How to Cite AI-Generated Ideas

Note: If your syllabus or instructor said you may not use material from generative AI (artificial intelligence) programs, such as ChatGPT, don’t.  A printable version of this information is available here.

If you need more help, schedule an appointment at your writing center!

• Undergraduate Writing Center Appointments
• Graduate Writing Center Appointments

Why should you specify if writing or an image came from an AI generator?

• Transparency: Be open and clear about where your ideas and content are coming from.
• Avoiding plagiarism: Saying you wrote something on your own when you used an AI generator is a kind of plagiarism, which is against the TTU Code of Student Conduct.

Citation Styles

APA:

The technology company serves as the author, and the software serves as the title. Many AI chat tools have a feature enabling users to share the content of a specific chat through a URL, so include that URL as part of the reference.  (Accessed January 8, 2026: https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/cite-generative-ai-references)

                Parenthetical In-Text Example: (OpenAI, 2026)

                Reference Content Example: OpenAI. (2026, May 1). Complete sentence structure [Generative AI chat]. ChatGPT GPT5.2. https://chatgpt.com/share/69603274-2cf4-8011-848a-93d 

MLA:

MLA does not consider AI tools as authors; therefore, the prompt or a description of what was generated is the first part of the citation. The prompt, AI tool, version of the tool, company, date it was generated, and, if available, a stable URL to the chat history. (Accessed 9 January 2026:
https://style.mla.org/citing-generative-ai-updated-revised/)

                Parenthetical In-Text Example: (“Create a workout schedule”)

                Reference Content Example: “Create a workout schedule for someone who wants to get better at soccer” prompt. Gemini, 3, Google, 9 January 2006, gemini.google.com/share/asdcvb789034.

Chicago:

Chicago recommends acknowledging when something in the text was generated by AI (e.g., “The following summary was generated by Perplexity”). If your instructor wants it as a footnote or endnote, include the basic information. (Accessed May 22, 2025:
https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/
faq/topics/Documentation/faq0422.html)

Footnote/endnote content example: 1. Text generated by Perplexity, May 4, 2025, https://www.perplexity.ai/.

Bibliography: Do not include unless it has a publicly available link to the original chat.

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Information accurate as of January 9, 2026.