Ways to Cite GenAI

The following information was previously included in a March 2026 Teaching Resource created by the Teaching and Learning Center.

Generative AI (GenAI) creates opportunities and challenges for educators, and keeping up with evolving capabilities may feel overwhelming. Our Developing a GenAI Syllabus Policy resource provides step-by-step guidance for crafting a policy suited to your course context that supports student learning.

If you have already begun to outline acceptable student uses of GenAI that advance learning goals, this resource describes how to teach students the appropriate ways to cite GenAI tools based on your discipline’s norms.

Provide students with guidance on how to format citations if you are asking them to cite any use of GenAI. Note that while APA and MLA style guides do not recommend treating AI as an author due to its inability to consent to the responsibilities of authorship, the Chicago Manual of Style suggests treating AI as an author in a formal reference. This could also provide a point for conversation with your students about the nature of academic authorship and the responsibilities associated with it.  

1. American Psychological Association, Citing generative AI in APA Style: Part 1–Reference formats (contains specific reference requirements); Part 2–AI as a search engine and AI integrated into common software (includes recommendations when using AI as a search engine or AI-integrated software); Part 3–Is AI ‘allowed’ in APA Style? (explores general best practices, considering the limitations of GenAI:i.e., sycophancy, source confabulation). 
2. Modern Language Association, How do I cite generative AI in MLA style? (Updated and Revised): using the MLA template to cite paraphrased or quoted text, creative images or textual works, and secondary sources used by an AI tool.
3. Chicago Manual of Style, Citation, Documentation of Sources: recommendations for AI acknowledgment within text, plus formal references.

You can also consult the checklist below, written by Liza Long for Write What Matters (an open and modular educational resource to support first-year writing) and included in Chapter 15: Acknowledging and Citing Generative AI in Academic Work. Note that the version included here has been paraphrased and adapted from the original:

A Five-Step Checklist for Using and Citing GenAI Tools

1. Ask your instructor (or consult the syllabus policy) to ensure you have permission to use the tool.
2. Reflect on how and why you want to use GenAI. Consider the skills you are supposed to develop through the assignment and whether your GenAI use will undermine your opportunity to learn in the future, even if it might save you time in the moment.
3. If you decide to use GenAI, acknowledge how you used it in an appendix or cover letter.
4. Cite your use in the text as well as in your References or Works Cited page.
5. Verify GenAI’s information and check its sources to ensure accuracy.

Resources

The TLC has a suite of resources to help you navigate GenAI. You can peruse these resources and view our upcoming workshops about GenAI topics on our Generative AI in Teaching and Learning webpage.

For an introduction to foundational knowledge, tools, and ethics for understanding GenAI, check out AI Foundations, a self-paced Bruin Learn course created by UCLA Digital & Technology Solutions (DTS) as part of the AI Innovation Initiative. To access DTS’s AI Education Hub, you will be prompted to enroll in the course with your UCLA login.

For a short tutorial on basics, limits, and potential uses of Generative AI, see WI+RE’s Introduction to Generative AI and ChatGPT, created by the UCLA Library’s Writing Instruction + Research Education team.

For ideas on how to create AI-resistant assessments, see Creating Assignments that Eliminate the Use of AI from UCLA’s HumTech. See also the companion article Designing Writing Assignments to Work with AI for guidance on integrating AI into writing assignments.