Generative AI

In the literal sense, it isn't possible to directly quote output from generative AI, since conversations are stateless. That is, they only exist in the context of the current session. I asked CHAT GPT about this in December 2023:

Prompt: So it would be really hard to cite something from a conversation, since each conversation is stateless. I mean, I could say what you said, but I couldn't really prove it.

ChatGPT:

You're correct. Due to the stateless nature of the conversations with this AI model, there isn't a way to retrieve or cite specific interactions once a session has ended. The lack of a persistent memory is intentional to prioritize user privacy and confidentiality.

If you need to cite information or refer to specific content from a conversation, you might consider paraphrasing the information and not relying on direct quotes. Since the interactions are dynamic and the model's responses can vary, it's generally not recommended to treat the output as a verifiable or citable source.

For more formal or academic purposes where verification is crucial, it's advisable to rely on established sources and cite information from reliable, well-documented references. The use of AI-generated content in academic or professional settings may have limitations due to the dynamic and evolving nature of the technology.

Major citation styles have begun to address generative AI tools such as ChatGPT. It is important to be clear if and where you use AI in your work, and guidelines are sill evolving. 

AI Archives is a Chrome extension that records an interaction with generative AI, and saves it as a public URL. This is helpful if you want to save a record of an interaction and cite it. AI Archives is an official source recommended by the Chicago Manual of Style.

MLA guidelines written in March 2023.

APA guidelines from April 2023.