that explains what it is and why it's important, then include 2 examples from the real world. Finally include a list of links for more info." Gemini 2.0 Flash, April 2, 2025. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1am9Sf2MZF-JqnX63y1ZVdai7rFlPoX0VuB5o4U1JgqQ/edit?usp=sharing..
A public or shared link allows you to share your conversation with a chatbot with anyone. How you create this link will vary so look up the guidance for the specific product you're using. For instance, here is the ChatGPT Shared Links FAQ. Note that the institutional version of Gemini subscribed to by TMU does not allow for the creation of a public link. Instead, copy or export your prompt to a Google doc, and then share the link to that doc.
If you have used generative AI to create an image, note its use in the figure caption.
Fig #. Image generated by AI Model & Version number, Date retrieved, from the prompt "Prompt."
Fig 3. Image generated by ChatGPT-4, March 25, 2025, from the prompt "Image of a futuristic city skyline."
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Reference Style Guide does not currently have specific language on citing AI. The format below is from the IEEE Author Centre. Guidance may change in the future.
The use of generative AI in text, figures, images, code, or any other content needs to be disclosed in the acknowledgements section of an article. It needs to include:
This is recommended but not required for editing and grammar improvement.
There is no rule in McGill (yet) for citing to Generative AI.
The Canadian Open Access Legal Citation Guide (COAL) is the only Canadian legal citation style to provide a format for AI-generated content. COAL suggests the following format for publicly available GenAI tools:
Name of AI | , version if available | . Prompt. | (Translation of prompt if applicable). | (Developer | : host if different than developer | , date or date range of response). | URL if conversation publicly saved | (Description of any additional prompts.)
Example:
ChatGPT, 3.5. Response to “why do citations of united nations documents include meeting information as well as a document number? It seems redundant.” (OpenAI, 12 January 2024). https://chat.openai.com/share/a41ec2d3-0362-4282-b15b-71654fb5302b (Further prompts to request sources of information provided in response.)