Q. How do I cite my use of generative AI (like Chat GPT) in APA or MLA format?

Always ask your professor what they consider a legitimate use of AI for college papers and assignments, to avoid accidentally plagiarizing. You can also review this general information about Berkeley's AI policies.

Once you know what you are allowed to do with AI, you will need to cite it as a source in your References (APA) page or Words Cited (MLA) page.

Here are links to the MLA & APA explanations of how and when to cite generative AI, like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, CoPilot, Perplexity.  

APA

• Citing Generative AI in APA Style: Part 1 - Reference formats (September 2025)
  Rationale & examples of how to create a reference list entry and in-text citations for text created by a chatbot. Unlike MLA (below), APA cites the company that produced the AI tool as the author, then the date of the chat, the title of the chat (in italics) followed by [Generative AI Chat], the name of the tool (Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude), and a share link URL to the chat. Here are a couple examples:
  • OpenAI. (2025, August 21). High school grammar concepts [Generative AI chat]. ChatGPT. https://chatgpt.com/share/68a77b60-0ee4-800c-9acc-cd3fd573c311
  • Google. (2025, May 22). High school grammar concepts overview [Generative AI chat]. Gemini 2.5 Flash. https://g.co/gemini/share/a1306ce12929
     
• Citing generative AI in APA Style: Part 2—AI as a search engine and AI integrated into common software (September 2025)
  APA does not recommend citing AI tools used in common software. For something like the AI Overviews that appear at the top of Google searches, click the link icon to see the original source. Review that to see if it is something you want to include in your paper, and if so, cite that source.
   
• Citing generative AI in APA Style: Part 3—Is AI “allowed” in APA Style? (September 2025)
  Discusses the need to follow policies and guidance of the institution you are in, carefully verify the accuracy of the information AI provides, consider the ethical issues involved, and the effects on learning of relying on AI.

MLA

• How do I cite generative AI in MLA style? (Updated and Revised, August 2025)
  This explains MLA's current guidlines for citing generative AI passages that you paraphrase or quote, including the prompt used, what AI tool you used (such as ChatGPT), the date, and a Share link to the result if available. Here is an example: 
  • “Describe the theme of nature in Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park” prompt. ChatGPT, model GPT-4o, OpenAI, 23 Sept. 2024, chatgpt.com/share/66f1b0a0-d704-8000-be9a-85f53c850607.
     
• Should I cite a summary generated by Google’s AI Overviews feature like a source? (October 2024)
  MLA considers AI Overviews in Google as Search Results, which are not cited. Instead, it says "If you want to cite something from the AI Overviews feature, click through to the source and cite it instead", after making sure AI "interpreted" the source correctly.
   
• Beyond Citation: Describing AI Use in Your Work (August 2025)
  MLA post advising writers to acknowledge substantial uses of AI in order to "clearly indicate to their audience where the AI ends and the human input begins." When this is needed, it is more than the citation alone, and may include mentioning how it was used in the text of the paper or in footnotes.