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. Because other people cannot retrieve the results, cite them as personal communications, such as emails or text messages. (Accessed May 22, 2025: https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/how-to-citechatgpt)

                Parenthetical In-Text Example: (OpenAI, 2023)

                Reference Example: OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

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. (Accessed May 22, 2025:
https://style.mla.org/citing-generative-ai/)

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

                Reference Example: “Create a workout schedule for someone who wants to get better at soccer” prompt. Gemini, 2.5 Flash version, Google, 22 May 2025, gemini.google.com/.

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: 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.

Information accurate as of May 22, 2025.