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Citing Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) Tools: APA, MLA, and Chicago Styles

Metro State Writing Center

Drafted fall 2025

Citing Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) Tools

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Using GAI tools for composing

  • Check syllabi for guidelines, as permissions for using GAI are up to instructors
  • It is a violation of academic integrity to include references to nonexistent sources; any submitted material generated by GAI must be declared and all its references verified. A GAI is not an author, it is a tool that is employed by humans.

All examples are for ChatGPT, but format is applicable to any GAI tool.

APA

Useful Links

  • How to Cite ChatGPT in APA (apastyle.apa.org/blog/how-to-cite-chatgpt)
  • APA Publishing Policies on GAI (apa.org/pubs/journals/resources/publishing-tips/policy-generative-ai)

In-Text Citation Example

—quoted from How to Cite ChatGPT

When prompted with “Is the left brain right brain divide real or a metaphor?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that although the two brain hemispheres are somewhat specialized, “the notation that people can be characterized as ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained’ is considered to be an oversimplification and a popular myth” (OpenAI, 2023).

Reference Entry

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

MLA

Useful Links

In-Text Citation Example

—quoted from “How Do I Cite Generative AI”

While the green light in The Great Gatsby might be said to chiefly symbolize four main things: optimism, the unattainability of the American dream, greed, and covetousness (“Describe the symbolism”), arguably the most important—the one that ties all four themes together—is greed.

Works Cited Entry

“Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald” prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.

Chicago

Useful Link

For GAI advice, see CMOS section 14.112 in The Chicago Manual of Style Online 18th edition (CMOS): access through the Metro Library using Star ID.

In-Text Only Citation Examples

The following recipe for pizza dough was generated by ChatGPT.

Pizza dough can be made from the following common household ingredients (ChatGPT, March 7, 2023).

Examples Using Footnotes or Endnotes

Here’s a recipe for pizza dough.1

Note

  1. ChatGPT, response to “Explain how to make pizza dough from common household ingredients,” OpenAI, March 7, 2023.

The following recipe for pizza dough was generated by ChatGPT.1

Note

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

The following recipe for pizza dough was generated by ChatGPT.1

Note

  1. ChatGPT, response to “Explain how to make pizza dough from common household ingredients,” OpenAI, March 7, 2023.

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