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Official APA Citation Style Manual

Helpful APA Style Guides

Citing Generative AI in APA

Last updated July 23, 2025

Please check with your professor to know whether generative AI is allowed for the assignment. This information can be found in your course syllabus. 

All citation styles require you to cite generative AI when it is used in your research or writing. Below are some guidelines and examples:

In-Text Citations:

APA style requires that the prompt be included with the citation. In many cases, the prompt can be included alongside the citation. Alternatively, the prompt can be included in the methods section or the introduction instead. 

General format: (Author/developer, year)

  • Author/developer: the author of the tool. This is often the company who makes the model.
  • Year: the year of the version you used. You may need to look at the version number to find this information.

 

Examples:
When prompted with “Is the left brain right brain divide real?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that “the notation that people can be characterized as ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained’ is an oversimplification and a popular myth” (OpenAI, 2023).
When prompted with “Is the left brain right brain divide real?” OpenAI's ChatGPT-generated text indicated that “the notation that people can be characterized as ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained’ is an oversimplification and a popular myth” (2023).

 

References:

Generative AI is cited similarly to other software tools.

Color-coded graphic showing the different components of a APA AI citation

General format: Author/developer. (Year). Model name (version) [Large language model]. URL

  • Author/developer: the author of the large language model. This is often the company/developer who makes the model.
  • Year: the year of the version you used. You may need to look at the version number to find this information.
  • Model name: the name of the tool used (ex: ChatGPT, Copilot, Perplexity, etc.).
  • Version: use the version of the tool as listed by the author/developer. Chat tools based on ChatGPT use the month and day accessed as the version (ex: July 14 version). Other chat tools may use a different naming system (ex: v4.0.0). 
  • Bracketed text: a description of the tool (ex: ChatGPT is a large language model)
  • URL: the URL of the tool used.

 

Examples:
OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (May 24 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat/
Microsoft. (2023). Copilot (May 24 version) [Large language model]. https://copilot.microsoft.com/chats/
Perplexity AI. (2025). Perplexity (v4.0.0) [Large language model]. https://www.perplexity.ai/ 

 

Examples adapted from APA Style blog: https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/how-to-cite-chatgpt. 

Citation Software

The library supports Zotero which is designed to help you create, organize, and write citations. Below are the pros and cons.


 

Zotero: A tool for many citation styles. Able to capture information quickly from web pages, online catalogs, webpages, etc.

          Pros:
               + Many citation styles
               + Easy to import citations
               + Easy to organize
               + Can add a .pdf attachment with citations
               + Works seamlessly with add-ons to create in-text citations and a bibliography for:
                    *Microsoft Office
                    *Google Docs
                    *LibreOffice
               + Option to add a note with a citation

          Cons:
               - Internet Connection Required

 

 

Zoterobib: This online tool builds a bibliography instantly from any computer or device, without creating an account or installing any software.

          Pros:
               + Many citation styles
               + Very easy to use - no software to learn
               + Easy to import citations
               + Can create bibliography fully within your browser; option to generate a link to return later
               + Includes tools for creating parenthetical citations, footnotes, and endnotes

          Cons:
               - Internet connection required
               - Might lose your work if you close your browser while using Chrome's incognito mode
 

  • Many citation styles
  • Easy to import citations
  • Fairly accurate citations
  • Easy to Organize
  • Can add a .pdf attachment with the citation (virtual filing cabinet)
  • Microsoft Office Add-on for creating in-text citations and a bibliography
  • Option to add a note with a citation (this might be an option for documenting your annotations)
  • Operates within Firefox web browser
  • Internet Connection Required

This work by Principia College Library is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International