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Cite AI tools and software in Chicago

Learn how to cite AI tools, software and apps in Chicago Note 18 style. Follow templates for AI, image generators and mobile apps to reference sources accurately in your writing.

Confirm with your lecturer whether you are using Chicago Note 17th or Chicago Note 18th as there are several changes in the 18th edition.

Footnotes

  • The creator of the content is the AI tool (e.g. ChatGPT)
  • The publisher is the organization that created the software (e.g. OpenAI).
  • Include version number of the tool.
  • The URL is not an essential element of the citation because it often cannot be used by others to access the same content.
  • In a note, multiple prompts in an ongoing conversation with a tool may be summarised.
  • If you have edited or adapted text generated by a GenAI tool, this fact should be acknowledged in the text or note.
  • If you have used AI refer to the Library’s generative AI guide for advice on declaring use AI where required by lecturers.

If you have included the prompt in the body of your work  

Citation format Example
Template # Text generated by Creator, Publisher, Month Day, Year generated, URL (if publicly available to the content created).  
Full note 1 Text generated by ChatGPT-3.5, OpenAI, February 23, 2023.  
Subsequent note 4 ChatGPT.  

If you have not included the prompt in the body of your work  

Citation format Example
Template # Response to “Prompt,” Tool, Publisher, Month Day, Year generated, URL (if publicly available for the content created).  
Full note 2 Response to “Discuss the role of First Nations mythology in magical realist novels, using examples from the works of three authors,” ChatGPT-3.5, OpenAI, February 23, 2023.  
Subsequent note 5 ChatGPT, “Discuss role of First Nations mythology,” para 3.  

If you have edited or adapted generated text

Citation format Example
Template # Response to “Prompt,” Tool, Publisher, Month Day, Year generated, URL, edited for style and accuracy.  
Full note 3 Response to “Explain how to make pizza dough from common household ingredients,” ChatGPT-3.5, Open AI, December 9, 2023, edited for style and accuracy.  
Subsequent note 6 ChatGPT, “Explain how to make pizza dough,” para 3.  

Bibliography

  • Do not cite GenAI in the bibliography unless there is a publicly available link to the content created.
  • If cited with a publicly available link to the content created, cite the publisher’s name instead of the tool name.
Reference format Example
Template

Publisher. Response to “Prompt,” Tool, Month Day, Year generated, URL (if publicly available for the content created).  
Bibliography entry

Google. Response to “How many copyeditors does it take to fix a book-length manuscript?” Gemini 1.0, February 10, 2024. https://g.co/gemini/share/cccc26abdc19.

Footnotes

  • The URL is not an essential element of the citation because it cannot be used by others to access the same content. Therefore, no bibliography entry is necessary.
  • If generating an image by combining a text prompt with another image, describe prompt text and image, e.g., “create a landscape combining a desert and digital cityscape,” using an uploaded image of a desert panorama.
  • You may need to search the About section of the tool used or perform a Google search to locate the name of the company who developed the tool originally.
  • The creator of the content is the AI tool (e.g. ChatGPT)
  • The publisher is the organization that created the software (e.g. OpenAI).
  • Further information: See Crediting adapted material and Citing AI generated content.

If the prompt has been given in the body of your work

Citation format Example
Template # Image generated by Name of the tool, Month Day, Year (date the image was created) (see Fig. #).  
Full note 1 Image generated by Firefly, May 14, 2024 (see Fig. 1).  
Subsequent note 2 Firefly, May 14, 2024 (see Fig. 1).  

 

Caption format Example
Template Fig. #. Name of the tool, Month Day, Year (date the image was created).  
Caption AI-generated image of a vibrant, rainbow-coloured landscape featuring a tree-lined river with a rainbow arching across the sky in the background. Fig. 1 Firefly, May 14, 2024.  

If the prompt has not been given in the body of your work

Citation format Example
Template # Image generated by Name of the tool, Month Day, Year (date the image was created) (see Fig. #).
Full note 1 Image generated by Firefly, May 14, 2024 (see Fig. 1).  
Subsequent note 2 Firefly, May 14, 2024 (see Fig. 1).

 

Caption format Example
Template Fig. # Image generated by GenAI tool, Month Day, Year (date the image was created), from the prompt “Full text of prompt.”  
Caption AI-generated image of a vibrant, rainbow-coloured landscape featuring a tree-lined river with a rainbow arching across the sky in the background.Fig. 1 Image generated by Adobe Firefly, May 23, 2025, from the prompt “fantasy rainbow forest.” 

Bibliography

Do not cite GenAI in the bibliography unless there is a publicly available link to the content created.

Footnotes

Citation format Example
Template # Software Title, Version #, Developer, released Month Day, Year, Operating system.  
Full note

1 Angry Birds Transformers, v. 2.24.0, Rovio Entertainment, released June 28, 2023, Android 4.4 or later.

2 Gran Turismo 7 for PlayStation 4 and 5, Polyphony Digital, Sony Interactive Entertainment, released March 4, 2022.

3 Microsoft Word for Microsoft 365 for Windows, v. 2306, build 16.0.16529.20226, released August 8, 2023.  
Subsequent note

4 Angry Birds.

5 Gran Turismo 7.

6 Microsoft Word.  

Bibliography

It is not necessary to give a note or bibliography entry for software unless your paper is focused on this area. Otherwise, simply identify such works in the body of your writing.

Reference format Example
Template

Developer. Software Title. Version #, released Month Day, Year, Operating system.  
Bibliography entry

Rovio Entertainment. Angry Birds Transformers. V. 2.24.0, released June 28, 2023. Android 4.4 or later.  

Further information, see: Video games and other apps (14.169) and Titles of video games (8.192).