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Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Learn about Artificial Intelligence (AI) at NIC

Examples of How to Cite and Acknowledge

Most AI chat tools now offer an option to share generated chats by creating a unique URL and a title for each chat. 

When this function is available, users can follow the template below. 

 

Template

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

 

Example 1. ChatGPT

OpenAI. (2025, August 21). High school grammar concepts [Generative AI chat]. ChatGPT-5. https://chatgpt.com/share/68a77b60-0ee4-800c-9acc-cd3fd573c311

 

Example 2. Gemini

Google. (2025, May 22). High school grammar concepts overview [Generative AI chat]. Gemini 2.5 Flash. https://g.co/gemini/share/a1306ce12929

 

In-text citation template 
  • Parenthetical citation: (AI Company Name, year)
  • Narrative citation: AI Company Name (year)

 

In-text citation Examples
  • Parenthetical citation: (OpenAI, 2025)
  • Narrative citation: OpenAI (2025)

Notes: 

  • Author: The company responsible for developing the AI tool. For example, OpenAI is the author of the AI tool ChatGPT
  • Date: The year, month, and date on which the chat occurred or concluded 
  • Title: The title is the title of the chat from the AI tool's share feature, followed by a square bracket description to clarify the nature of the source "[Generative AI chat]". In most AI tools, users can edit the title of the chat, so consider editing the title to be descriptive and helpful to your readers
  • Source: The source is the name of the AI tool. The name can be general (for example, ChatGPT or Gemini) or specific models (ChatGPT-5 or Gemini 2.5 Flash)
  • URL of the chat: Provide the persistent URL generated by the share function of the tool 

Cite the general tool when: 

  • The tool doesn't allow you to generate a shareable link
  • It would be unhelpful, unethical, or otherwise inappropriate to cite a specific chat
  • When you want to refer to the tool but not necessarily cite specific information from it 

Template

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

 

Example 1: ChatGPT 

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

Example 2: Gemini 

Google. (2025). Gemini 2.5 Flash [Large language model]. https://gemini.google.com

 

In-text citation template
  • Parenthetical citation: (AI Company Name, year)
  • Narrative citation: AI Company Name (year)

 

In-text citation examples
  • Parenthetical citation: (OpenAI, 2025)
  • Narrative citation: OpenAI (2025)

Notes: 

  • Author: The company responsible for developing the AI tool. For example, OpenAI is the author of the AI tool ChatGPT
  • Date: the year in which the AI tool was most recently updated. If you are unsure of the date, ask the AI. If the tool does not indicate the date of last update, use the copyright date provided on the website or app.
  • Title: The title is the name of the AI tool, which can be general (e.g., ChatGPT or Gemini) or the name of the model (e.g., ChatGPT-5 or Gemini 2.5 Flash).
  • Description: Provide a description of the AI in brackets after the title. For chat tools, currently “[Large language model]” is usually correct. But, other descriptions are possible; use the description that best fits the type of AI model or tool used.
  • URL: Provide the general URL of the tool

If you are permitted to use AI in your paper, we recommend that you include the following: 

  • Prompt(s) used to generate the content
  • Generated response as part of the paper, appendix, or supplemental materials
  • Appendix:  CLICK HERE for guidelines and examples

Examples of in-text citations and corresponding reference list entries:

 

In-text Citation 

When the prompt of "explain what is meant by peer-reviewed articles" was used, the

response generated stated that... (OpenAI, 2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript).  

If the prompt results in a short response, then provide a direct quote or paraphrase followed by
the in-text citation without referring your reader to an Appendix.  If you have included the full short response in-text, then there is no need for an Appendix.

Corresponding
Reference List Entry

                                                             

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT-3.5 [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat                                          

 

In-text citation

 

 

Using the prompt "what behaviours are affected by the full moon," a number of behaviours were described. . . . (Google, 2025; see Appendix A for the full transcript).

 

Corresponding
Reference List Entry

Google. (2025). Gemini 2.0 flash [Large language model]. 

  https://deepmind.google/technologies/gemini/flash/

 

In-text citation

According to Microsoft's AI tool, the prompt "full moon effects," describes the one predominant behaviour as . . . .(2025).

As this prompt results in a short response, then provide a direct quote or paraphrase followed by the in-text citation without referring your reader to an Appendix.   If you have included the full short response in-text, then there is no need for an Appendix.
Corresponding Reference List Entry

Microsoft. (2025). Microsoft copilot (365 version) [Artificial intelligence

system]. https://copilot.microsoft.com/

Remember, in-text citation formatting may change depending on a number of factors.

See Number of Authors, Publication Date, and Page/Paragraph Number or Heading for more information.  

 

In addition to citing in-text and in the reference list, researchers should document the prompts used for their own records. Whenever using AI tools, it is best practice to acknowledge their use in your paper.  In some cases, you may decide (or be asked) to attach the original prompt and the output as an Appendix to your paper. Doing so can help increase the transparency of your writing and research process, and can help with future research replications or extensions of your work. Your instructor may provide detailed guidelines.  If not, follow the suggestions below.

  • Describe how you used the tool in the Method section or in the Introduction.
    • If your instructor has provided an AI Acknowledgement or Disclosure form for you to attach to your assignment, you could follow your acknowledgement with something like:  See attached Disclosure Form for details.
  • Provide the prompt(s) you used.
  • If the output is not too lengthy, include the portion of it as an in-text citation with a corresponding reference list entry.
  • If the output is lengthy, you may provide it in an Appendix.

 

Example 1 

I acknowledge the use of ChatGPT-4 to help me find peer reviewed articles on on my research topic "the impact of cold water swimming." I entered the following prompt on January 25, 2025:  "peer reviewed articles on cold water swimming." The output included titles, dates and links to articles. I then used this information to find the full-text of these, and similar, articles in the NIC Library databases.  

As the example above does not reference specific information found in ChatGPT, it is sufficient to acknowledge the use of AI, but not include in-text citations and corresponding references list entries.

Example 2 - Using Several AI Tools

This presentation was prepared using several AI tools including ChatGPT-4, Gemini 2.0 flash, and Claude 3.7 sonnet.  

Sometimes you may use several AI tools to write a paper or prepare a presentation.  Provide acknowledgement and if necessary, in-text citations and references list entries (based on the examples in this guide, using the AI tool developer as the author).

 

Example - Acknowledgement, Citation and References List Entry

In the introductory paragraph of your paper, you acknowledge the use of artificial intelligence:

I acknowledge the use of ChatGPT-4 to help brainstorm ideas and keywords for my essay on the benefits and challenges of using pet therapy in nursing homes.  I entered the following prompts on January 25, 2025: "pet therapy and nursing homes."  I have attached the original output as Appendix A in my assignment.

Later in your paper, you may include an in-text citation to a specific piece of information that was generated by ChatGPT-4. You then advise your reader that your research also included a literature review of academic articles.

"Pet therapy has been shown to offer numerous physical, emotional, and social benefits for elderly individuals in long-term care facilities" (OpenAI, 2025; see Appendix A for full transcript). To explore this topic more fully, an examination of the peer-reviewed literature reveals that . . . ."  The remainder of your paper will now include in-text citations and reference list entries for the peer-reviewed literature. 

In the example above, you acknowledge the general use of AI in your paper. And, because you refer to specific information that you found in ChatGPT-4, you provide an in-text citation and reference list entry.

The References entry for the ChatGPT citation will look like this:

OpenAI. (2025, August 21). The benefits of pet therapy [Generative AI chat]. ChatGPT. https://chatgpt.com/share/68a77b60-0ee4-800c-9acc-cd3fd573c311