How to Cite ChatGPT (OpenAI) in APA, MLA, Chicago and More

ChatGPT was the first tool the style guides wrote rules for, which means it also has the most outdated advice in circulation. APA and MLA both revised their guidance in 2025, and the product itself has changed address, dropped its visible version labels and added share links. This page gives the current formats. For the principles that apply to every AI tool, see the main guide to citing AI tools.

A note on the examples. Your own chat is private to you, so we cannot show a "real" one. Each section gives the format as a template with [bracketed] slots, followed by the style authority's own published example, quoted and linked so you can check it.

What changed since the 2023 examples

The address. Current APA and MLA examples use chatgpt.com. References that end in chat.openai.com/chat are copied from 2023.

The version. APA's 2023 post told writers to include the version, as in "ChatGPT (Mar 14 version)", because the version was then shown to users. APA's September 2025 guidance says ChatGPT no longer specifies version numbers and that a version is no longer needed in every reference by default. MLA went the other way in August 2025 and asks for the model as specifically as possible in its version slot, written as "model GPT-4o" in its examples.

The share link. MLA's 2023 post had to recommend third-party tools such as ShareGPT to get a stable URL. ChatGPT now has its own Share button, and both APA and MLA use that link in their examples. OpenAI's help center describes a personal-account link as a snapshot of the conversation: messages you add afterwards are not included unless you update the link.

Workspace accounts. OpenAI's help center says links made from ChatGPT Business, Enterprise or Edu workspaces only open for members of that workspace, and unlike personal links they can include messages added after sharing. For a reader outside it, the chat is non-retrievable, so use the fallback formats.

The author has not changed. APA names OpenAI as author; MLA names it as publisher; Chicago names it as developer. ChatGPT is never listed as an author of your paper.

APA 7

A specific chat:

APA's own published example, which you can open:

The tool in general, again APA's own example:

In text: (OpenAI, 2025). If you know the model, APA lets it take the tool-name position; its own illustration is ChatGPT-5. APA adds that if a tool does show version information, it can follow the name in parentheses, not in italics.

APA says to cite the specific chat when that will help readers, and the tool in general when citing a chat would be unhelpful or inappropriate, or when you used it for something like editing, translating, refining code or generating a table or figure. The prompt does not go in the reference. Describe it in your text, and put long exchanges in an appendix or supplemental material if your instructor or editor agrees. APA's sample sentence for general use reads: "I used ChatGPT (OpenAI, 2025) to edit my paper and provide feedback on clarity and flow."

MLA 9

MLA's own example:

In text, use a shortened title in quotation marks. For generated creative work with no title, MLA uses the first line as the title followed by a description, for example: "The autumn leaves fall softly to the ground . . ." sonnet about autumn. ChatGPT, model GPT-4o, OpenAI, 23 Sept. 2024, and the link. That example is MLA's own.

Chicago

Chicago's own examples, from its online Q&A (which relies on the 18th edition):

With the prompt, when it is not in your text:

"URL" stands for the link copied from ChatGPT's Share button. University guides to the 18th edition add the model to the tool name when it is known (McMaster University Library writes ChatGPT-4) and say that AI-generated text is not usually listed in a bibliography, because a private chat is like a personal communication. With a public link an entry is possible, filed under the developer. McMaster's example: OpenAI. Response to "Tell me how to fix a flat bicycle tire." ChatGPT-4, September 30, 2024. https://chatgpt.com/share/66fb0ff3-7280-8009-93a9-d956f412390b. In author-date, library guides show a parenthetical such as (ChatGPT, March 7, 2023). If you altered the text, Chicago says to add "edited for style and content".

Harvard (Cite Them Right)

The templates below follow Robert Gordon University Library's reproduction of Cite Them Right.

Without a link: OpenAI ChatGPT ([year]) ChatGPT response to [Your Name], [day month]. In text: (OpenAI ChatGPT, [year]). Ulster University's Harvard guide follows the same pattern. Many UK and Australian universities publish their own Harvard variant with a different layout, so check your library's page.

IEEE

IEEE's Reference Guide does not cover generative AI. IEEE's publication policy instead requires that AI-generated content, including text, figures, images and code, be disclosed in the acknowledgments, identifying the system, the sections involved and the level of use. If an instructor still wants a numbered reference, the nearest fit is the Reference Guide's software format. This entry is our adaptation, not an IEEE rule:

Vancouver and AMA

Neither puts a chat in the numbered reference list. University guides to the AMA Manual of Style (section 3.15.13) say not to cite generative AI as a reference and to describe its use in the running text or acknowledgments: how it was used, the tool name with version and manufacturer, the dates and, for research use, the prompts. Vancouver has no official AI guidance; UCD Library, for example, recommends treating a chat like a personal communication mentioned only in the text. Journals that follow ICMJE want the use described in the cover letter and the manuscript, and do not accept AI-generated material referenced as the primary source.

ChatGPT search, deep research and images

When ChatGPT searches the web and gives you links, APA's guidance is the same as for any search engine: read the linked pages and cite them, not ChatGPT. The same logic applies to long research reports with source lists; they are a starting point for reading, not a citable authority. For images generated in ChatGPT, see how to cite AI-generated images.

Disclosing ChatGPT use

A pattern to adapt, with your own details in the brackets:

Only say what is true of your own work. Put the statement where your venue expects it: methods, acknowledgments, or a course declaration form. If your course does not permit generative AI, a citation does not change that.

Sources

All pages were checked on 21 September 2026.

• American Psychological Association, How to cite ChatGPT (7 April 2023; now marked as retained for archival purposes), Part 1, reference formats and Part 2, AI as a search engine (9 September 2025)
• MLA Style Center, How do I cite generative AI in MLA style? (Updated and Revised) (13 August 2025) and the original 2023 post
• The Chicago Manual of Style Online, Q&A: citing content developed or generated by AI. The 18th edition's section on AI-generated content is paywalled, and the library guides number it differently: McMaster University Library cites 14.111 and Monash University Library cites 14.112. We also followed Columbia College Library and Western Technical College Library
• Cite Them Right is paywalled; we followed Robert Gordon University Library and Ulster University Library
• IEEE Author Center, Submission and peer review policies: AI-generated content and the IEEE Reference Guide (software format)
• The AMA Manual of Style is paywalled; we followed Himmelfarb Library, George Washington University and Duquesne University Library. For Vancouver, UCD Library
• ICMJE, Recommendations: artificial intelligence, use by authors
• OpenAI Help Center, Sharing conversations and scheduled tasks in ChatGPT