The current 7th edition of the American Psychological Association guidlines (APA7) does not address the referencing of generative AI tools. Among APA7 users, the following options are recommended on the APA Style Blog:
- Generative AI tools are cited in the same way as other non-reproducible sources such as personal communication. The AI is only cited in the text with the conversation partner and date, but is not included in the bibliography/list of sources. Example:
In the text: … (OpenAI, personal communication, April 18, 2023) - Output generated by AI is treated in the same way as the results of algorithms or programs. It is cited in the text with the author’s name and year, and an entry is created in the bibliography. Example:
In the text: … (OpenAI, 2023)
In the bibliography: OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat - If necessary, the complete output of the AI can be listed in the appendix. Example:
In the text: … (OpenAI, 2023; see Appendix A for the complete transcript)
Other citation styles suggest similar approaches. See the German and English summaries on Scribbr. The Cite Them Right Online platform is also helpful in this respect, as it provides an overview of the recommendations (including examples of use) for the most common citation styles.