Guide to Generative AI

Before you use AI in any of your coursework, make sure you are aware of and understand your instructor's AI policies and that you are using AI in a way that is permitted and appropriate for the course. Information from text generators should generally not be treated as researched information; always verify AI outputs yourself and cite real and verified sources in your research projects. Here are some tips to keep in mind, beyond the specific rules of any citation style:

• There might be ways of acknowledging AI use that your instructor would prefer over formal citation. For example, they might ask you to annotate your work by marking sections impacted by AI or they might ask you write a paragraph explaining your AI use.
• Never cite sources mentioned by text generators like ChatGPT, Copilot, or Gemini without reading those sources yourself. Generative AI can fabricate sources, so you always need to verify they are real. And, even if they are real sources, generative AI might inappropriately or inaccurately summarize the sources, so accessing and reading the sources yourself is essential.
• Be flexible in your approach to acknowledging AI-generated content -- emerging guidelines are lagging behind the ways the technology might be applied. Always follow your instructor's guidance first.

Although AI is generally not considered to be an "author" or a verified source, and should not be treated as such, there might be situations when you need to quote generated text or use generated images in your work, and a formal citation will be required. For example, you might be quoting text generated by AI to analyze it in a critical way.

Each citation style has its own set of rules on how to document AI outputs in your work and those rules are continuing to evolve. This page gives you an overview of the most common scholarly citation styles (APA, MLA, Chicago, AMA) and their rules for documenting the use of AI in academic writing. For more information on any of these styles in general, see our Citation Guide.

When using content from a generative AI tool in APA style:

• describe any use of generative AI in the body of your paper whether that be in the introduction, methods sections, or elsewhere.
• include in your text the prompt used. 
• quote or paraphrase the AI results along with an in-text citation.
• list the company of the generative AI as the author you are citing.

Example in-text citation and reference list entry:

(OpenAI, 2023)

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

From How to cite ChatGPT, February 23, 2024.

The MLA Style Center has made recommendations for how to cite generative AI:

MLA: Citing Generative AI

However, be aware that this conversation continues to rapidly evolve about when, whether, and how to use and/or cite AI text generators. For more information, see the Citing AI page of the Generative AI Guide, and, most importantly, always consult with your professors. Guidance will depend on course learning objectives, assignment guidelines, and changing norms in different academic disciplines.

The Chicago Manual of Style (14.112). requires you to

• clearly state in your paper how AI was used
• cite it in the text or in a note when the AI content is quoted or paraphrased
• include the date the content was generated
• include the name of the AI tool and the version number
• prompts may be included in the text or the note (but not required).

Example when cited in text:

“The following recipe for pizza dough was generated on December 9, 2023, by ChatGPT-3.5.”

Examples in footnote

If your prompt is mentioned in the text:

1. Text generated by ChatGPT-3.5, OpenAI, March 7, 2023, https://chat.openai.com/chat. 

Including the prompt in the note:

1. Response to "Explain how to make pizza dough from common household ingredients," ChaptGPT-3.5, OpenAI, March 7, 2023, https://chat.openai.com/chat.