How to Cite ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini in APA 7 (Updated Format)

September 26, 2026· amir

If you learned to cite ChatGPT in 2023, there’s a good chance you’re doing it the old way.

In September 2025, the APA Style team published new guidance. The big change: you now cite the specific chat you had, with a link to it, instead of just citing the tool. That’s possible because ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini all let you create a shareable link to a conversation.

Here’s what the new format looks like, with examples you can copy.

First: do you even need to cite it?

Not every use of AI needs a reference.

You quoted or paraphrased what the AI said → cite it.
You used AI to brainstorm, outline or fix grammar → many universities say don’t cite, but mention it in your methods, introduction or a footnote.
The AI pointed you to a source → go read that source and cite it, not the chat.

And always check your teacher’s policy first. Some courses don’t allow AI at all.

The new APA reference format

AI Company. (Year, Month Day). Title of chat [Generative AI chat]. Tool Name/Model. URL of the chat

A few details that trip people up:

The author is the company, not the tool. OpenAI, not ChatGPT.
The date is the day of the chat.
The title is the chat’s title, in italics and sentence case. If the tool auto-named it something odd, you can describe it instead.
The bracket tells the reader what kind of source it is. “Generative AI chat” works for all three tools.

ChatGPT example

Reference: OpenAI. (2026, September 12). Causes of the 1929 stock market crash [Generative AI chat]. ChatGPT. https://chatgpt.com/share/your-link-here

In-text: (OpenAI, 2026) or OpenAI (2026)

To get the link: open the chat, click Share, and copy the link.

Claude example

Reference: Anthropic. (2026, September 12). Summary of photosynthesis stages [Generative AI chat]. Claude. https://claude.ai/share/your-link-here

In-text: (Anthropic, 2026)

Gemini example

Reference: Google. (2026, September 12). Arguments for and against school uniforms [Generative AI chat]. Gemini. https://gemini.google.com/share/your-link-here

In-text: (Google, 2026)

If you know the exact model (say, a specific version name shown in the app), you can add it after the tool name.

Two chats with the same tool on the same day?

Add a letter after the date, just like two articles by the same author in the same year:

OpenAI. (2026, September 12a). … OpenAI. (2026, September 12b). …

In-text: (OpenAI, 2026a) and (OpenAI, 2026b).

No share link available?

Some school or work accounts turn off public links. In that case, leave the chat URL out. Some libraries suggest copying the conversation into a shared Google Doc and linking that. Others say to put the prompt and response in an appendix. Ask your teacher which they prefer.

Mentioning AI in your text

APA suggests saying how you used the tool, not just dropping a citation. For example:

“I used Claude (Anthropic, 2026) to generate a list of possible counterarguments, then checked each one against published sources.”

That one sentence does a lot. It shows honesty, and it shows you did the actual thinking.

What about MLA?

MLA works differently. There’s no author, and your prompt becomes the title:

“Explain the causes of the 1929 crash” prompt. ChatGPT, OpenAI, 12 Sept. 2026, https://chatgpt.com/share/your-link-here.

Common mistakes

Putting “ChatGPT” as the author.
Using the old 2023 format with the version date like “(May 24 version)”.
Citing the AI for a fact it gave you, without checking the fact.
Forgetting the in-text citation.

If you’re juggling AI citations with books, journals and websites, our free Citation Generator handles the rest of your reference list, so you only have to think about the tricky ones.

FAQ

Is citing AI the same as being allowed to use it? No. A correct citation doesn’t make AI use acceptable if your course bans it.

Do I italicise the chat title? Yes, in APA the title is italic, in sentence case.

Where did this format come from? The APA Style blog post “Citing generative AI in APA Style: Part 1” (September 2025). Guidance may change in the next edition of the manual.