Generative AI refers to technology that is capable of creating content like text, images, audio, etc. These generative works are tricky to cite because they cannot always be directly reproduced by another person using the same tool.
As a best practice, you should acknowledge your use of the generative AI tool in your paper.
Many citation styles do not account for AI created content in their existing guidelines. The following info includes citation methods from the most popular citation styles.
APA Citations
From The APA Style Blog "How to cite ChatGPT".
Publisher. (Year). Name of tool (Version name) [Additional description]. URL
OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat
(Publisher, Year)
(OpenAI, 2023)
MLA Citations
From the MLA Style article "How do I cite generative AI in MLA style?"
MLA does not currently recommend treating a generative AI tool as an author. Reference lists begin with the title or description of the source.
"Description of generated work" prompt. Name of tool, version name, Publisher, Date content was generated, URL.
"Create a list of scholarly databases used to find articles in the field of political science" prompt. ChatGPT, 14 Mar version, OpenAI, 20 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.
("Shortened description")
("Create a list of scholarly databases")
Chicago Citations
From the Chicago Manual of Style Online "Citation, Documentation of Sources."
For a student paper or for a research article—a numbered footnote or endnote could look like this:
1. Text generated by ChatGPT, OpenAI, March 7, 2023, https://chat.openai.com/chat.
Generated content by Name of tool, Publisher, Date content was generated, URL
ChatGPT stands in as “author” of the content, and OpenAI (the company that developed ChatGPT) is the publisher or sponsor, followed by the date the text was generated. After that, the URL tells us where the ChatGPT tool may be found, but because readers can’t necessarily get to the cited content (see below), that URL isn’t an essential element of the citation.
OR
Name of tool, prompt response, OpenAI, Date content was generated.
1. ChatGPT, response to "Create a list of scholarly databases used to find articles in the field of political science," OpenAI, March 20, 2023.
(Name of Tool, Date)
(ChatGPT, March 20, 2023)
When using author-date do not cite ChatGPT in the reference list unless a publicly available link is created.