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How to Cite in APA Style (7th Edition)

Citing AI-generated text

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 an AI chat

Format:

AI Company Name. (year, month day). Title of chat in italics [Description, such as Generative AI chat]. Tool Name/Model. URL of the chat

In-text citation: 
(AI Company Name, year)
AI Company Name (year)


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, 2025)

Reference list

OpenAI. (2025, Oct 9). Differences between ChatGPT and Claude [Generative AI chat]. GPT-4o. https://poe.com/s/Q6CfwbdwTMVAtNY1HUcY

 

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

Format:

AI Company Name. (year). Tool Name/Model in Italics and Title Case [Description; e.g., Large language model]. URL of the tool

In-text citation: 
(AI Company Name, year)
AI Company Name (year)



Examples:

Reference list

OpenAI. (2025). GPT-5 [Large language model]. https://poe.com/GPT-5

Anthropic. (2025). Claude-Sonnet-4.5 [Large language model]. https://poe.com/Claude-Sonnet-4.5

Perplexity AI. (2025). Perplexity [Large language model]. https://www.perplexity.ai/

Google. (2025). Gemini-2.5-Pro [Large language model]. https://poe.com/Gemini-2.5-Pro

 

In-text citations:

(OpenAI, 2025; Anthropic, 2025; Perplexity AI, 2025; Google, 2025)

OpenAI (2025), Anthropic (2025), Perplexity AI (2025), Google (2025)

Learn more details: https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/cite-generative-ai-references 

Citing AI-generated images

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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