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Citing ChatGPT and AI in MLA/APA Formats | Guidelines

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For academic citations of ChatGPT and AI outputs, learn MLA/APA formatting guidelines to properly credit AI language models and ensure originality.

If you quote or paraphrase text generated by ChatGPT or another AI tool, cite it like any other source. Passing AI-generated work off as your own counts as plagiarism at most schools. Both MLA and APA have published guidance on how to format these citations.

MLA’s approach uses its standard template of elements. Do not treat the AI tool as an author. Instead, describe your prompt in the title element, name the tool (such as ChatGPT) as the container, name the specific model in the version element, name the company (such as OpenAI) as publisher, and give the date the content was generated. Add a shareable link to the chat when the tool provides one, or the tool’s general URL when it does not. In-text citations use a shortened version of the prompt. This guidance is published by the MLA Style Center. [1]

APA takes a different route and treats the AI tool like software. Name the company as the author, give the date you generated the content, italicize the tool name and version as the title, add the bracketed description “Large language model”, and include a link. An in-text citation looks like (OpenAI, 2026). APA also recommends describing how you used the tool in your methods section and placing full prompts and responses in an appendix for longer passages. [2]

Check your instructor’s policy before you start. Some courses allow AI use with disclosure, while others forbid it. If an AI response cites sources, verify each one yourself before trusting it. AI tools invent references, so click through and read the original before you cite it in your paper.

Students working on longer research projects should also look at undergraduate research opportunities, online research tools for finding credible sources, and the skills a master’s degree builds for writing at a higher level.

SOURCES [1] MLA Style Center guidance on citing generative AI: https://style.mla.org/citing-generative-ai-updated-revised/ [2] Summary of APA approach to citing AI tools: https://www.eyesift.com/blog/how-to-cite-ai-generated-content/

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