- Last Updated: Nov 5, 2025 2:27 PM
Unless otherwise stated
While some citation and referencing styles have published interim direction on how AI generated materials should be cited, many still do not have specific guidelines. In general, though, you should treat AI-generated materials as a non-recoverable source and/or akin to personal communication, and follow guidelines for how to cite those resource types with your chosen reference style.
Below are some suggestions on citing generative AI materials in some of the major citation styles. Please note that UBC Library has a more comprehensive guide on how (and when) to cite other resources here. As always, please be sure to check with your instructor if in doubt about when to cite AI and what style to use.
In a series of posts from September 9, 2025, the APA Style Blog has updated its previous guidelines on citing Generative AI.
Reference formats
For more details, please see:
McAdoo, T., Denneny, S. & Lee, C. (2025, September 9). Citing generative AI in APA Style: Part 1—Reference formats. APA Style Blog. https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/cite-generative-ai-references
APA suggests that you should cite specific chats when they are used to generate ideas, content and information. You should cite the tool generally for the following use cases:
Please note that it's a best practice to document your prompts for reference. It's not necessary to cite each one, but you should keep them handy as sources of data. You can also put the full text of long responses in an appendix or online supplemental materials.
APA also suggests that, given that AI-generated content like chats are not created by a person, they cannot be considered personal communication. Instead, treat the content as an algorithm's output, and credit the author of the algorithm with a reference list entry and in-text citation.
Please use the following templates when citing GenAI. Please note that the author is the name of the AI company, not the tool being used.
General citation:
Example:
OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT (GPT-5) [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com/
Citation for a specific chat:
For a direct quote or paraphrase, or to cite the tool, use the following format:
Example:
Parenthetical citation: (OpenAI, 2025)
Narrative citation: OpenAI (2025)
AI as search engine
For more information, please see:
McAdoo, T., Denneny, S. & Lee, C. (2025, September 9). Citing generative AI in APA Style: Part 2—AI as a search engine and AI integrated into common software. APA Style Blog. https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/cite-generative-ai-search-software
In general, you do not need to cite AI if you're using it as a search engine, but do make sure that the AI tool cites its sources! Always verify the sources of information that the AI tool gives you.
Do not cite AI that is integrated into software (e.g. Copilot within Microsoft Word; this is seen as a similar use case to spellcheck).
Exception: If you are using GenAI in literature reviews, meta-analyses or metasyntheses, include your search strategy and state that AI was used to search for resources. Name the tools used, and cite as above.
Is AI "allowed" in APA style?
For more information, please see:
McAdoo, T., Denneny, S. & Lee, C. (2025, September 9).Citing generative AI in APA Style: Part 3—Is AI “allowed” in APA Style?. APA Style Blog. https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/cite-generative-ai-allowed
Please note that there are no hard and fast rules on permission or prohibition of the use of GenAI in academic or scholarly writing. The best practice is to check the guidelines involved, whether it's an essay for class or an article for publication in a journal. Always confirm with your instructor or check your syllabus for their explicit direction on the use of AI in their class. Remember that GenAI is not an author, and is not accountable for outputs; human authors, however, bear full responsibility for the accuracy or bias in the content of any text or data produced by GenAI.
As of March 17, 2023, MLA has provided some guidance on citing generative AI, including ChatGPT and DALL-E.
In summary, MLA recommends
The works cited entry for AI generated material should follow this format:
Example:
"Write a haiku in the style of Edgar Allen Poe" prompt. ChatGPT, May 3 version, OpenAI, 19 June 2023, chat.openai.com/chat
For any quotes, paraphrases or references to the AI generated material, use the following format:
Example:
("Write a haiku")
The 18th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style indicates that authors must be transparent about how the tool has been used either in the text, in a preface, or the like (see section 14.112). Any specific content should be cited though the text or in a footnote, regardless of if it's directly quoted or paraphrased.
For chats that are unrecoverable (i.e., you can't link to the chat), Chicago recommends treating these chats like personal communication, which doesn't require an entry in your bibliography or reference list. However, these references do still need to be cited in-text for Author-Date or in the footnote for Footnote version.
Many GenAI chats allow you to share URLs to archived chats. These chats can be cited like recoverable webpages in your reference list in addition to in-text. If you're including a reference list entry, cite it under the name of the publisher or developer (ex. OpenAI or Microsoft) rather than the name of the tool (ex. ChatGPT-4 or Copilot).
OpenAI. Response to “How many copyeditors does it take to fix a book-length manuscript?” ChatGPT-4, February 10, 2024. https://chatgpt.com/share/66fb0ff3-7280-8009-93a9-d956f412390b.
Example:
1. Text generated by ChatGPT-3.5, OpenAI, December 9, 2023, https://chat.openai.com/share/90b8137d-ff1c-4c0c-b123-2868623c4ae2.
A prompt, if not included in the text, may be added to the note. Longer prompts or chat may be summarized.
2. Response to “Explain how to make pizza dough from common household ingredients,” ChatGPT-3.5, Open AI, December 9, 2023, edited for style and accuracy.
Author-Date Version
In an author-date version, treat the name of the tool as the author of the content.
Example:
The following recipe for pizza dough was generated on December 9, 2023, by ChatGPT-3.5.
Although there is no specific guidance offered by Vancouver Style editors, AI content is generally considered personal communication and/or non-recoverable data, and therefore should not be included as a reference in your reference list according to the Vancouver Style.
Do not include.
AI-generated content can be cited in-text using the following format:
You can also include further information, such as the prompt you offered the AI in type of communication.
Examples:
In an online chat with Open AI's Chat GPT (23 March 2023)...
A chat generated a potentially useful script for dealing with these interactions (ChatGPT response, prompt for "How to resolve conflict with a coworker", 24 March 2023).
...(Grammerly paraphrase, 22 February 2023).
As of June 2023, IEEE does not cite AI generated text for publication and does not consider AI generated text a valid reference.
However, overall current advice is to treat AI generated text as a private communication or nonrecoverable material. Therefore, do not include a citation number, or include the reference in your reference list.
Do not include a reference list entry.
IEEE uses the following in-text citation format for unpublished materials:
Example:
In an online chat,... (OpenAI's Chat GPT, private communication, June 2023)
The Canadian Open Access Legal Citation Guide (the COAL Citation Guide) is designed to meet the needs of Canadian legal writers and researches. The full guide is freely available online. Section 8, AI-Generated Material, gives a detailed description of how to cite GenAI content. The general format is shown below.
Reference List
Full descriptions of each citation component are available in section 8.4 of the COAL Citation Guide.
Shortened Citations
To be used in subsequent citations once the full citation has been provided. The COAL Citation Guide recommends using the name of the AI for the shortened citation.
As each shortened citation must be unique, additional information (such as an abbreviated version of the initial prompt) must be added to differentiate shortened citations from others which use the same AI.
Example (From COAL Citation Guide: Section 8.5):
If the AI is not publicly available:
Where the AI is not publicly available, the COAL Citation Guide recommends including additional information where possible.
General Format:
As with textual outputs, it is important to acknowledge how you have used generative AI in creating non-textual outputs such as images, music, figures, etc.
As of June 2023, only MLA and Chicago have released some guidelines on how to cite visual and other works generated by AI. See the links below for more information on citing images and other non-textual materials generated by AI, as well as guides created by UBC Library on citing non-textual materials generally.
As of June 2023, several publishers have offered guidance on how AI tools should be considered for publications
The Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity is developing an open technical standard for greater transparency in how media or documents have been altered. The MIT Technology Review has described this as a "nutritional label" for AI.