Citing artificial intelligence is different from citing a book or a website. Our tool applies the latest official guidelines from major style manuals to format your AI citations perfectly.

1. Identify the Tool & Creator: Enter the name of the AI (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude) and the company that built it (e.g., OpenAI, Google, Anthropic). In most citation styles, the creator acts as the “Author.”
2. Find the Version: AI models update frequently. Look for the specific model version (e.g., GPT-4o, Claude 3.5 Sonnet) or the date of the version you used (e.g., March 14 version).
3. Include Your Prompt: If you are using MLA format, you must include the exact text prompt you typed into the AI. MLA uses your prompt in place of an article title.
4. Add Dates & URLs: Include the year the text was generated and the exact date you accessed it. If your chat has a shareable link, paste it in the URL field; otherwise, use the tool’s general homepage URL.
5. Generate: Select your required style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) and click Generate AI Citation to get your Reference List and In-Text formats.

As AI becomes deeply integrated into the academic workflow, researchers and students are moving beyond basic chatbots to utilize specialized models for literature reviews, data analysis, and drafting. Here are the most common AI tools cited in modern research:

• ChatGPT (OpenAI): The most widely used general-purpose LLM. Researchers primarily use ChatGPT (specifically the GPT-4 models) for brainstorming, outlining, translating text, and generating base-level code for data analysis in Python or R.
• Claude (Anthropic): Known for its massive “context window,” Claude is a favorite among academics because it can read and analyze dozens of dense, full-length PDF research papers simultaneously. It is highly regarded for its nuanced, less “robotic” writing tone.
• Perplexity (Perplexity AI): Unlike standard chatbots, Perplexity acts as an AI-powered academic search engine. It crawls the live web and academic databases to synthesize answers, actively citing the real-world sources it used to generate its response.
• Gemini (Google): Deeply integrated into the Google ecosystem, Gemini excels at multimodal tasks—meaning it can analyze images, charts, and graphs just as easily as text. It is frequently used for extracting data from complex visual figures in scientific papers.
• Copilot (Microsoft): Built on OpenAI’s architecture but integrated directly into Microsoft 365. Researchers use Copilot within Word and Excel to summarize local documents, draft literature reviews, and format raw datasets securely.

Because AI models are not traditional authors, the major academic style guides had to invent entirely new rules for citing them. While our generator handles the formatting for you, here is the exact breakdown of how a standard ChatGPT citation is built in each style.

1. APA (7th Edition) APA treats the creator of the AI as the author. You must italicize the model’s name, include the version, and append the bracketed text [Large language model].

• Format: OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (GPT-4) [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com
• In-Text: (OpenAI, 2024)

2. MLA (9th Edition) MLA takes a unique approach: it requires you to use the exact prompt you typed into the AI as the “Title” of the source, enclosed in quotation marks.

• Format: “Summarize the history of the Roman Empire” prompt. ChatGPT, GPT-4, OpenAI, 2024, https://chatgpt.com.
• In-Text: (“Summarize the history…”)

3. Chicago (17th Edition, Author-Date) Chicago style is similar to APA but removes the brackets around the model descriptor and relies on periods for separation rather than parentheses for the date.

• Format: OpenAI. 2024. ChatGPT (GPT-4). Large language model. https://chatgpt.com.
• In-Text: (OpenAI 2024)

4. Harvard Harvard follows standard author-date conventions but requires explicit “Available at:” text and the date you accessed the chat.

• Format: OpenAI (2024) ChatGPT (GPT-4) [Large language model]. Available at: https://chatgpt.com (Accessed: May 12, 2024).
• In-Text: (OpenAI, 2024)

5. IEEE As a numeric style, IEEE treats the AI as a standard digital manual or software, requiring the publisher, the title in quotes, and the access date.

• Format: [1] OpenAI, “ChatGPT”, GPT-4. https://chatgpt.com (accessed May 12, 2024).
• In-Text: [1]

6. Vancouver Standard in medical sciences, Vancouver places the model descriptor immediately after the tool’s name and separates the publication and access dates with a semicolon.

• Format: OpenAI. ChatGPT [Large language model]. GPT-4. https://chatgpt.com; 2024 [accessed May 12, 2024].
• In-Text: (1)

How do I cite ChatGPT in APA 7th edition format? In APA 7th edition, the creator of the AI model (e.g., OpenAI) is treated as the author. The name of the model (e.g., ChatGPT) is italicized, followed by the version number, and the descriptor “[Large language model]”. Finally, you include the URL of the tool. Our generator handles this exact formatting automatically.

Does MLA require my exact prompt to cite an AI? Yes. According to the latest MLA 9th edition guidelines, you should use the exact prompt you submitted to the AI as the title of the source. It should be enclosed in quotation marks. For the in-text citation, you will use a shortened version of this prompt.

Who is considered the “author” of AI-generated text? For citation purposes, you do not list yourself or the AI itself as the traditional human author. Instead, major style guides (like APA and Chicago) require you to list the corporation or organization that created the tool—such as OpenAI, Google, or Anthropic—as the author/publisher.

Is this AI citation generator free to use? Yes, our AI and LLM citation generator is completely free. There are no paywalls, hidden fees, or account sign-ups required to generate your reference lists or in-text citations.

Do I need to include a link to the AI chat? Yes, most style guides require a URL. If the AI tool allows you to create a public, shareable link to your specific conversation (like ChatGPT does), use that link. If the tool does not support shared chats, simply use the general URL of the AI tool (e.g., https://chatgpt.com).

How do I find the model version of an AI? The model version is usually located in the interface of the AI tool. For example, in ChatGPT, you can select the model (e.g., GPT-4) from the top dropdown menu. Some tools list the specific date of their last update at the very bottom of the screen.

Can I use this to cite Copilot, Claude, or Midjourney? Absolutely. This generator is flexible. You simply need to change the “AI Tool Name” and “Creator / Publisher” fields. For example, you would enter “Copilot” and “Microsoft”, or “Claude” and “Anthropic”.

Is it considered plagiarism if I properly cite an AI model? Properly citing an AI model prevents traditional plagiarism because you are attributing the generated text to its source. However, you must always check your specific university or instructor’s policy regarding the use of AI. Citing an AI does not override a professor’s rule against using AI to write your essay.