If you use generative AI in your work, you should include a formal acknowledgement or citation, just as you would if you were citing a human author or artist. Providing clear and accurate attributions is essential - telling your readers where you got your information is critical to building your own credibility, enabling others to trace your claims, and maintaining academic integrity. 

Before using AI on a course assignment or project, be sure to check with your professor! As AI evolves rapidly, you may find that different professors have different expectations about how you can use and how you should cite your use of AI tools, and these expectations might change from semester to semester. For general guidance and a place to start, check out the boxes below.

Even if you're only using AI tools as an inspiration for your own work - asking AI to help you brainstorm a research question, outline a paper, or refine an argument - rather than directly quoting or paraphrasing, you should still acknowledge the tool you used. This can be done simply with a brief sentence at the end of your work describing the tool you used and how you prompted it. 

Sample AI acknowledgement: I used ChatGPT 4 to brainstorm search terms for this paper using the following prompt              , and used Grammarly to edit and refine my final draft. 

Including an acknowledgment clearly outlines what work is your own; this is essential for academic honesty and helps your professor provide better feedback on your work. Remember, different instructors may have different expectations, so make sure to check with your professor!

If you're directly using AI output in your own work whether by quoting, paraphrasing, or reproducing an AI-generated image, you need a more formal citation. Just as there are set formats and conventions for citing journal articles, books, and podcasts, there are citation guidelines for citing output from generative AI. 

Browse the resources below for guidance on citing AI tools correctly using a variety of common citation styles. If you get stuck or aren't sure how to craft a good citation, reach out to your professor or a librarian for help! 

Remember that you should fact check AI output before using it in your academic work. Make sure that any sources you reference from generative AI actually exist and verify any quotes, facts, or figures before citing them.