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APA Style (7th ed.)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Generated Text

The Basics

The use of ChatGPT, or other AI text generators, should be noted in the body of the paper and reference list. Please review the citation examples on APA's How to Cite ChatGPT blog post, and speak to your professor for clarification on how and when it is appropriate to cite generative artificial intelligence tools.

AI Models & Software

AI Models and Software

Adapted from section 10.10 from the APA Manual, 7th edition.

 

Group/Company Name. (Year that the prompt was created). Name of tool in italics (month and date that the prompt was created) [Large language model]. URL

In-Text Citation:

Parenthetical:

(Group/Company Name, Year)

OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (March 3 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

Parenthetical:

(OpenAI, 2024)

 

AI Generated Images: In-Text

AI Generated Image

Adapted from sections 7.22-7.36 on Figures from the APA Manual (7th ed.) and the information on “How to cite AI-generated content” on Purdue University Libraries’ Artificial Intelligence Guide

In-Text:

Figure #

Short description of the generated image in italics

INCLUDE IMAGE AFTER THE TITLE

Note: Provide a note description that includes the prompt in quotation marks, name of AI tool in italics, Year (URL of tool).

Figure 3  

Elegant and whimsical floral and bird illustration

INCLUDE IMAGE HERE

Note. Image generated using the prompt "A cubism-style illustration that depicts flowers, plants, birds and insects" from Adobe Firefly, 2025 (https://firefly.adobe.com/).  

Note: Start with a figure number followed by a short title or description of the image. Beneath the image, include a note about the prompt and source.

AI Generated Images: Reference

AI Generated Image

Adapted from sections 7.22-7.36 on Figures from the APA Manual (7th ed.) and the information on “How to cite AI-generated content” on Purdue University Libraries’ Artificial Intelligence Guide

Reference Entry:

Company Name. (Year that the prompt was created). Name of tool in italics (month and date that the prompt was created) [Diffusion model]. URL 

Adobe. (2025). Adobe Firefly (November 3) [Diffusion model]. https://firefly.adobe.com/  

Appendix (If Required)

Your professor may ask you to make the ChatGPT conversation, or other AI generated text, retrievable by including it as an appendix in your assignment. The appendix requires a leading statement in the body of your paper and an introductory sentence in your appendix:

Note in the body of the paper:

ChatGPT software was used on March 3, 2023 to generate text using the prompt "Summarize the personalities of the most important characters in Call of the Wild” (OpenAI, 2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript).

Appendix introductory statement:

“The following text was generated on March 3, 2023, by ChatGPT software (OpenAI, 2023) in response to the prompt….” 

Informal Acknowledgement

If your professor did not require a formal citation style for acknowledging AI-generated images, you still need to provide an acknowledgement. Beneath the image, include a note about the prompt and source information as seen in the below example:

INCLUDE AI GENERATED IMAGE HERE

Image generated in Adobe Firefly on November 3, 2025 using the prompt "A cubism-style illustration that depicts flowers, plants, birds and insects."    

Learn More

Your professor may have different citing expectations than library staff. Always check at the beginning of term and before starting assignments that the citing rules you are using are appropriate for your class.