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How to cite ChatGPT and other AI tools

APA 7th edition · Updated

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Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Copilot are now part of how many students research and write. If you use text, ideas or data that an AI tool produced, most universities expect you to say so, and the citation styles have published guidance on how. This guide covers APA 7, MLA 9 and Harvard (Cite Them Right).

One rule comes before any format: an AI tool is not a source of facts. Chatbots produce fluent text that can be wrong, and they regularly invent references that don’t exist. Cite the AI only when you are reporting what the AI said. For facts, find and cite the original research.

APA 7

APA treats the AI tool as software, with the company that makes it as the author:

Format

Company. (Year). Name of tool (Version or date) [Large language model]. URL

For example:

Format

OpenAI. (2026). ChatGPT (October 2026 version) [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com

  • In the text: (OpenAI, 2026) or OpenAI (2026).
  • Describe the prompt in your sentence. APA recommends telling the reader what you asked, for example: When asked “What are the main causes of inflation in Nigeria?”, ChatGPT listed currency depreciation and fuel prices (OpenAI, 2026).
  • Long conversations: put the full transcript in an appendix and refer to it.
  • Every answer from the same tool and version uses the same reference, because a reader can’t retrieve your particular conversation anyway.

MLA 9

MLA does not treat the AI as an author. The entry starts with a short description of your prompt in quotation marks:

Format

“Description of the prompt” prompt. Name of tool, version, Company, Day Month Year of the conversation, URL.

For example:

Format

“Summarise the main causes of inflation in Nigeria” prompt. ChatGPT, October 2026 version, OpenAI, 12 Oct. 2026, chatgpt.com.

  • In the text: use a shortened version of the prompt description: (“Summarise the main causes”).
  • If you are quoting the AI’s text, put it in quotation marks like any other quotation.
  • If you edited the AI’s output, say so in your sentence.

Harvard (Cite Them Right)

Cite Them Right treats an AI conversation as a personal communication: something your reader cannot look up. The format names the tool, the year, who received the response and the date:

Format

Company Tool (Year) Tool response to Your Name, Day Month.

For example:

Format

OpenAI ChatGPT (2026) ChatGPT response to Tunde Bello, 12 October.

  • In the text: (OpenAI ChatGPT, 2026).
  • Because the conversation can’t be retrieved, many universities also ask you to include the transcript in an appendix.
  • Harvard varies between universities more than APA or MLA does, and some have their own AI format. If your university’s referencing guide covers AI, follow it.

Other AI tools

The same patterns work for any generative AI. Swap in the company and the tool:

Tool Company (APA and Harvard author)
ChatGPT OpenAI
Gemini Google
Copilot Microsoft
Claude Anthropic
Meta AI Meta

For AI-generated images, APA and MLA treat the image like other artwork: give the tool, the company and the date, and describe the prompt in your text or caption.

What your university probably expects

Citation is only part of using AI honestly. Most university policies also ask you to:

  1. Declare your use. Many courses now include an AI declaration with each assignment, stating which tool you used and what for (for example, “to check grammar” or “to suggest a structure”).
  2. Keep the conversation. Save or export the chat so you can show it if asked.
  3. Check everything it tells you. Verify facts against published sources, and never copy a reference from a chatbot without checking that it exists. The CiteSwap citation checker looks up every reference in a list and flags the ones that can’t be found.
  4. Write it yourself. Submitting AI-written text as your own work is treated as academic misconduct at most universities, even when it is cited.

Common mistakes

  • Citing ChatGPT for a fact or statistic. Find the original source and cite that.
  • Using references the chatbot suggested without checking them. A large share of AI-suggested references are invented or have wrong details.
  • Listing the AI as a person. In APA and Harvard the author is the company; in MLA there is no author.
  • Forgetting the date or version. AI tools change constantly, so the date matters.

Frequently asked questions

Can I cite ChatGPT as a source in my essay?

You can cite it when you are writing about what the AI produced, for example when you analyse its answer or quote text it generated. You should not cite it as the source of facts, statistics or research findings: find the original publication and cite that instead.

Who is the author when I cite ChatGPT?

In APA and Harvard the company that makes the tool is the author (OpenAI for ChatGPT, Google for Gemini, Microsoft for Copilot). MLA does not treat an AI tool as an author at all and starts the entry with a description of your prompt.

Do I need to include my prompt?

MLA puts the prompt in the citation itself. APA recommends describing the prompt in your text and, for longer exchanges, including the full transcript in an appendix. Whatever the style, keep a copy of the conversation in case your lecturer asks to see it.

Is using ChatGPT allowed at my university?

Policies differ between universities, departments and even individual modules. Some allow AI for brainstorming but not for writing, some require a declaration of every use, and some ban it in assessed work. Check your course handbook or ask your lecturer before you use it.