How to Cite ChatGPT in APA 7th Edition

Quick Answer

APA 7th edition has two formats for citing AI tools, depending on whether you are citing the tool generally or a specific chat session.

Format 1 - Citing the tool generally:

Company. (Year). Tool Name [Large language model]. URL

Format 2 - Citing a specific chat (with a shareable URL):

Company. (Year, Month Day). Title of chat [Generative AI chat]. Tool Name. URL

Worked example, general tool:

OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT-5 [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/

Worked example, specific chat:

OpenAI. (2025, August 21). High school grammar concepts [Generative AI chat]. ChatGPT. https://chatgpt.com/share/68a77b60-0ee4-800c-9acc-cd3fd573c311

In-text citation: (OpenAI, 2025)

Three rules that catch most people out:

• The author is the company, not the AI. OpenAI for ChatGPT, Anthropic for Claude, Google for Gemini. APA does not treat AI as an author because it is not a person.
• Italicize the title of the tool or the chat. The descriptor in square brackets is not italicized.
• The prompt does not go in the reference. Document your prompt in the Method section of your paper (or the introduction for an essay), not the reference list.

Need to format this automatically? The AllCitations APA 7 generator handles ChatGPT and other AI tools.

The Official APA Rule

APA published its first guidance on citing ChatGPT in April 2023 and updated it significantly in September 2025. The current rules distinguish between two situations:

1. You used ChatGPT (or another AI tool) generally - for example, to brainstorm, edit, or translate - and there is no specific shareable conversation worth citing.
2. You used a specific chat session that produced output you want your reader to be able to access. Modern AI tools provide shareable chat URLs that make this possible.

The format differs slightly between the two cases. The key components are the same: an organizational author (the company that built the tool), a date, an italicized title, a bracketed descriptor, and a URL.

For a broader overview of how APA compares to other citation styles, see our guide on APA vs. MLA: Which Citation Style Should You Use?.

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Worked Examples

1. Citing ChatGPT Generally

When you want to cite the ChatGPT tool itself - because you used it as a methodology tool, an editor, a translator, or simply to discuss its capabilities - cite the tool, not a specific conversation.

Reference entry:

OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT-5 [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/

In-text citations:

• Parenthetical: (OpenAI, 2025)
• Narrative: OpenAI (2025) released ChatGPT-5 with multimodal input support.

The date is the year of the most recent update to the tool. If you are unsure, you can ask the AI itself when it was last updated, or check the company's release notes.

2. Citing a Specific ChatGPT Chat

When you want your reader to be able to access the exact conversation - for example, to verify a specific output you discuss in your paper - cite the specific chat. Use ChatGPT's "Share" feature to generate a permanent shareable URL.

Reference entry:

OpenAI. (2025, August 21). High school grammar concepts [Generative AI chat]. ChatGPT. https://chatgpt.com/share/68a77b60-0ee4-800c-9acc-cd3fd573c311

In-text citations:

• Parenthetical: (OpenAI, 2025)
• Narrative: When asked to summarize the eight parts of speech, ChatGPT (OpenAI, 2025) generated a list with definitions and examples for each.

The descriptor changes from [Large language model] to [Generative AI chat]. The tool name (ChatGPT) is added as a separate element after the bracketed descriptor. The date is the specific date of the chat.

3. Citing Claude (Anthropic)

The same format applies to other AI tools. Anthropic is the company; the model name (Claude Sonnet 4, Claude Opus 4, etc.) takes the role of the tool name.

Reference entry, general tool:

Anthropic. (2025). Claude Sonnet 4 [Large language model]. https://claude.ai/

Reference entry, specific chat:

Anthropic. (2025, May 20). Essential grammar topics for high school graduates [Generative AI chat]. Claude Sonnet 4. https://claude.ai/share/329173b2-ec93-4663-ac68-4f65ea4f166d

In-text citations: (Anthropic, 2025)

4. Citing Gemini (Google)

Reference entry, general tool:

Google. (2025). Gemini 3 Flash [Large language model]. https://gemini.google.com/

Reference entry, specific chat:

Google. (2026, February 10). Essential writing skills for graduates [Generative AI chat]. Gemini 3 Flash. https://gemini.google.com/share/c6ac3628eb98

In-text citations: (Google, 2025)

5. When the Chat Is Not Retrievable

If you used a chat that you cannot share - for example, a private conversation where confidentiality matters, or a chat from a tool that does not provide shareable URLs - cite the tool generally rather than the chat.

Reference entry:

OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT-5 [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/

In your paper, include the actual prompt and any directly quoted output in the body text or Method section. APA recommends this approach when the chat itself cannot be linked.

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Special Cases

Documenting Your Prompts

APA explicitly says prompts do not belong in the reference list. They do not fit the four standard reference elements (author, date, title, source). Instead, document your prompts where your reader needs them most:

• Empirical research papers: Describe AI use in the Method section. Include the exact prompts you sent and any specific outputs you used.
• Essays and term papers: Describe AI use in the introduction or in a brief methods statement. If your instructor requires it, include prompts in an appendix.
• Long conversations: Place full transcripts in an appendix and reference the appendix in your paper's body.

The reasoning behind this rule: prompts are the methodology, and methodology lives in the body of the paper, not the bibliography.

When NOT to Cite ChatGPT

Citation does not equal permission. Many instructors and institutions restrict or prohibit AI use entirely, especially for graded coursework. Before citing ChatGPT, confirm:

• Your instructor's policy on AI in the assignment guidelines or syllabus
• Your institution's academic integrity policy
• Any specific rules from your discipline (some journals require disclosure; some prohibit AI-generated content entirely)

If your instructor prohibits AI use, citing the AI does not make the use acceptable - it just documents what you did. When in doubt, ask before submitting. For more on the boundary between proper citation and academic misconduct, see our guide How to Avoid Plagiarism.

AI Integrated into Other Software

Many tools now embed generative AI - Microsoft Copilot, Google's AI Overview in Search, Notion AI, Grammarly's generative features. APA's guidance on these is still evolving, but the general principle is to cite the integrating company and product (Microsoft, not OpenAI, when citing Copilot's output) and use a descriptor that reflects what the AI did (e.g., [Generative AI feature in word processor]).

Earlier APA Guidance

If you are reading older citation guides published before late 2025, you may see ChatGPT cited as a personal communication or with the format OpenAI. (Year). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. That guidance was superseded in September 2025. The current format does not include a version-and-date string in parentheses after the title; instead, the model version goes in the title position itself (ChatGPT-5, Gemini 3 Flash, Claude Sonnet 4).

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Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Treating ChatGPT (or the AI itself) as the author. ChatGPT is not a person and cannot hold authorship under APA's definition. The author is always the company that built the tool: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, etc.

Including the prompt in the reference. The reference list is for sources, not for documenting how you used them. Prompts go in the body of your paper.

Forgetting to italicize the title. The tool name (or the chat title) is italicized. The bracketed descriptor ([Large language model] or [Generative AI chat]) is not.

Using "Retrieved from" before the URL. APA 7 dropped that phrasing for stable web sources. Just provide the URL.

Citing the AI as personal communication. This was an early workaround in 2023 before APA published official guidance. Do not use it now. Personal communications are explicitly between two people; AI output does not qualify.

Mixing the two formats. If you are citing the tool generally, use [Large language model] and a year-only date. If you are citing a specific chat, use [Generative AI chat], a full date, and add the tool name as a separate element. Do not combine elements from both formats.

Forgetting to disclose AI use in your paper's body. Citing the tool is not enough on its own. APA expects you to describe where and how you used it in the Method section or equivalent.

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Quick-Reference Table

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Tools and Resources

• AllCitations APA 7 Generator: Generate a formatted APA 7 reference for any source, including AI tools, and export to BibTeX or RIS for use in Zotero or Mendeley.
• APA Style Blog: How to Cite ChatGPT: The original 2023 guidance from the American Psychological Association.
• APA Style Blog: Citing Generative AI in APA Style (Part 1): The September 2025 update with the current reference formats.
• APA Style Blog: Is AI "allowed" in APA Style?: APA's perspective on when and how AI use is appropriate in academic writing.

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