There is no standard for how to cite or describe AI-generated media...yet. In the meantime, best practice is to be as transparent as you can about what was generated, and how. Always follow the policies and guidance of the specific class you are in; policies may vary by professor and by class. Ask if you're not sure.

Other resources:

• "AI-generated media - How should AI-generated media be handled?," Wikimedia Commons. Accessed September 12, 2023.
• Example of how to credit different parts of the work that goes into generating media: File:Bing Image Creator - Digital, fully-shaded, cartoon art of an anthropomorphic lavender cat surfing 1.jpg. 
  • Note there is a different license listed for the output, the prompt, and the watermark. You may want to take all these aspects into consideration when citing or describing AI-generated media.
  • If you create a derivative of another work, that original work and its creator should also be cited or referenced. 
• Remember that LLMs are not resource-neutral, and using them can have an impact on the planet: "Artificial intelligence technology behind ChatGPT was built in Iowa — with a lot of water," Matt O'Brien and Hannah Fingerhut (September 9, 2023)

APA citation guidelines: https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/how-to-cite-chatgpt

APA guidelines for AI use in scholarly materials: https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/resources/publishing-policies?tab=4

Examples:

APA reference entry: OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (May 13 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com

APA in-text citation: (OpenAI, 2024)

General APA format:  Author. (Date).Title (Month Day version) [Additional Descriptions ]. Source

Elements:

Author: The creator of the model. 

Date: The year of the version of the model, not the year you prompted the model. 

Title: The name of the model.The version number (date of release) is included after the title in parentheses. 

Bracketed text: References for additional descriptions, indicating this is a large 

Source: When the publisher and author names are identical, omit the publisher name in the source element of the reference and proceed directly to the URL.

*Adapted from Purdue Owl. (2023). How to Cite AI-Generated Content. https://guides.lib.purdue.edu/c.php?g=1371380&p=10135074

MLA Guidelines: https://style.mla.org/citing-generative-ai/ 

Examples:

MLA general format: “Text of prompt” prompt. ChatGPT, Day Month version, OpenAI, Day Month Year, chat.openai.com.

MLA Works Cited entry: “Explain heuristics” prompt. ChatGPT, 13 May version, OpenAI, 16 Dec. 2024, chatgpt.com.

MLA in-text citation: ("Explain heuristics")

Elements:

Author: MLA does not recommend using AI tool as an author.

Title: Describe what the AI tool generated. This may include the prompt or a portion of the prompt.

Title of Container: This is where you add the name of the tool.

Version: If available, add information about the date of the version of tool you are using.

Publisher: Company or group responsible for the tool. 

Date: Date on which you prompted the tool.

URL: Include either URL of tool or, where possible, unique URL for a conversation.

Guidelines: https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/faq/topics/Documentation/faq0422.html

Chicago requires you to credit generative AI tools in your work; however, this acknowledgment can be done in the text. Example:  “The following recipe for pizza dough was generated by ChatGPT.”

Additional considerations: 

If you do need more formal citation, for notes and bibliography style, Chicago recommends a numbered footnote: 

• Text generated by ChatGPT, OpenAI, March 7, 2023, https://chat.openai.com/chat.

For the URL, you should include a stable link to your prompt if the tool allows for it. 

If you have not included your original prompt in the text of your writing, it can be included in the footnote: 

• ChatGPT, response to “Explain how to make pizza dough from common household ingredients,” OpenAI, March 7, 2023.

For author-date style, the editors at CMOS suggests the following: 

• "[A]ny information not in the text would be placed in a parenthetical text reference. For example, “(ChatGPT, March 7, 2023).”