Citing Generative AI

When incorporating AI-generated text or images into your work, it is important to acknowledge their source, similar to how you would credit a human author, artist, or photographer. If your instructor permits the use of AI in an assignment, you must provide a citation each time AI-generated content is included. AI usage should only be used if explicitly allowed by your instructor–if you are uncertain, consult with them before using it in your work. Various citation style guides have published official or provisional recommendations on how to reference AI-generated material. You can follow the suggested guidelines below to ensure proper citation.

1. It is essential to acknowledge generative AI’s contributions when utilizing their tools in your work. This applies not only to direct quotes and paraphrased content but also to tasks such as editing, translation, idea generation, and data processing.

2. Avoid relying on sources cited by AI tools unless you have personally reviewed them. There are two key reasons for this: AI-generated citations may be fabricated, and even when they reference real sources, the cited information might be inaccurate.

3. It is important to check citation guidelines frequently since guidelines are still evolving. If you are uncertain about the proper citation format, consider including a note in your work explaining how you used the AI tool.

4. Citations serve two main purposes: to give credit to the original creator and to enable others to locate the sources you referenced. Keeping these principles in mind can guide your decisions on how to properly acknowledge AI-generated content.

There are three main citation styles: APA, MLA, and Chicago. The choice of which style to use depends on your discipline and institutional requirements. See below for examples for each:

MLA Generative AI Citation Guide

• AI-generated materials are viewed as a source with no author

• Include a sharable link to the prompt script instead of the basic URL, if possible

Format:
"Description of chat" prompt. Name of AI tool, version of AI tool, Company, Date of chat, URL.

Example: 

"Examples of harm reduction initiatives" prompt. ChatGPT, 23 Mar. version, OpenAI, 4 Mar. 2023, ChatGPT .

In-Text Citation Example:

("Examples of harm reduction")

Chicago Generative AI Citation Guide

• Chicago views the tool as the author of the AI-generated materials

• Include a sharable link to the prompt script instead of the basic URL, if possible

A numbered footnote or endnote might look like this:

Format:
Author, Title, Publisher, Date, URL for the tool.  

Example (if information about the prompt has been included within the text of your paper):

Text generated by ChatGPT, OpenAI, February 20, 2024, ChatGPT . 

Example (including information about the prompt):

ChatGPT, response to "Translation into German," OpenAI, February 20, 2024, ChatGPT . 

APA Generative AI Citation Guide 

• APA views the creator of the AI-tool as the author of the AI-generated materials

• Include a sharable link to the prompt script instead of the basic URL, if possible

Format:

Author. (Date). AI Tool (Version) [type]. URL

Example 

In-text citation

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]. ChatGPT

Example (AI-generated image) 

In-text citation

(Company that made the AI tool, year image was generated).

Reference

The company that made the AI tool. (Year image was generated). Name of the AI tool, as specifically as possible. The version of the AI tool. [AI image generator]. URL.