How to Cite ChatGPT and Generative AI in APA Style (Updated 2025 Format)

If you used ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or another generative AI tool in your research or writing, you need to cite it correctly, and the rules changed. In September 2025, the APA Style team published updated guidance for citing generative AI that replaced its original 2023 format. Many course pages and library guides still show the old version, so this article gives you the current APA format, with worked examples, plus the key differences from the format you may have seen before. It also covers when you should cite an AI tool, when you should only acknowledge it, and when you don't need to mention it at all.

What Changed in 2025

When APA first addressed ChatGPT in 2023, the recommended reference treated the tool itself as the title, in italics, with a version note, like this: ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. That format is now archival. APA's September 2025 update, published as a three-part series on the official APA Style blog, revised it to reflect how people actually use these tools.

The current format treats a generative AI session more like a retrievable document. The chat gets a descriptive title in italics, a bracketed description clarifies what the source is, and the tool or model name moves into the source position. If your instructor, library guide, or a citation generator still shows the 2023 format, it's out of date. Use the format below.

Citing a Specific AI Chat

Use this format when you quote, paraphrase, or build on the output of a specific conversation with a generative AI tool. This is the most common case for student and research writing.

Worked examples:

• OpenAI. (2025, August 21). High school grammar concepts [Generative AI chat]. ChatGPT. https://chatgpt.com/share/abc123
• Anthropic. (2025, August 8). Frederick Jackson Turner's frontier thesis [Generative AI chat]. Claude Sonnet 4. https://claude.ai/share/abc123
• Google. (2025, July 14). Photosynthesis light reactions overview [Generative AI chat]. Gemini 2.5 Flash. https://gemini.google.com/share/abc123

A few things to get right in this format:

• Author. Use the company that makes the tool (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Microsoft), not the tool's name. APA treats the company as the author because the AI itself can't take responsibility for its output.
• Date. Use the full year, month, and day of the chat, because the same prompt produces a different response every session.
• Title. Use a short, descriptive title for the chat, in italics and sentence case. Most tools let you rename a chat, so set a clear title before you cite it. If you can't rename it, use the title the tool assigns.
• Description. The bracketed [Generative AI chat] tells the reader what kind of source this is. You can adjust the wording if another description fits better.
• Source. Name the tool and, where you can, the specific model (ChatGPT, Claude Sonnet 4, Gemini 2.5 Flash). End with a shareable URL to the chat if the tool provides one.

In-text citations

Cite the company and year in the text, the same way you'd cite any author-date source:

• Parenthetical: (OpenAI, 2025)
• Narrative: OpenAI (2025) generated a summary of the key arguments.

APA recommends introducing the prompt and the response in your text so the reader understands the exchange. For example: When prompted to explain the difference between qualitative and quantitative methods, the model described qualitative work as focused on meaning and quantitative work as focused on measurement (OpenAI, 2025). Because each session is unique, it's good practice to keep a record of your prompts, and you can place long responses in an appendix so readers can see the exact text.

Citing an AI Tool in General

Sometimes you need to reference a tool as a whole rather than one specific chat, for example when you describe using it across a project. In that case, use the software-style reference:

Worked examples:

• OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT (GPT-5) [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com/
• Microsoft. (2025). Copilot (GPT-5 On) [Large language model]. https://copilot.microsoft.com/

Here the tool or model name is the title, in italics, with the version in parentheses if you know it. The URL points to the tool's home page rather than a specific chat.

When to Cite, When to Acknowledge, and When to Do Neither

Not every use of AI needs a formal reference list entry. APA's 2025 guidance distinguishes between three situations.

Cite a specific chat

When you quote, paraphrase, or directly build on content the tool generated, create a reference and an in-text citation for that specific chat, using the format above. This is the case where the AI output functions as a source.

Acknowledge the tool

When you use AI for the writing process rather than as a source, for example to brainstorm, outline, edit, or translate, you generally don't cite a specific chat. Instead, disclose the use in your method section, an author's note, or a footnote, and cite the tool generally. Say what you used it for and which tool you used. Many instructors and journals require this kind of disclosure, so check the relevant guidelines.

No citation needed

APA's guidance is that you don't need a reference when you use AI as a search engine to find other sources (cite those sources instead, and make sure the AI's sources are real), or when AI is built into common software you're using, such as image features inside a design tool. In those cases the AI is a feature, not a source.

A Note on MLA and Chicago

This article focuses on APA, the most common style in the social sciences and the one most students need for AI citation. The other major styles handle generative AI differently, and they have their own updated guidance.

MLA updated its generative-AI guidance in August 2025. MLA builds the entry around the prompt rather than a chat title, in the form: "Prompt text" prompt. Tool Name, version, Company, date, URL. The in-text reference points to the prompt.

Chicago treats AI-generated text much like personal communication. In the 17th edition, you generally credit the tool in the text or a note rather than the bibliography, unless you can provide a publicly shareable URL. The 18th edition adds a brief section and emphasizes being transparent about how you used the tool.

For full guides to each style, see our complete APA citation guide, our MLA style guide, and our overview of citation styles for help choosing the right one.

Is It Even Allowed to Use AI in Your Paper?

Citing AI correctly is separate from being allowed to use it. APA's own position is that there are no blanket rules permitting or prohibiting generative AI; what matters is the policy that applies to your specific assignment or publication. Many universities prohibit or restrict AI use in assessed work, and many journals require disclosure of AI use in manuscript preparation, with some prohibiting it. The human author remains fully responsible for accuracy, because the tool can't be held accountable for errors or bias.

Always check your instructor's policy, your syllabus, or your target journal's author guidelines before using AI, and disclose your use where required. Citing the tool correctly does not by itself make its use permitted.

Why AI Citation Matters for Academic Integrity

Citing generative AI correctly protects you on two fronts. It gives proper credit and transparency, which is the heart of academic integrity, and it documents exactly what you used, which protects you if questions arise later. Because AI tools can produce fabricated references and confident but incorrect claims, every fact and source an AI gives you should be independently verified before it appears in your work. The citation records that the AI was involved; your own checking ensures the content is sound.

If you're preparing a paper, thesis, or manuscript that used AI tools and you want to be sure your citations, formatting, and disclosure are correct, a professional academic editor can review them. Editor World's academic editing services and dissertation editing services connect you with native English editors who know current APA, MLA, and Chicago conventions, including the 2025 AI-citation updates. Every editor is human, no AI is used at any stage, and a certificate of editing is available as an optional add-on.

Frequently Asked Questions

Content reviewed by the Editor World editorial team. Citation formats reflect APA's September 2025 generative-AI guidance and the current MLA and Chicago positions at the time of review; always confirm against the official style sources, since AI citation guidance continues to evolve. Editor World, founded in 2010 by Patti Fisher, PhD, graduate of The Ohio State University, provides professional human-only academic editing, dissertation editing, and proofreading worldwide. BBB A+ accredited since 2010 with 5.0/5 Google and Facebook Reviews. More than 100 million words edited for over 8,000 clients in 65+ countries. Multiple Gold and Bronze Stevie Award winner. Native English editors from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Recommended by the Boston University Economics Department. No AI tools are used at any stage.