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APA Citation Style Guide

This guide will support you in creating common citation formats in the APA (American Psychological Association) Style - 7th edition.

When and What to Cite from Generative AI

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. 

Citing AI Generated Materials

In a post from April 7, 2023, APA offers some guidance on citing AI-generated materials and AI software.

First, APA suggests ensuring you describe how you used the AI tool in your research in a method section or comparable section of your paper.

APA also suggests that given that AI generated content like chats are not created by a person, that 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.

You can also put the full text of long responses in an appendix or online supplemental materials.

 
Reference List
Author. (Year of the Version). Title of the Tool (Version if applicable) [Tool description if applicable]. Source/URL

Example:

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

 
In-Text Citation

For a direct quote or paraphrase, or to cite the tool, use the following format. Note: OpenAI is the author not ChatGPT.

(Author, Year)

Example:

Parenthetical citation: (OpenAI, 2023)

Narrative citation: OpenAI (2023)

As of March 17, 2023, MLA has provided some guidance on citing generative AI, including ChatGPT and DALL-E.

In summary, MLA recommends

  • citing a generative AI tool whenever you incorporate any content created by it into your own work
  • acknowledging any uses of the tool in a note or other suitable location
  • vetting any secondary sources it cites
  • not treating the AI tool as an author

 

Works Cited Entry

The works cited entry for AI generated material should follow this format:

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

Example:

"Write a haiku in the style of Edgar Allen Poe" prompt. ChatGPT, May 3 version, OpenAI, 19 June 2023, chat.openai.com/chat

 

In-Text Citation

For any quotes, paraphrases or references to the AI generated material, use the following format:

("Shortened description of chat")

Example:

("Write a haiku")

The Chicago Manual of Style does not have official recommendations for reference generative AI, but does provide some guidance about citing AI generated materials in a Q&A. (as of June 2023).

Currently, Chicago treats the AI model as an author, and the format as a personal communication; therefore references to AI generated content are included in a footnote but not in a bibliography or reference list.

 
Bibliography or Reference List

Do not include.

 
Footnote Version
Note number. Originator of the communication and description of the prompt, date the text was generated, publisher, General URL

Example:

1. ChatGPT, response to "Create a haiku in the style of Edgar Allen Poe," June 16, 2023, OpenAI, https://chat.openai.com/chat.

 

Author-Date Version

In an author-date version where parenthetical citations are used in text, any information not in the text would be placed in a parenthentical reference.

Example:

(ChatGPT, June 16, 2023).

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.

 
Reference List

Do not include.

 
In-Text Citation

AI-generated content can be cited in-text using the following format:

Type of Communication, Communicator, Date (DMY)

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.

 

Reference List

Do not include a reference list entry.

 

In-text Citation

IEEE uses the following in-text citation format for unpublished materials:

Author's name (Initials, Surname), private communication, Abbrev. Month, year.)

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

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.) 

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):

  • First reference: ChatGPT, 3.5. Response to “when can landlords evict tenants?” (OpenAI, 25 March 2024). (Further prompts to specify jurisdiction and type of tenancy.) [ChatGPT].
Subsequent references: ChatGPT.

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: 

Name of AI, version if available. Prompt. (Translation of prompt if applicable.) (Developer: host if different than developer, date or date range of response). Description of type of nonpublic (name and version of public upstream version if applicable: developer of public upstream version if applicable, whether updated by public upstream version if applicable). URL if conversation publicly saved (Description of any additional prompts.) 

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.

More Information

For more information on citing or using Generative AI or Chat GPT please see the Generative AI and ChatGPT Library Guide