How to cite generative AI
To cite Artificial Intelligence (AI) using MLA style, refer to the MLA template:
Image credit: Modern Language Association. MLA core elements. 2016, www.mla.org/MLA-Style/What-s-New-in-the-Eighth-Edition.
Author Do not include the name of the AI tool as an author.
Title of Source Describe what was generated by the AI tool. Include information about the prompt in the Title of Source element if it was not included in the text.
Title of Container Name the AI tool used, e.g. ChatGPT. Written in italics.
Version Name the specific AI model or model version as specifically as possible, e.g. GPT-4o.
Publisher Name of the company that made the tool.
Date Provide the date the content was generated.
Location Give a stable, shareable URL for accessing the generated content (e.g., text, an image, etc.). For example, tools like Open AI's ChatGPT and DALL-E allow you to share a link by clicking the Share link at the top of the chat conversation. If the tool you are using doesn't provide a stable, shareable URL, provide the general URL for the tool.
It is necessary to provide a stable, shareable URL to the AI conversation you are citing; however, a general link to the AI tool can be provied if that stable URL feature isn't available in the too you are using.
*Please note that the citations below are not formatted with a hanging indent due to formatting restrictions. Please make sure you set your MS Word/Google document to hanging indent with .5" spaces.
| Material Type | In-text Citation | Works Cited |
| Artificial Intelligence (AI) ChatGPT | ("Describe the theme") | "Describe the theme of nature in Jane Austen's Mansfield Park" prompt. ChatGPT, model GPT-4o OpenAI, 23 Sept. 2024, chatgpt.com/share/66f1b0a0-d704-8000-be9a-85f53c850607. |
| Creative Visual Works DALL-E | ("Create an expressionist-style image") | "Create an expressionist-style image of two people standing on a beach looking at the ocean" prompt, DALL-E, version 3, OpenAI, 23 Sept. 2024, chatgpt.com/share/66f1c3a3-3f90-8000-9750-82c57c4a6592. |
| Creative Textual Works (titled) | ("The Oak Tree") | "The Oak Tree" free verse poem. ChatGPT, model GPT-4o, OpenAI, 23 Sept. 2024, chatgpt.com/share/66f1c740-7500-8000-a38b-6d6045c811f5. |
| Creative Textual Works (untitled) | ("The autumn leaves fall softly to the ground . . .") | "The autumn leaves fall softly to the ground . . ." sonnet about autumn. ChatGPT, model GPT-4o, OpenAI, 23 Sept. 2024, chatgpt.com/share/66f1ce9d-0b38-8000-a209-112496d3e0b1. |
The examples on this page are borrowed from MLA Style Center
Works Cited
MLA Handbook. 9th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2021.