Guidelines for citing AI for course assignments (from Dalhousie University)
- Always confirm with your professor whether AI tools like ChatGPT are allowed for each assignment
- Verify any information generated by AI tools
- AI has been known to generate false information and to cite non-existent sources
- AI-generated text mines people's intellectual property without crediting them, which raises ethical concerns
- Content from AI tools like ChatGPT is usually nonrecoverable, so it cannot be retrieved or linked in your citation and should be cited as personal communication
- Personal communication receives an in-text citation but does not appear on the list of references
- Some of this guidance may be updated as recommendations evolve
APA style
Currently, APA recommends that text generated from AI be formatted as "Personal Communication." As such, it receives an in-text citation but not an entry on the References list.
Rule: (Communicator, personal communication, Month Date, Year)
Examples:
(OpenAI, personal communication, January 16, 2023).
When asked to explain psychology's main schools of thought, OpenAI's ChatGPT's response included ... (personal communication, February 22, 2023).
MLA style
The Modern Language Association provides detailed guidance on citing generative AI according to their template.