Harvard (Cite Them Right) · AI chatbot
How to cite an AI chatbot (like ChatGPT) in Harvard (Cite Them Right)
Major style bodies now publish explicit guidance for citing generative AI output, and they genuinely disagree: APA makes the provider the corporate author and the model the title, MLA makes your prompt the title with the model as its container and no author at all, and Chicago recommends a note rather than a bibliography entry. The worked example below shows how this style's engine renders the record; always check your style body's own AI guidance for the exact pattern it wants. Two things matter more than the format: your institution's rules on whether AI use is allowed at all, and the fact that a chatbot's answer is not a source of truth, so anything factual it told you still needs a real, checkable source.
Worked example · Harvard (Cite Them Right)
Example AI Labs (2026) “ExampleChat.” Available at: https://www.example.org/chat (Accessed: January 10, 2026).
Rendered with the official Harvard (Cite Them Right) style file from a placeholder source (reserved example DOI and domain), so the format is exactly what the style produces. In text: Author-date in-text citations, for example (Author, 2021), with a reference list.
What to collect before you cite an AI chatbot (like ChatGPT)
- The provider (the company, as corporate author)
- The model name (this is the title)
- The version or model release you used
- The year, and month where known, of that version
- The tool's URL
- What your institution's AI-use policy requires you to disclose
Have a DOI? Generate the reference instantly
Journal articles, many books and reports carry a DOI. Paste it and get the Harvard (Cite Them Right) entry from the same engine that produced the example above.
Citing a whole thesis, not one source?
CiteDash keeps your bibliography in Harvard (Cite Them Right) automatically, verifies every citation against a real paper, and compiles to DOCX, PDF or LaTeX.
Citing an AI chatbot (like ChatGPT) in Harvard (Cite Them Right): FAQ
Should I cite the chat, or the facts the chatbot gave me?
Cite the chatbot only when the AI output itself is your object of discussion or your institution requires disclosure. For factual claims, find and cite the real underlying source: chatbots are known to invent references, and an invented citation in a thesis is a research-integrity finding, not a formatting error.
The conversation is not retrievable by my reader. Is it still citable?
Styles handle this differently: some treat it like personal communication, others (like APA) cite the tool itself and suggest putting the full transcript in an appendix. When in doubt, include the appendix; it is the only way a reader can check what you were told.
Do I need to disclose AI use even where I do not quote it?
Follow your institution's policy, which overrides any citation style. Many now require a statement describing what AI tools were used and for what, separate from the reference list. Undisclosed use that the policy required you to disclose is treated as misconduct.
What does the in-text citation look like in Harvard (Cite Them Right)?
Author-date in-text citations, for example (Author, 2021), with a reference list.
Is the example on this page hand-written?
No. It is rendered by the same citation engine and official CSL style file CiteDash uses for full thesis bibliographies, from a clearly-marked placeholder source, and a test re-renders it on every release so the page can never drift from the engine.