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Referencing Help

Referencing Help

Citing Generative AI Content

If you use any AI tools, you must properly acknowledge and reference the use of these tools and their outputs. Before doing so, check with your lecturer to confirm whether AI-generated content is permitted in your assignments. 

Notes: 

  • The information in this guide is subject to change as guidance on referencing AI tools continues to evolve.
  • Refer to APA Style Blog post "How to cite ChatGPT" for further details.

Updated on 20 February 2025

Citing AI-Generated Text

  • When quoting or paraphrasing AI-generated content, include the prompt used and the relevant response.
  • If the AI-generated response is supported by a real source, it is best to cite the original source rather than the AI tool’s interpretation.
  In-text Citation Reference
Format (Author, Year) Author. (Year). Title of software (Version if applicable) [Software descriptor]. Publisher. URL
Example

... (OpenAI, 2023).

... (OpenAI, 2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript).

According to Microsoft (2025) ...

According to Perplexity AI (2025) ...

Microsoft. (2025). Copilot [Large language model]. https://m365.cloud.microsoft/

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (gpt-4o-2024-08-06) [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com/share/67b5a1d8-cd54-8010-85d7-6950df62dcf5

Perplexity AI. (2025). Perplexity [Large language model]. https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what-is-social-media-s-role-in-vZNlAb.0TdibhkbN6K22Fw
Note
  • For full citation, include the full text of the AI-generated response in an appendix if a shareable link to the generated content is not available.
  • Author: Use the creator/company of the tool as the author.
  • Year: If version information is available, use the year of the version. Otherwise, consider using the year of the retrieval date.
  • Title of software: Use the name of the tool.
  • Version: Include the version number as provided by the tool, e.g. (Mar 14 version), (gpt-4o-mini-2024-07-18 version). Omit this part if no version information is available.
  • Software descriptor: Description of the type of AI model, e.g. large language model, code generation tool, image generator.
  • Publisher: Omit the publisher’s name if it is the same as the author.
  • URL: If the AI tool provides a shareable link to the generated content, include that URL. Otherwise, use the URL of the page where the tool is accessed, not the publisher’s homepage.

Citing AI-Generated Images

Please note that our recommendations for referencing AI-generated images are interim guidance. APA 7 does not provide formal rules for citing AI-generated images. Our guidance is based on existing rules for citing both images and AI-generated text and may change as citation guidelines continue to evolve.

 

How to reference images that you produce using an AI tool

  • To include an AI-generated image in your work, you must provide an acknowledgment. 
  • Add a figure number and a brief title above the image. Below the image, include a caption stating that the image was generated using an AI tool and specify the prompt used. 
  • No reference entry is required for images you create using an AI tool.

 

How to reference AI-generated images reproduced in a published source
If you are reproducing an AI-generated image found in another source (e.g. book, journal article, or website), cite the source where the image was published, not the AI tool used to generate it, and provide a reference entry in the format appropriate for the source you found the figure in. For example, if the image comes from a journal article, cite it in journal article format.