1. AI chats & other AI-generated content

Example: TEXT (e.g., ChatGPT)

In-text citation

Example 1: Direct quotation

When prompted with "explain the concept of identity in postmodernism", ChatGPT generated text indicating that "in postmodernism, identity is not seen as fixed, singular, or stable, but rather as fluid, fragmented, and socially constructed" (OpenAI, 2025).

Example 2:  Paraphrasing

When prompted with "explain the concept of identity in postmodernism", ChatGPT (OpenAI, 2025) describes identity in postmodernism as being quite complex and of a socially constructed nature and is not fixed or stable.

Reference List

Elements of the reference

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

OpenAI. (2025, October 2). Identity in postmodernism [Generative AI chat]. ChatGPT.

https://chatgpt.com/share/68de08e8-5a84-800b-a182-8fc8e4dd7830

Generative AI chat: Reference list example

  • Author: The author is the company responsible for developing the AI tool. Although these companies did not “write” the generated text in the traditional sense, the author element of an APA Style reference is broadly defined as who is “responsible for a work.” Whereas in some other references, that is an individual author, editor, or film director, here it is the organisation that created the AI tool. For example, OpenAI is the author of ChatGPT, and Google is the author of Gemini. You can find some tips on how to find the author of the AI here.
  • Date: The date in an AI chat reference is the specific year, month, and day on which a chat occurred.
  • Title: The title is the title of the chat followed by a bracketed description to clarify for readers the nature of the source; for example, “[Generative AI chat].” Adapt the wording within square brackets as needed; it is flexible so you can choose wording that will “best convey the information readers need” (per Section 9.21 of the Publication Manual; APA, 2020, p. 292).
  • Source: The source begins with 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). The final piece of the source element is the URL of the chat.
  • When there is NO SHAREABLE LINK PROVIDED, include a transcript in an appendix.
  • For more information on how to integrate your AI into assessments, see the Academic Integrity Training Modules (login with your SAE email).

Other AI-generated content

Example: MUSIC

Elements of the reference

AI Company Name. (year, month day). Title of the AI-generated content in italics [Description, such as Generative AI song]. Tool Name/Model. URL of the AI-generated song/music 
In-text reference

The prompts “slow tempo, dreamy mood, and ambient genre” were used to generate a song called Epic Horizons (Kunlun Tech, 2025), which I used as the basis for the second part of my project.
Reference list

Kunlun Tech. (2025, October 3). Epic Horizons [Generative AI song]. Mureka AI. https://www.mureka.ai/song-

detail/SuTWEwCqG8xMGLpVPXZtRW?is_from_share=1

Example: IMAGE

Elements of the reference

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

In-text reference 

Example 1:

When discussing the image and the prompts you used to create it in the body of your paper.

The prompt "Mona Lisa in Banksy style" was used to create the image, Mona Lisa (Canva, 2025) in Magic Media that was later edited in Photoshop.

Figure 1

Mona Lisa 

        

  (Canva, 2025)

In-text reference 

Example 2:

When adding an image without discussing it in your paper, include the prompts underneath the image together with the in-text citation.

Figure 2

Mona Lisa 

Image generated in Magic Media using the prompt "Mona Lisa in Banksy style" (Canva, 2025)
Reference list

Canva. (2025, October 3). Mona Lisa [Generative AI image]. Magic Media.

https://www.canva.com/design/DAG0szxl4-s/x5Rd2MFeQo0YkDGEReCNkg/view?utm_content=DAG0szxl4-

s&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=h1e39e9be3a

Example: CODE

Elements of the reference

AI Company Name. (year, month day). Title of the AI-generated content in italics [Description, such as Generative AI code]. Tool Name/Model. URL of the AI-generated code 
In-text reference

I used a HTML code generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI, 2025) to draw a pentacle, which I updated to suit the animation project.
Reference list

OpenAI. (2025, October 20). Pentacle HTML code [Generative AI code]. ChatGPT 5.

https://chatgpt.com/share/68f6bc36-16cc-8005-92be-be0b432a3082