How to Cite AI and ChatGPT in APA, MLA and Chicago

Here's how to cite AI in one sentence: name the company that makes the tool, give the date, describe what it produced and link to the chat if the tool can make a share link. APA 7 lists the company (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google) as the author. MLA 9 doesn't treat the AI as an author and starts the entry with a description of your prompt. Chicago 18 usually puts AI in a footnote and leaves it out of the bibliography.

One rule comes before all of them: check your instructor's AI policy. A citation shows where words came from. It doesn't make a banned use allowed.

Updated for APA's September 2025 and MLA's August 2025 guidance. Many examples still online, including the "(Mar 14 version)" format, are out of date. Last checked October 10, 2026.

AI Citation Formats at a Glance

Here are the APA, MLA and Chicago formats for the three situations students run into most: a chat you can link to, a chat you can't link to, and an image made with AI. Each example uses ChatGPT; swap in your own date, chat title, prompt and link.

"your-chat-id" stands in for the code at the end of your own share link. Paste the full link exactly as the tool gives it to you.

Old Format vs New Format

If a guide shows a version date in parentheses or a chat.openai.com address, it was written before the 2025 updates. Don't copy it.

Check Your Instructor's AI Policy Before You Cite

Your instructor's policy decides whether you can use AI on an assignment at all, and a citation doesn't override it. APA's style team calls submitting AI-generated work as your own academic misconduct, and notes that the answer to "is AI allowed?" is usually "yes, for some AI tools, for some purposes, and no, for others" (APA Style, "Is AI 'allowed' in APA Style?").

If the syllabus doesn't say, ask your instructor in writing and keep the reply. Our guide on how to avoid plagiarism covers the integrity side. It also helps to separate two jobs:

• Citing credits words, ideas or images you took from an AI tool and put in your paper.
• Disclosing explains how you used AI along the way, such as brainstorming, outlining or editing. Many instructors want both.

Keep your drafts and version history, too. Colleges are putting less weight on AI detector scores, so your own record of how you worked matters more.

When You Don't Need an AI Citation

• You used AI like a search engine. APA says to cite the sources you found and read, not the AI that pointed you to them (APA Style, Part 2).
• AI is built into everyday software. APA treats Copilot inside Microsoft Word or AI features in Canva like spell-check, so no reference is needed.
• You read a Google AI Overview. MLA calls these search results, not a work. Click through and cite the page it drew from.
• You translated a source to understand it. Cite the original source as usual.

Your instructor may still ask you to disclose these uses, so follow the course policy first.

Cite the Source the AI Found, Not the AI

If ChatGPT gives you a fact, a statistic or a study, find the original source, read it and cite that. MLA recommends this because AI can invent sources or misread real ones. In 2025, a summer reading list made partly with AI ran in newspapers including the Chicago Sun-Times, and only five of its 15 books were real.

Cite the AI only for what it said itself, such as a response you're analyzing. If you can't find a real source for a claim, cut the claim.

How to Cite ChatGPT in APA 7

In APA 7, cite ChatGPT with OpenAI as the author, followed by either the date and title of a specific chat or the year and name of the tool. APA's September 2025 guidance sets out both formats.

Citing a Specific Chat

Use this format when you quote or paraphrase a conversation and can make a share link.

Template: AI Company Name. (Year, Month Day). Title of chat [Generative AI chat]. Tool Name. URL

Example: OpenAI. (2026, September 14). Confirmation bias explained [Generative AI chat]. ChatGPT. https://chatgpt.com/share/your-chat-id

• Author: the company that built the tool. APA says AI can't be an author because it can't consent to an author's responsibilities.
• Date: the year, month and day the chat took place or ended.
• Title: the chat's title in italic sentence case, then [Generative AI chat]. Rename the chat to something clear before you share it.
• Source: the tool's name (ChatGPT) or a model name, then the share link.

Your prompt doesn't go in the reference. Describe it in your text or, if your instructor wants it, an appendix.

Citing the Tool in General

Cite the tool as a whole when you used it to edit or organize your own writing, when you can't share the chat or when you just mention the tool.

Template: AI Company Name. (Year). Tool Name [Large language model]. URL

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

The year is when the tool was last updated. If you can't find that, APA says to use the copyright year shown on the website or app.

APA In-Text Citations for ChatGPT

The in-text citation is the company and the year: (OpenAI, 2026) in parentheses, or OpenAI (2026) as part of your sentence. Here's a sample:

When I asked ChatGPT to explain confirmation bias, it described the bias as a habit of "noticing the evidence that fits what we already believe" (OpenAI, 2026).

For a disclosure sentence, APA's own model is simple: "I used ChatGPT (OpenAI, 2025) to edit my paper and provide feedback on clarity and flow." If you cite two ChatGPT chats from the same year, add letters after the year: (OpenAI, 2026a) and (OpenAI, 2026b).

For hanging indents and the rest of the reference page, see our APA style guide.

How to Cite AI in MLA 9

MLA 9 cites AI with its usual template of core elements: a description of what you asked for, the tool as the container, the model as the version, then the company, the date and a link. MLA's August 2025 guidance is the official source.

There's no author. MLA advises against treating the AI tool as one, so the entry starts with the Title of Source.

Template: "Description or text of prompt" prompt. Tool Name, model name, Company, Day Month Year, URL.

Example: "Explain confirmation bias with an everyday example" prompt. ChatGPT, model GPT-5, OpenAI, 14 Sept. 2026, chatgpt.com/share/your-chat-id.

• Title of Source: describe what the AI generated. Your prompt or a shorter description both work.
• Title of Container: the tool's name in italics.
• Version: the model, as specifically as the tool shows it.
• Publisher: the company that made the tool.
• Date: the day the content was generated, with months abbreviated (Sept., Oct.).
• Location: the share link without "https://". If the tool can't make one, give its general address, such as chatgpt.com.

MLA In-Text Citations for AI

Use the first few words of the description in quotation marks: ("Explain confirmation bias"). If your sentence already names the prompt, you don't need the parenthetical.

Our MLA style guide covers the rest of the works-cited page.

How to Cite AI in Chicago Style

Chicago 18 cites AI in a numbered footnote or endnote, and for less formal writing it lets you simply name the tool in your sentence. The Chicago Manual of Style's own Q&A gives two note patterns, using the link from the tool's Share button.

If your sentence already gives the prompt:

1. Text generated by ChatGPT, OpenAI, September 14, 2026, https://chatgpt.com/share/your-chat-id.

If it doesn't, put the prompt in the note:

1. ChatGPT, response to "Explain confirmation bias with an everyday example," OpenAI, September 14, 2026, https://chatgpt.com/share/your-chat-id.

If you edited the AI's text, say so at the end of the note, for example "edited for style and content."

AI output usually stays out of the bibliography. If your instructor wants an entry, library guides based on the manual's section 14.112, such as McMaster University's, file it under the company with a public link:

OpenAI. Response to "Explain confirmation bias with an everyday example." ChatGPT, September 14, 2026. https://chatgpt.com/share/your-chat-id.

Chicago's published AI examples use notes, so if your class uses author-date, ask your instructor. Our Chicago style guide explains notes and bibliographies.

How to Cite Claude, Gemini and Copilot

Claude, Gemini and Copilot follow the same patterns as ChatGPT; you only change the company, the tool name and the link.

How to Cite Claude AI in APA and MLA

APA chat: Anthropic. (2026, September 14). Comparing two survey designs [Generative AI chat]. Claude. https://claude.ai/share/your-chat-id

APA tool: Anthropic. (2026). Claude [Large language model]. https://claude.ai/

MLA: "Compare a pre-post survey design with a two-group design" prompt. Claude, model Claude Sonnet 4.5, Anthropic, 14 Sept. 2026, claude.ai/share/your-chat-id.

In-text: (Anthropic, 2026) in APA and ("Compare a pre-post survey design") in MLA.

How to Cite Gemini AI in APA and MLA

APA chat: Google. (2026, September 14). Photosynthesis practice questions [Generative AI chat]. Gemini. https://g.co/gemini/share/your-chat-id

APA tool: Google. (2026). Gemini [Large language model]. https://gemini.google.com/

MLA: "Write five practice questions about photosynthesis" prompt. Gemini, model Gemini 2.5 Flash, Google, 14 Sept. 2026, g.co/gemini/share/your-chat-id.

How to Cite Copilot in APA and MLA

APA tool: Microsoft. (2026). Copilot [Large language model]. https://copilot.microsoft.com/

MLA: "Summarize the arguments for a four-day school week" prompt. Copilot, Microsoft, 14 Sept. 2026, copilot.microsoft.com.

With Copilot, where you used it matters. Chat output you quote or paraphrase gets a citation. Its editing suggestions inside Microsoft Word don't need one in APA, though your instructor may want a disclosure.

How to Get a Share Link

APA and MLA both prefer a link to the exact conversation, so make one first.

• ChatGPT: click Share at the top right of the chat and copy the link (OpenAI's FAQ). If you keep chatting, share again to update it.
• Claude: click Share in the upper right, then Share again in the pop-out. Later messages stay private unless you unshare and share again. Team and Enterprise accounts share only inside their organization (Claude Help Center).
• Gemini: click Share below a response, then Share conversation, and the link copies automatically. On a school or work account, your administrator may have turned sharing off (Gemini Help).
• Copilot: select Share near the top, then Share chat and Copy link. Viewers must sign in, and school or work links open only inside your organization (Microsoft Support).

Anyone with the link can read the chat, so keep personal details out of it. If you can't make a link, use the tool's general address and save a copy of the conversation.

How to Cite AI-Generated Images

Cite an AI image right under it, in the caption or figure note, with the tool, the company, the date and the prompt you used.

• MLA: use the caption format from the table above, adding the model if the tool shows one. The full caption can replace a works-cited entry.
• APA: APA says to note AI use in the figure note and cite the tool. Sample: Note. Image generated with ChatGPT (OpenAI, 2026) from the prompt "Create a watercolor image of a farmhouse in a dust storm."
• Chicago: credit the tool, company, date and prompt in the caption, as shown in the table.

Check every label in an AI image, because generated images often garble text and small details. For charts and diagrams, see how to cite a diagram.

How to Write an AI Disclosure Statement

An AI disclosure statement is a short note that says which tool you used, when, for what and what you did with its output. The MLA calls this kind of acknowledgment more comprehensive than citation, because it shows where the AI's part ends and yours begins. Put it wherever your instructor asks, often at the end of the paper.

Template:

I used [tool and model] from [company] on [date or dates] to [task]. With its output, I [what you kept, changed or rejected]. The analysis and final wording are my own, and I checked every fact against the sources cited. [Optional: prompts or share link.]

AI disclosure statement example for students (APA):

I used ChatGPT (OpenAI, 2026) on September 12 and 14, 2026, to suggest counterarguments to my thesis and to flag unclear sentences in my second draft. I chose which counterarguments to address, found and read sources for them myself and rewrote the flagged sentences in my own words. No AI-generated text appears in this paper without quotation marks and a citation. Chat link: https://chatgpt.com/share/your-chat-id

Be specific. "I used AI to help" says nothing, while "it flagged six unclear sentences and I rewrote four" shows your judgment.

What About IEEE and AMA?

Both lean on disclosure. IEEE's author policy wants AI use disclosed in the acknowledgments, naming the system and the sections it affected; for grammar and editing help, disclosure is recommended, not required. JAMA Network journals, which use AMA style, want the tool's name, version, maker, dates of use and purpose in the Methods or Acknowledgment section (AMA Style Insider). Those are journal rules, so follow your instructor for class papers. Our AMA citation guide covers regular references.

Common AI Citation Mistakes

Most AI citation errors come from copying outdated examples or treating the AI like a person.

• Using the 2023 format. "(Mar 14 version)" and chat.openai.com addresses are retired.
• Making ChatGPT the author. In APA the author is OpenAI. In MLA there's no author at all.
• Calling it a personal communication. APA gives AI a reference entry instead.
• Putting the prompt in an APA reference. The prompt belongs in your text or an appendix.
• Citing AI for facts. Find, read and cite the real source.
• Leaving out the in-text citation. APA wants one in the body even if your author note mentions AI.
• Treating a citation as permission. If the assignment bans AI, citing it doesn't fix that.

These rules keep changing, so check Purdue Libraries' AI citation guide or the official APA and MLA pages before a big deadline. If you'd like a second look, a tutor can review the citations and AI disclosure in your own draft and explain each fix. Get feedback on your paper.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Cite ChatGPT as a Source?

Yes, when you quote, paraphrase or analyze what ChatGPT said and your instructor allows that use. APA, MLA and Chicago all have formats for it. ChatGPT shouldn't be your source for facts, statistics or research findings, though. For those, find the original source the information came from, read it and cite that source. Save the AI citation for the AI's own words.

Is ChatGPT a Credible Source for a Research Paper?

Not for facts. AI tools predict likely text, and both APA and MLA warn that they can invent sources or misstate what a real source says. Treat ChatGPT output as something to check rather than something to rely on. If a response points to a study or article, look it up, confirm it exists, read it and cite it directly.

What Does an APA In-Text Citation for ChatGPT Look Like?

Use the company and the year: (OpenAI, 2026) in parentheses, or OpenAI (2026) as part of your sentence. The same in-text form works whether your reference is for a specific chat or for the tool in general. If you cite two ChatGPT chats from the same year, add letters after the year, as in (OpenAI, 2026a) and (OpenAI, 2026b).

How Do I Cite Claude AI in APA?

Anthropic is the author, so the in-text citation is (Anthropic, 2026). Cite the tool in general if Claude helped edit your own writing or you can't share the chat. If you quote a conversation, cite the chat with its date, italic title, [Generative AI chat], the name Claude and the share link, like this: Anthropic. (2026, September 14). Comparing two survey designs [Generative AI chat]. Claude. https://claude.ai/share/your-chat-id

Do I Need to Cite AI If I Only Used It for Brainstorming or Grammar?

Usually you disclose that use rather than cite it, if your instructor allows it at all. APA suggests citing the tool in general, not each chat, when AI helped edit your own writing. It also says grammar features built into software like Word don't need a citation. Your instructor's policy comes first, so check what they want you to disclose.

How Do I Cite AI If I Can't Get a Share Link?

In MLA, put the tool's general address, such as chatgpt.com, in the Location slot. In APA, cite the tool in general, with the company as author, the year, the tool's name in italics, [Large language model] and the tool's address. In Chicago, give the tool, company and date in your note. Save a copy of the conversation in case your instructor asks to see it.

Is OpenAI or ChatGPT the Author in an AI Citation?

In APA, OpenAI is the author and ChatGPT appears later as the tool. MLA lists no author at all; the entry starts with a description of your prompt and names OpenAI as publisher. Chicago puts the tool's name in the note and files any bibliography entry under the company. No major style treats the AI itself as an author.