As of April 2024, some of the major citation style providers (APA, Chicago, MLA) have released guidance on how to cite content created by or with the help of generative AI (GenAI) tools. But even though their guidelines are based on a few common principles (transparency, reproducability), their approaches differ considerably in detail.
This guide is offering an overview of the different style providers' rules on citing GenAI, as well as some general tips. If in doubt, we suggest to double-check with the original style guides (APA style blog, MLA Handbook, etc.). Given the rapid evolution of this topic, details of each provider's guidance might be adjusted frequently –sometimes faster than we might be able to update our guide.
To our knowledge, all major citation style providers are currently reviewing this topic and might release guidelines in regards to citing AI-generated content soon.
Check with your instructor before using A.I. in any of your assignments.
If your instructor allows the use of ChatGPT or other A.I. tools for class work, you should
Please also consult UVic's resources on academic integrity for fundamental information on this general subject, as well as the Libraries' recently updated resources around citation help for an overview on that subject.
Personal communication
In the interim, most authorities on citation styles who have not yet published concrete guidelines are recommending that we treat A.I. generated text the same way we would treat personal communications, like verbal or email conversations. Why? Because most textual content created by A.I. tools is currently non-retrievable by anyone other than the person that originally asked for the generated content, and is only accessible by the login credentials of that user. Exception: In their interim advice, APA acknowledges that there might be ways to retrieve such content, and hence offers an alternative approach to citing A.I. text. → See APA tab for more details.
Made-up facts and resources (='hallucination')
Current generative A.I. tools show a tendency to invent 'facts' and even academic-sounding resources that on first sight are indistinguishable from existing ones. They come with all relevant details, like authors, journals titles, abstracts, even DOIs or URLs - except, that they are non-existant. The A.I. tool made them up – it 'hallucinated' them (in A.I.-related terminology). Generative A.I. – no matter which tool you use – tends to 'hallucinate', because of how the technology behind it (so-called large-language models) works. You should be aware of that, even when using it outside of an academic context. To avoid citing such a 'ghost resource', you should thoroughly vet all sources an A.I. tool mentions by using credible academic resources, and give credit to them in your work, if they are real. UVic Libraries provides access to professional databases suitable for that cause, such as Web of Science or Scopus. But you could also use an open resource like Lens.org or Google Scholar.
Prompts
Even if the guide you are using does not require it, we recommend that you reference the prompt that helped create the text you are citing. This can be considered good practice because it increases transparency about how you arrived at the text you are citing and because it can contribute to a better understanding of these rapidly evolving tools.
Official guidelines on how to reference A.I. generated or assisted text:
What is new in APA's official approach to referencing A.I. generated text?
Two characteristics of text generated by ChatGPT and similar A.I. tools should guide your APA style referencing:
These core elements on A.I. usage should be shared in an APA style publication:
Where to disclose these core elements in your publication:
Implications for an APA style publication:
Template
How to use this template
Author
The author of the model (tool)
Date
The date is the year of the version you used. Following the template in Section 10.10, you need to include only the year, not the exact date. The → Version Number provides the specific date information a reader might need.
Title
The name of the model (tool).
Version Number
The version number of the model/tool is included after the title in parentheses.
Additional Descriptions
Additional descriptions are used in references as bracketed text, for when they are needed to help a reader understand what’s being cited. References for a number of common sources, such as journal articles and books, do not include bracketed descriptions, but things outside of the typical peer-reviewed system often do. In the case of a reference for ChatGPT, provide the descriptor “Large language model” in square brackets. OpenAI describes ChatGPT-4 as a “large multimodal model,” so that description may be provided instead if you are using ChatGPT-4. Later versions and software or models from other companies may need different descriptions, based on how the publishers describe the model. The goal of the bracketed text is to briefly describe the kind of model to your reader.
Source
When the publisher name and the author name are the same, do not repeat the publisher name in the source element of the reference, and move directly to the URL. This is the case for ChatGPT. The URL for ChatGPT is https://chat.openai.com/chat. For other models or products for which you may create a reference, use the URL that links as directly as possible to the source (i.e., the page where you can access the model, not the publisher’s homepage).
Current status
General guidelines
Application of CMOS guidelines
Template
For a formal citation of A.I. generated text in a note, CMOS Online provides the following template:
How to use this template:
Author
The A.I. tool (in our example ChatGPT) is the author of the content
Date
The date the text was generated
Publisher
The organization that provides the A.I. tool in question is listed as the publisher or sponsor of the content (in our example, OpenAI is listed, because it is the company that created ChatGPT).
Location
Provide the general URL where the tool may be found (not an individual URL for a conversation, as mentioned above)
Prompt
If the prompt (= the text input on the tool's command-line that defines the query to the ChatBot, usually in natural language) has not been included in the manuscript, it can be included in the note.
Examples
1. Using a note
2. Alternative: Using author-date
If instead of a note, author-date is being used, any information not in the text would be placed in a parenthetical text reference.
There is no official authority behind Harvard Style that maintains and develops this citation style; instead, there are numerous local variations and local applications of the basic rules. Thus, there is no official guideline for citing an A.I. tool such as ChatGPT, Bing Search, etc. at this time (March 21, 2023). Our current recommendation is to cite A.I. text content like personal communication. We are monitoring the librarian and academic discussions on this topic and will adjust our recommendations accordingly as consensus emerges on how to address this issue.
General guidelines
Application of interim guidelines for Harvard style
Template
Your citation should include the following elements and format:
Example
General guidelines
Application of interim guidelines for IEEE style
Template
Example
General guidelines
Application of MLA guidelines
Template
How to apply MLA's template to citing generative A.I.:
Author
Avoid treating the AI tool as an author, in line with policies from various publishers, including MLA's journal PMLA.
Title of Source
Describe the AI-generated content, possibly mentioning the prompt in the Title of Source element if not already done in the text.
Title of Container
Name the AI tool in the Title of Container element (e.g., ChatGPT).
Version
Specify the A.I. tool's version as accurately as possible. Note that ChatGPT and GPT-3.5 are distinct entities; GPT-3.5 refers to the underlying large language model, not a version of ChatGPT.
Date
Provide the date when the content was generated.
Publisher
Identify the company that created the tool.
Location
Supply the general URL for the tool.
Examples
Current status
General Guidelines
Application of interim guidelines
Example
Current status: Retrievability of A.I. generated text
Tipp: Archiving website-based text that is retrievable
Since there is no certainty about the long-term preservation of the web pages generated by the aforementioned third-party tools that make the AI-generated text accessible, you should consider preserving a snapshot of each of these web pages by feeding it into a web archiving service such as the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.
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