Artificial Intelligence (AI): Citing AI

• Always confirm with your professor/instructor whether AI tools are allowed for each assignment or course.
• Check the syllabus to ensure you understand what level of AI can be used in each course or assignment. 
• Always verify information and sources generated by AI tools.
  • AI has been known to generate false information and to cite non-existent sources.
  • AI-generated text does not properly credit information generated, which raises ethical concerns.

If you're using AI to generate text or images, you should acknowledge that in your citations, just like you would for a human author, artist, or photographer. If using AI is allowed on an assignment your professor gives you, each time you include something AI-generated, you have to cite it. (Remember that you can only use AI on an assignment if your professor specifically says so, and always double check with your instructor if you have questions about AI usage or citations.)

Several citation guides have released official or semi-official guidance on how to cite AI-generated content. You can cite AI in your work using the guidelines below!

Why do we cite?

Citations and their formatting might seem irritating, but they're an important part of providing reliable information to an audience. Writing gets its credibility from sourcing the claims it makes. Readers need to be able to fact-check a writer's sources and trace where the claims in a piece come from. 

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

• Parenthetical citation: (OpenAI, 2023)

• Narrative citation: OpenAI (2023)

McAdoo, T. (2023, April 7). How to cite ChatGPT. Apa.Org. https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/how-to-cite-chatgpt

“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.

• Parenthetical citation: (“Describe the symbolism”)

How do I cite generative AI in MLA style? MLA Style Center. 2023 Mar 17 [accessed 2023 Nov 15]. https://style.mla.org/citing-generative-ai/