Guidelines: https://style.mla.org/citing-generative-ai-updated-revised/
The August 2025 update to citing AI tools and AI chats now recommends including a link to the chat, not just to the general AI tool.
You should:
cite a generative AI tool whenever you paraphrase, quote, or incorporate into your own work any content (whether text, image, data, or other) that was created by it.
acknowledge all functional uses of the tool (like editing your prose or translating words) in a note, your text, or another suitable location.
take care to vet the secondary sources it cites.
MLA Template (author, title of source or title of container, version, publisher, date, location):
MLA Works Cited entry: “Title of prompt” prompt. ChatGPT, version number, publisher, Day Month Year the content was generated, shareable URL for accessing the generated content.
MLA Works Cited example: “Explain antibiotics” prompt. ChatGPT, version 5, OpenAI, 8 Oct. 2025, https://chatgpt.com/share/68e68cc4-ac7c-8010-a436-f3e458263c79
MLA in-text citation: ("Explain antibiotics")
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Author |
MLA do not recommend treating the AI tool as an author. |
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Title of source |
Describe what was generated by the AI tool. This may involve including information about the prompt in the Title of Source element if you have not done so in the text. |
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Title of Container |
Use the Title of Container element to name the AI tool (e.g., ChatGPT). |
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Version |
Name the version of the AI tool as specifically as possible. |
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Publisher |
Name the company that made the tool. |
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Date |
Give the date the content was generated. |
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Location |
Give the stable, shareable URL for accessing the generated content (e.g., text, an image, etc.). For example, tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and DALL-E allow you to share a link by clicking the Share link at the top of the chat conversation. If the tool you are using doesn’t provide a stable, shareable URL, provide the general URL for the tool. |
Example:
You ask:
"In 100 words, describe the symbolism of the green light in The Great Gatsby."
ChatGPT answers:
"The green light in The Great Gatsby symbolizes Gatsby’s hopes and dreams, particularly his longing for Daisy Buchanan and the idealized future he believes they can share. Positioned across the bay from Gatsby’s mansion, the light represents both desire and distance—something beautiful yet unreachable. Its color, green, traditionally evokes growth and renewal, but in Gatsby’s world, it also signifies illusion and the corrupt pursuit of wealth. The light’s constant flicker reminds readers of the elusive nature of the American Dream, suggesting that no matter how hard Gatsby reaches, true fulfillment remains just out of reach."
Quoted in your prose:
"When asked to describe the symbolism of the green light in The Great Gatsby, ChatGPT provided a summary about optimism, the unattainability of the American dream, greed, and covetousness. However, when further prompted to cite the source on which that summary was based, it noted that it lacked “the ability to conduct research or cite sources independently” but that it could “provide a list of scholarly sources related to the symbolism of the green light in The Great Gatsby” (“In 100 words”).
Works-Cited-List Entry:
“In 100 words, describe the symbolism of the green light in The Great Gatsby." ChatGPT, version 5, OpenAI, 8 Oct. 2025, https://chatgpt.com/share/68e68d61-c108-8010-9770-bb8224e63bc4.