If AI was used in a project, that should be addressed and noted. Failure to cite or adhere to usage guidelines from your professor can lead to academic consequences like a failing grade or dismissal.
Before you even use it, check to make sure that you are allowed to use generative AI.
APA citation guidelines suggest that you describe how you used generative AI within your paper or attach the entire conversation with something like ChatGPT as an appendix to your work. You would cite it as a tool in your References section.
Format: Company name/author of the model. (Year). Name of AI used (the date of the version used / name of the version) [Large language model]. URL.
Example:
OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat
In-Text: (OpenAI, 2023)
Similarly, MLA recommendation is to describe what was generated by the AI tool and not to treat it as an author.
Format: Title of Source (describe what was generated by the AI tool). Title of Container, version, Publisher, Date content was generated, URL for the tool.
Example: “Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald” prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.
In-text: ("Describe the symbolism")
Chicago also recommends crediting ChatGPT and similar tools, but is slightly less formal. They say that "for most types of writing, you can simply acknowledge the AI tool in your text." In these citations, ChatGPT is a stand in as an author and OpenAI is the publisher.
Example (numbered footnote/endnote): 1. Text generated by ChatGPT, OpenAI, March 7, 2023, https://chat.openai.com/chat.