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Harvard Style Guide: Generative AI

This guide explains how to use the Harvard Style. It includes a short tutorial.

Introduction to Citing Generative AI

This citation and referencing advice should be used only when your module coordinator or School allows the use of AI tools in the creation of academic assignments. If you have used an AI tool in the creation of an assignment, you must acknowledge this use and cite and reference the tool appropriately to ensure you are adhering to UCD's Academic Integrity Policy (see the Student Conduct website for this policy). 

Advice about citing and referencing AI tools is constantly evolving, and this guide updated on 24 January 2025, will continue to be updated as further information becomes available.

For the purposes of this guidance, generative AI is defined as a tool that “can analyze or summarize content from a huge set of information, including web pages, books and other writing available on the internet, and use that data to create original new content” (Weed, 2023).

Generative AI often provides citations and sources that do not exist, or are inaccurate. All such references must be checked by the user to ensure the legitimacy of the references/citations provided by AI tools.

 

For general advice on citation and referencing please refer to our Academic Integrity guide.

 

References:
Weed, Julie. “Can ChatGPT Plan Your Vacation?” The New York Times, 16 Mar. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/03/16/travel/chatgpt-artificial-intelligence-travel-vacation.html.
Guidance:

 

UCD Library recommends that when referencing AI-generated text in Harvard UCD, you should credit the creator of the AI tool as the author, using both an in-text citation and a reference list entry. If a shareable URL is available, please include it in the reference list entry. In the absence of a shareable URL, include the chat session with the AI tool as an appendix and refer readers to this appendix when citing the AI-generated text. For further information on shareable URLs for AI-generated content, please read the advice below.

Reference:

Some AI tools such as chatGPT and Bard generate shareable URLs that allow other readers to see the content of chat sessions with them. There are also browser plugins such as ShareGPT or A.I. Archives which also generate shareable URLs for chat sessions.


Example with shareable URL generated by the AI Tool:

Name of AI (Year).  Medium of Communication, Receiver of communication, Day, Month of communication. Available at: URL

OpenAI ChatGPT (2023) ChatGPT response to Jane Doe 20 October. Available at: https://chat.openai.com/share/f45a1e23-2217-4443-a244-d56ab26ae940

Example without shareable URL:

Reference: Name of AI (Year). Medium of communication, Receiver of communication, Day Month of communication.

OpenAI ChatGPT (2023) ChatGPT response to Jane Doe, 20 October. 

Image Reference:

Creator (Year) Title of work [Medium]. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Midjourney Inc. (2025) Peacock in the style of Gustav Klimt [Digital Art]. Available at: https://cdn.midjourney.com/fa846dc2-995f-4240-bfd9-b9c4eb3b666e/0_2.png (Accessed: 14 February 2025)

Peacock in the Style of Gustav Klimt

In-text citation:

OpenAI (2023)
(OpenAI 2023)

Examples:

The main negative impacts of private renting, according to OpenAI's response to the prompt "What are the socio-economic impacts of private renting?" (2023) include housing insecurity, rising rent costs and wealth inequality.

It's important to note that the socio-economic impacts of private renting can vary widely from one location to another and depend on various factors, including government policies, the state of the local housing market, and the legal rights and protections afforded to renters. (Open AI 2023)

Midjourney is capable of mimicking the style of many well known artists as seen in the image, Peacock in the style of Gustav Klimt (Midjourney Inc., 2025)

Updated: 14 February 2025