What the three style guides now say
All three guides updated their advice as AI tools changed. Older posts still rank, and some of their rules have been withdrawn. Each guide answers the same four questions differently: who goes in the author slot, what counts as the title, where the prompt goes and how much model detail to give.
APA: the company is the author
The APA Style guidance on citing generative AI (September 2025) replaces its earlier post on citing a single chatbot. It gives a reference for a specific shared chat, using the usual author, date, title and source elements. The author is the company that built the tool, because AI cannot be an author. The date is the day the chat took place. The title is the chat's title in italics, followed by a bracketed description such as Generative AI chat. The source is the tool or model name, then the chat's URL.
The template APA gives is: AI Company Name. (year, month day). Title of chat in italics [Description, such as Generative AI chat]. Tool Name/Model. URL of the chat. The in-text forms are (AI Company Name, year) and AI Company Name (year). APA no longer asks for a version number by default; give the model name if you know it. Prompts stay out of the reference. APA says to describe them in the text, an appendix or supplemental material when that helps readers.
MLA: the prompt describes the source
The MLA Style Center's updated guidance on citing generative AI (August 2025) runs AI through the MLA template of core elements. MLA does not recommend treating the tool as an author, so the entry opens with the Title of Source: a description of what was generated, which can include the prompt. The tool's name is the container, the model goes in the Version element, the company is the publisher, then the date the content was generated and a stable shared link. If the tool has no share link, give its general address.
In the text, MLA uses a shortened form of that description in quotation marks, such as (“Describe the theme”) in its own example. MLA also says to cite the sources an AI answer names directly, after checking them.
Chicago: name the tool, or use a note
The Chicago Manual of Style Q&A on citing AI, which relies on the 18th edition (2024), says to credit the tool whenever you use the text it generates. For most writing, naming the tool in your sentence is enough. When a formal citation is needed, use a numbered footnote or endnote giving the tool, the company, the date and the share link. If the prompt is not already in your text, put it in the note. If you edited the generated text, say so in the text or at the end of the note. The Q&A gives a note form only; it does not give a bibliography entry.
How to cite AI, step by step
Decide whether you need a citation
Cite when you quote, paraphrase or rely on what the tool produced. If the tool only helped you edit, brainstorm or check your own words, go to the disclosure section below instead.
Save the chat and its share link
Use the tool's share button to get a stable link, and keep a copy of the transcript with your notes. APA's chat reference needs that link; MLA prefers it and accepts the tool's general address when none exists.
Record four facts at the time
Company, tool name, model if shown, and the date the chat took place. Write them down on the day, because chats get renamed or deleted.
Write the entry in your house style
Follow the pattern for your style exactly, using the examples below. Do not mix patterns, such as an APA author slot with an MLA prompt title.
Add the in-text marker
APA uses the company and year, MLA a short form of the description in quotation marks, Chicago a note number or a plain mention of the tool.
Place the prompt where the style wants it
MLA can carry it in the entry, Chicago in the note, APA in the text, an appendix or supplemental material.
Check the local policy last
A journal, publisher, newsroom or university can require more than any style guide, including a statement of every use or a ban on certain uses.
One example per style
The examples below are invented for this guide: one fictional chat, on an invented date, with a placeholder share link. A writer asked a chatbot (shown here as Chatbot X, made by Developer Y, running model Z-1) to summarise the history of tidal mills and quoted one sentence of the answer in a feature.
APA reference: Developer Y. (2026, March 3). Tidal mill history summary [Generative AI chat]. Chatbot X. https://chat.example.com/share/example-id. In text: (Developer Y, 2026).
MLA works-cited entry: “Summarise the history of tidal mills on the Thames” prompt. Chatbot X, model Z-1, Developer Y, 3 Mar. 2026, chat.example.com/share/example-id. In text: (“Summarise the history”).
Chicago note: 1. Chatbot X, response to “Summarise the history of tidal mills on the Thames,” Developer Y, March 3, 2026, https://chat.example.com/share/example-id. For a magazine piece, Chicago also allows a plain mention instead: “The following summary was generated by Chatbot X.”
APA, MLA and Chicago side by side
| Style | What goes in the reference | In-text form | Include the prompt? | Official guidance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| APA | Company as author, chat date, chat title with [Generative AI chat], tool or model, chat URL | (Company, year) | No; describe it in the text or an appendix | APA Style blog, September 2025 |
| MLA | Description of what was generated, tool as container, model, company, date, share link | Short description in quotation marks | Yes, in the Title of Source if not in your text | MLA Style Center, August 2025 |
| Chicago | Footnote or endnote: tool, company, date, URL; no bibliography form given | Note number, or name the tool in the sentence | Yes, in the note if not in your text | CMOS Q&A, 18th edition |
When citation is the wrong tool
A citation points to a source a reader could check. Much AI use is not like that. If you used a tool to tighten your sentences, suggest headlines, outline a draft or catch typos, there is no output in the final text to point to. For those uses, an acknowledgement or disclosure note says what the tool did.
The MLA makes this distinction in its post on describing AI use beyond citation (August 2025): it advises acknowledging substantive uses of AI, and says acknowledgement is more comprehensive than citation, because AI output is not a source in the traditional sense. APA's guidance takes a similar line for editing: disclose the use, for example in the Method section or author note, and cite the tool generally instead of every chat. Chicago asks you to acknowledge other uses of such tools as well as crediting quoted text.
For publishers, the disclosure note is the more common need. A good one names the tool, says what it did and confirms a human checked the result. The wording patterns in disclosure lines that survive a share work for an article footer as well as a social card, and byline schema for a human author keeps the named writer clear in the page markup.
A worked example: one feature, two treatments
This example is invented. A freelance writer files a 2,400-word feature on a harbour town. While drafting, they asked an AI tool for 12 headline options and used none verbatim, ran the draft through it once to flag repeated words, and quoted 1 sentence of an AI summary to show readers what such tools say about the town's history.
Only the quoted sentence gets a citation, in the magazine's house style, with the share link kept on file. The headlines and the word check get a single disclosure line at the foot of the piece: “The writer used an AI tool to suggest headline ideas and to check repetition. All reporting and wording are the writer's own.” If a reader later asks how the piece was made, the editor can answer with records, using the steps in showing your work when accused of posting AI content.
Local policy wins
A style guide sets the format, not the permission. APA's 2025 guidance says what is allowed and how it is disclosed depend on instructor, departmental and publisher policies. Platforms set their own label rules, covered in how platforms label AI content. Read the local policy before you submit, and follow it where it asks for more than the style guide.
Pitfalls
- Following a withdrawn rule. APA dropped its default version number, and MLA now prefers the shared chat link; older posts still show both.
- Listing the AI as an author. APA and MLA both advise against it; MLA says its advice follows publisher policies, including Cambridge University Press's.
- Citing the AI for facts it attributes to others. MLA says to check the named sources and cite them directly.
- Losing the chat. Without a share link or saved transcript, you cannot show what the tool produced.
- Citing every editing session. For help with your own wording, a disclosure note is clearer than a stack of references.
Citation and disclosure are two parts of one habit: telling readers where the words came from. The provenance section covers the rest, from bylines and head tags to labels on shared images.
Sources
- APA Style: Citing generative AI, part 1, reference formats (September 2025)
- MLA Style Center: How do I cite generative AI in MLA style? (updated and revised, August 2025)
- Chicago Manual of Style Online Q&A: citing content generated by AI
- MLA Style Center: Beyond citation, describing AI use in your work (August 2025)
Questions
How do you cite AI in APA style?
Name the company as author, then the chat date, the chat title in italics with [Generative AI chat], the tool or model and the chat URL. In text, use (Company, year). APA's September 2025 guidance gives this pattern.
How do you cite AI in MLA style?
Start with a description of what was generated, which can include the prompt, then the tool, the model, the company, the date and the share link. In text, use a short form of that description in quotation marks.
How do you cite AI in Chicago style?
Name the tool in your text, or use a numbered footnote or endnote with the tool, company, date and URL. Put the prompt in the note if it is not already in your text.
Do I need to cite AI if I only used it to edit?
Usually not with a full citation; a disclosure note is the better fit. APA suggests citing the tool generally and disclosing the use, and MLA advises acknowledging substantive uses. Check your publisher's or university's policy too.
Can an AI tool be listed as an author?
No, under APA and MLA guidance. APA names the company as author because AI cannot consent to authorship, and MLA does not recommend treating the tool as an author.
Hannah Voss, Editor. Checks every guide against a working WordPress install and the networks' current documentation. Last reviewed September 2026.
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