Citing Gen AI

This page contains information on how to cite Generative AI using APA

Information You Need

To write a citation for Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) you will need the following pieces of information:

  • Author: Software developer/creator
  • Year: The year of the version used
  • Title: Name of the GenAI tool
  • Version number: Differs depending on the tool. Use the format provided by the tool developer.
  • Type of Model: Differs depending on the GenAI tool. Use the format provided by the tool developer.
  • URL: Links directly to the GenAI tool (not the developer's homepage)

How to cite ChatGPT

The use of GenAI in academic work and citing such sources is an ever-changing landscape. The following APA citation style is a recommendation based solely on APA Style's Blog, How to cite ChatGPT. The APA style recommended for Gen AI content is very similar to Mobile app reference work and Entry in a mobile app reference work, except that the "Publisher" info is the same as the Author, so it is not repeated. Instead, following the Title, along with the version and model, is the URL to the tool.

The recommended format for in-text citations and references was adapted from Section 10.10 of the Publication Manual which is on the reference template for software (American Psychological Association, 2020).

Anatomy of a GenAI Citation

GenAI APA citation anatomy

Note about citing GenAI content in APA Style

Although APA acknowledges that the content generated by GenAI tools such as ChatGPT resembles personal communication styles (ie. they produce original content that tend to be irreproducible and irretrievable), because it is not a human communicating, APA cites GenAI as an algorithmic output instead. As such, APA style credits the work to the "author of the algorithm" or the tool developer, rather than the tool.

Other Helpful Resources:
Seneca College provides excellent APA recommendations and examples on Citing AI-generated Content in Assignments for GenAI content and how to cite using APA format for both Text generated by an AI tool and Image generated by an AI tool.

Formats & Examples

Author. (Version Year). Title (Version number) [Type of AI Model]. URL for the GenAI tool
OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 23 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com

Parenthetical

(Author/developer, Year)
(OpenAI, 2023)

 

If you are adding the full-text of GenAI content in appendix, for the first in-text citation, if it is parenthetical, use the following format:

(Author/developer, Year; see Appendix for the full transcript)
(OpenAI, 2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript)

Narrative In-text

Author/developer (Year)
OpenAI (2023)

 

If you are adding the full-text of GenAI content in appendix, for the first in-text citation, if it is narrative, use the following format:

Author/developer (Year; see Appendix for the full transcript)
OpenAI (2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript)

Additional Notes:
When citing GenAI content in your assignment:

  • Specify the GenAI Tool (ie. ChatGPT)
  • State the Prompt. The Prompt is your input text (query) for the GenAI tool to elicit a response.
  • Describe how the GenAI content was used in your assignment

Disclaimer

It's important to note that the information provided here serves as a general guide. Generative AI might not be allowed in your courses or assignments. If your instructor offers specific guidelines that differ from the information presented here, it's crucial to adhere to your instructor's directives.