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ENVR 3005 - Environmental Sustainability: Risks and Challenges: Cite AI Content in APA

Citing AI in APA style

APA style

Guidelines from APA

Key points  (Aug 2025)

  1. AI cannot be an author. 
  2. Any use of AI must be fully disclosed in the manuscript or course work. (See "Where & how to disclose" below)
  3. AI must not be used to fabricate or falsify data. 
  4. AI-generated images or figures must be disclosed and used with proper rights.
  5. Authors are responsible for verifying the accuracy and originality of AI-generated content. 
  6. Human oversight is required at all stages of research and writing.

 

Where & How to Disclose 

AI Use Where & How to Disclose
Generate content (e.g. manuscript drafts, literature summaries)

In the Introduction section  
Include AI tools, prompts, and keywords used (preserve output if needed)
Translate or copyedit text

In a general author note 
Mention the AI tool used
Create or refine code; analyze, format, or visualize data; edit research methods/results

In the Method section 
Include the AI tool, usage details, and preserve outputs
Create or edit figures, tables, or images

In the section where visual content appears (e.g. Results) 
Include prompts, tools, and preserve output

Check more details here.

Suggested Practices

1. Cite AI-generated text
  • cite the content as software or algorithm's output (rather than personal communication as there's no actual person communicating)
  • describe how you used ChatGPT or other AI models in the Method or Introduction of your work
  • include the prompt used and any relevant generated text in your paper
  • for long responses, consider including them in an appendix


Example:

Conversation with an AI model In-text citation & Reference list

 

In-text citation

"ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, focuses on generating human-like text based on extensive internet-trained data, while Claude, developed by Anthropic, emphasizes safety and alignment through constitutional AI principles, aiming to reduce harmful outputs by adhering to a set of predefined ethical guidelines." (OpenAI, 2024)

Reference list

OpenAI. (2024). GPT-4o [Large language model]. https://poe.com/GPT-4o

 

2. Cite AI model (e.g. ChatGPT, Claude)
  • cite the model or tool as software


Examples:

Reference list

OpenAI. (2024). GPT-4o [Large language model]. https://poe.com/GPT-4o

Anthropic. (2024). Claude-3.5-Sonnet [Large language model]. https://poe.com/Claude-3.5-Sonnet

Perplexity. (2024). Perplexity.ai [Large language model]. https://www.perplexity.ai/

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

Cite AI images in APA style

APA style

Guideline from APA

General Advice

  • Ensure you have the rights to use and reproduce the images.
  • Clearly disclose the use of AI-generated images or figures in your work. 
  • How to disclose: In the section where visual content appears (e.g. Results), include prompts, tools, and preserve output. 
  • To create the reference, follow the principles of citing AI-generated text to determine the author, date, title, and source elements for the tool.

Basic Format

  • Cite the image (in caption): 
Figure X
Image title
[the image]
Note. Description (e.g. Image generated using XXX prompt, by XXX tool)

For reference format of citing figures or images in general, you may also refer to APA guidelines on citing Clip Art or Stock Image References, Artwork references, and Sample figures.

  • Cite the AI model:
Author/Developer. (Year). Name of AI tool (Version) [AI image generation model]. URL

 

Example

Conversation with an AI image generation model Caption, In-text citation & Reference list

 

Figure 1

Night View Skyline

Note. Image generated using the prompt "skyscraper buildings in Hong Kong, night view, oil painting," by Stability AI, Stable Diffusion XL, 2024 (https://poe.com/StableDiffusionXL).

In-text citation:

Figure 1 illustrates the intensity of Hong Kong's cityscape and its architectural character (Stability AI, 2024).

Reference list:

Stability AI. (2024). Stable Diffusion XL [AI image generation model]. https://poe.com/StableDiffusionXL
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