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How to Cite AI as a Source + 6 Tips for Using and Citing AI

Learn how to cite AI sources like ChatGPT using MLA, APA, and other citation styles. Includes best practices in using AI in both research and writing

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Introduction

Our text compare tool is a fantastic, lightweight tool that provides plagiarism checks between two documents. Whether you are a student, blogger or publisher, this tool offers a great solution to detect and compare similarities between any two pieces of text. In this article, I will discuss the different ways to use the tool, the primary features of the tool and who this tool is for. There is an FAQ at the bottom if you run into any issues when trying to use the tool.

What makes Originality.ai’s text comparison tool stand out?

Keyword density helper – This tool comes with a built-in keyword density helper in some ways similar to the likes of SurferSEO or MarketMuse the difference being, ours is free! This feature shows the user the frequency of single or two word keywords in a document, meaning you can easily compare an article you have written against a competitor to see the major differences in keyword densities. This is especially useful for SEO’s who are looking to optimize their blog content for search engines and improve the blog’s visibility.

Ways to compare

File compare – Text comparison between files is a breeze with our tool. Simply select the files you would like to compare, hit “Upload” and our tool will automatically insert the content into the text area, then simply hit “Compare” and let our tool show you where the differences in the text are. By uploading a file, you can still check the keyword density in your content.

URL compare

Comparing text between URLs is effortless with our tool. Simply paste the URL you would like to get the content from (in our example we use a fantastic blog post by Sherice Jacob found here) hit “Submit URL” and our tool will automatically retrieve the contents of the page and paste it into the text area, then simply click “Compare” and let our tool highlight the difference between the URLs. This feature is especially useful for checking keyword density between pages!

Simple text compare

You can also easily compare text by copying and pasting it into each field, as demonstrated below.

Features of Originality.ai’s Text Compare Tool

Ease of use

Our text compare tool is created with the user in mind, it is designed to be accessible to everyone. Our tool allows users to upload files or enter a URL to extract text, this along with the lightweight design ensures a seamless experience. The interface is simple and straightforward, making it easy for users to compare text and detect the diff.

Multiple text file format support

Our tool provides support for a variety of different text files and microsoft word formats including pdf file, .docx, .odt, .doc, and .txt, giving users the ability to compare text from different sources with ease. This makes it a great solution for students, bloggers, and publishers who are looking for file comparison in different formats.

Protects intellectual property

Our text comparison tool helps you protect your intellectual property and helps prevent plagiarism. This tool provides an accurate comparison of texts, making it easy to ensure that your work is original and not copied from other sources. Our tool is a valuable resource for anyone looking to maintain the originality of their content.

User Data Privacy

Our text compare tool is secure and protects user data privacy. No data is ever saved to the tool, the users’ text is only scanned and pasted into the tool’s text area. This makes certain that users can use our tool with confidence, knowing their data is safe and secure.

Compatibility

Our text comparison tool is designed to work seamlessly across all size devices, ensuring maximum compatibility no matter your screen size. Whether you are using a large desktop monitor, a small laptop, a tablet or a smartphone, this tool adjusts to your screen size. This means that users can compare texts and detect the diff anywhere without the need for specialized hardware or software. This level of accessibility makes it an ideal solution for students or bloggers who value the originality of their work and need to compare text online anywhere at any time.

AI has become increasingly interwoven in our daily lives, not just in terms of the tools we use, but also in our research, writing, and publishing. 

Every day, millions of people use AI tools. In August 2024, The Verge reported that ChatGPT now has 200 million weekly visitors.

AI tools have applications for everything from writing code to generating text and creating images. 

The real question is, if you’re using AI, how do you cite it? 

Here’s a quick overview of what you’ll learn in this article

  • How to cite AI with common citation styles: MLA, APA, and Chicago.
    • Examples of citations for ChatGPT.
  • How to accurately credit AI in academic or professional writing.
  • What to do about consistently evolving guidelines around AI citations.
  • Best practices and tips for using and citing AI in the writing process.

How to Cite AI with APA Style

Citing AI with APA style depends on whether or not the conversation is generally available or if it’s considered personal communication. 

As a personal communication

If it falls under personal communication, you’d format it as follows for an in-text citation

(OpenAI, personal communication, November 13, 2024) 

You also wouldn’t include it in the reference list. According to the APA Style Guide, personal communications aren’t cited in a reference list, because the reader wouldn’t be able to replicate or see the exact personal communication.

Source: APA Style Guide on Personal Communications

When the generated text is added to an appendix

However, the APA Style Guide notes that if you include the text generation output within an appendix, you can include a citation both within the text and in the reference list.

Within the text, you could include an in-text citation such as:

(OpenAI, 2024; see Appendix for a complete transcript).

Then, in the reference list, you’d cite it as follows:

OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (Date of version e.g. Nov. 18 version) [Large language model]. 

https://chat.openai.com/chat

Source: APA Style Guide

Citing AI software

If, on the other hand, you’re citing something about AI that can be openly accessed (like its software functionality), you’d need to add it to the reference list and cite it in the text like this: 

(OpenAI, 2024)

While adding it to your reference list like this:

OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (Date of version e.g. Nov. 18 version) [Large language model].
https://chat.openai.com/chat

Source: APA Style Guide

How to Cite AI with MLA Style

MLA suggests including the company, the name of the tool itself, and the version as well as the date when you accessed it. 

An in-text citation would look like this:شؤؤ

(“Text from prompt”) 

On your works cited page, you’d format it like this: 

“Text from prompt” prompt. ChatGPT, Date. version (e.g. 15 Nov. version), OpenAI. Date 

Accessed (e.g. 18 Nov. 2024), chat.openai.com/chat.

Don’t forget to italicize the name of the software program (in this example it’s ChatGPT). If you want to reference the version of ChatGPT, like version 4o for example, you can add it after the title. 

Sources: MLA Style Center on Generative AI and Purdue University

How to Cite AI With the Chicago Manual of Style

Chicago style guides recommend referencing it in your footnotes, you can format it like this: 

  1. Text generated by ChatGPT, OpenAI, Date (e.g. November 18, 2024), https://chat.openai.com.

Alternatively, if footnotes are not used and the author-date system is being used then the in-text citation would look something like this:

(ChatGPT, Date e.g. November 18, 2024)

As part of your bibliography, it would only appear if you can produce a shareable public link, which references the exact prompt text. The link to a ChatGPT chat doesn’t work here because it won’t be publicly accessible.

Sources: Chicago Manual of Style and Purdue University

*Note: the Chicago Manual of Style article recommends placing the date after the company name (OpenAI in this example), while Purdue university advises placing the date before the company name.

How to Cite AI With IEEE

IEEE allows you to cite AI just as you would with any other software program. You’d create an in-text citation like this: [1] while your reference list would show the following: 

[1] ChatGPT. (GPT-4o). OpenAI. Accessed: Date (e.g. Nov. 18, 2024). [Online]. Available: https://chat.openai.com/chat

Source: University of Michigan Library Guides

Methods for Citing AI May Change

You may have other specific instructions on how to cite AI based on guidance from your professor, institution, or journal. Be sure to follow those first and foremost when it comes to formatting your document. 

Keep in mind that guidance on how to cite AI is always changing, so it’s a good idea to review each citation style guide for the most recent information if you’re preparing a document for publication. 

6 Tips for Using and Citing AI as a Writing or Research Tool

Now that you know how to cite AI, it’s a good idea to keep in mind certain points in terms of how to use AI more effectively as a tool. 

Check out these tips on how to use AI ethically and transparently

1. Understand AI’s limitations

AI is crafting responses based on its training and the massive datasets it has pulled information from. So, it’s generating its response based on patterns. 

With this in mind, it’s important to note that it can sometimes produce “facts” and figures that are anything but accurate, known as AI hallucinations.

2. Always verify facts 

It’s always a good idea, as a matter of polishing your final work, to check and verify facts, whether you’re editing AI content or human-written content. 

Using a free tool like Originality.ai’s Automated Fact Checker can help cross-verify information with additional sources. 

3. Be transparent

AI can help with generating ideas, research, editing, and even structuring drafts. With this in mind, it’s smart to be transparent and open about how you use it. 

For example, if AI helped you draft the structure of your essay, you should mention that in your work. Transparency is a best practice that establishes and maintains integrity.

Further, if you’re planning on using AI for an assignment, always review the assignment and institution guidelines to learn about whether AI is permitted before you start.

Learn more about AI detection in colleges and universities.

4. Be aware of accidental plagiarism

AI is pulling from a considerable amount of existing data and patterns. You want to be especially careful to review information carefully and provide citations to information where needed to avoid accidental plagiarism. 

When in doubt, always provide proper attribution

Learn more about the types of plagiarism and try the Originality.ai Plagiarism Checker.

5. Citing AI as personal communication or direct quote

Some organizations have different directions on how to cite AI depending on if your interaction with it was personal or more generalized. 

Keep in mind that if you’re citing AI directly (for example, it generated specific phrasing or insights based on your questions), you should treat it as if it were a regular direct quote. 

When you paraphrase content, you still have to cite it since it clarifies the source of the information.

6. Be mindful of data privacy

It’s also important to be mindful if you’re working with confidential or sensitive user data. AI tools may track conversations or chats to help further refine and train their responses. 

If you’re working with specialized data or information that’s private or confidential, make sure you’re abiding by the terms of the AI tool, company policies, and regional data privacy laws. 

Final Thoughts

AI has expanded from purely a tool used by software engineers and data analysts to a much more common and integral part of our lives. 

Even if you’re only using it to help you research or study, being able to properly cite AI’s contribution to your work is a sign of academic professionalism, and most of all, to publishing with integrity. 

Learn more about AI, Citations, and Plagiarism Detection:

Sherice Jacob

Sherice Jacob is a seasoned copywriter and content professional fluent in English, Spanish, and Catalan, with over 25 years of experience crafting high-converting copy. Passionate about AI, she enjoys exploring the new innovations and possibilities it brings to the world of content creation.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it important to check for plagiarism?

Tools for conducting a plagiarism check between two documents online are important as it helps to ensure the originality and authenticity of written work. Plagiarism undermines the value of professional and educational institutions, as well as the integrity of the authors who write articles. By checking for plagiarism, you can ensure the work that you produce is original or properly attributed to the original author. This helps prevent the distribution of copied and misrepresented information.

What is Text Comparison?

Text comparison is the process of taking two or more pieces of text and comparing them to see if there are any similarities, differences and/or plagiarism. The objective of a text comparison is to see if one of the texts has been copied or paraphrased from another text. This text compare tool for plagiarism check between two documents has been built to help you streamline that process by finding the discrepancies with ease.

How do Text Comparison Tools Work?

Text comparison tools work by analyzing and comparing the contents of two or more text documents to find similarities and differences between them. This is typically done by breaking the texts down into smaller units such as sentences or phrases, and then calculating a similarity score based on the number of identical or nearly identical units. The comparison may be based on the exact wording of the text, or it may take into account synonyms and other variations in language. The results of the comparison are usually presented in the form of a report or visual representation, highlighting the similarities and differences between the texts.

String comparison is a fundamental operation in text comparison tools that involves comparing two sequences of characters to determine if they are identical or not. This comparison can be done at the character level or at a higher level, such as the word or sentence level.

The most basic form of string comparison is the equality test, where the two strings are compared character by character and a Boolean result indicating whether they are equal or not is returned. More sophisticated string comparison algorithms use heuristics and statistical models to determine the similarity between two strings, even if they are not exactly the same. These algorithms often use techniques such as edit distance, which measures the minimum number of operations (such as insertions, deletions, and substitutions) required to transform one string into another.

Another common technique for string comparison is n-gram analysis, where the strings are divided into overlapping sequences of characters (n-grams) and the frequency of each n-gram is compared between the two strings. This allows for a more nuanced comparison that takes into account partial similarities, rather than just exact matches.

String comparison is a crucial component of text comparison tools, as it forms the basis for determining the similarities and differences between texts. The results of the string comparison can then be used to generate a report or visual representation of the similarities and differences between the texts.

What is Syntax Highlighting?

Syntax highlighting is a feature of text editors and integrated development environments (IDEs) that helps to visually distinguish different elements of a code or markup language. It does this by coloring different elements of the code, such as keywords, variables, functions, and operators, based on a predefined set of rules.

The purpose of syntax highlighting is to make the code easier to read and understand, by drawing attention to the different elements and their structure. For example, keywords may be colored in a different hue to emphasize their importance, while comments or strings may be colored differently to distinguish them from the code itself. This helps to make the code more readable, reducing the cognitive load of the reader and making it easier to identify potential syntax errors.

How Can I Conduct a Plagiarism Check between Two Documents Online?

With our tool it’s easy, just enter or upload some text, click on the button “Compare text” and the tool will automatically display the diff between the two texts.

What Are the Benefits of Using a Text Compare Tool?

Using text comparison tools is much easier, more efficient, and more reliable than proofreading a piece of text by hand. Eliminate the risk of human error by using a tool to detect and display the text difference within seconds.

What Files Can You Inspect with This Text Compare Tool?

We have support for the file extensions .pdf, .docx, .odt, .doc and .txt. You can also enter your text or copy and paste text to compare.

Will My Data Be Shared?

There is never any data saved by the tool, when you hit “Upload” we are just scanning the text and pasting it into our text area so with our text compare tool, no data ever enters our servers.

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