When should you site your use of Generative AI?
when you paraphrase, quote, or use generative AI content created by AI in your work.
When should you acknowledge the use of AI in a note?
When you use an AI tool to brainstorm, edit, or translate, add a note to your text or in another location in your work.
Can I cite the source that the AI gives me in its output
Go to the original source provided by the AI and confirm it is correct, then cite the ORIGINAL source in your work. You were only using AI as a research tool.
REMEMBER: You are responsible for the accuracy of any information in your work.
Committee on Publication Ethics:
"Authors who use AI tools in the writing of a manuscript, production of images or graphical elements of the paper, or in the collection and analysis of data, must be transparent in disclosing in the Materials and Methods (or similar section) of the paper how the AI tool was used and which tool was used. Authors are fully responsible for the content of their manuscript, even those parts produced by an AI tool, and are thus liable for any breach of publication ethics."
COPE Council. COPE position - Authorship and AI - English. https://doi.org/10.24318/cCVRZBms
In the text of your paper, you could describe how you used the AI tool, provide the prompt used, and then any portion of the relevant text that was generated in response.
For the bibliography, use the APA software citation template to cite AI. APA Publishing Policies
References to specific AI chats
Template:
AI Company Name. (year, month day). Title of chat in italics [Description, such as Generative AI chat]. Tool Name/Model. URL of the chat
Example:
Anthropic. (2025, November 20). Explaining Courage to a 7 year old [Generative AI chat]. Claude Sonnet 4.5. https://claude.ai/chat/707e7885-a5e5-4da1-892b-71da1753b152
Citing an general AI use
"Cite an AI tool generally when it would be unhelpful, unethical, or otherwise inappropriate to cite a specific chat—as well as when you want to point to the existence of the AI tool but not necessarily cite specific information from it."
Template:
AI Company Name. (year). Tool Name/Model in Italics and Title Case [Description; e.g., Large language model]. URL of the tool
Example:
OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com
Use the MLA Template
Author: It is not recommended to treat the AI tool as an author.
Title of Source: Describe what was generated by the AI tool. This may involve including information about the prompt in the Title of Source element if not done in the text.
Title of Container: Use the Title of Container element to name the AI tool (e.g., ChatGPT).
Version: Name the version of the AI tool as specifically as possible. For example, ChatGPT 3.5, and a version date, if available.
Publisher: Name the company that made the tool.
Date: Give the date the content was generated.
Location: Give the general URL for the tool.
Example:
“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. 2025, chatgpt.com.
https://style.mla.org/citing-generative-ai-updated-revised/
You need to credit Generative AI tools whenever you use the information generated in your work. For most types of writing, you can simply acknowledge the AI tool in your text
Do not cite Generative AI in a bibliography or reference list unless there is a publicly available link.
If you need a more formal citation a numbered footnote might look like this:
1. Text generated by ChatGPT, OpenAI, March 7, 2023, https://chatgpt.com.
If the prompt is not included in the text of the paper you can include it in the note:
2. ChatGPT, response to “Explain how to make pizza dough from common household ingredients,” OpenAI, March 7, 2023.
https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/ faq/topics/Documentation/faq0422.html