AI Image Citation Generator
Credit an image you made with DALL·E, ChatGPT, Midjourney, Adobe Firefly, Stable Diffusion or Gemini. Enter the prompt, the tool, the company and the date, and get APA 7's figure note and tool reference, MLA 9's caption and Works Cited entry, and Chicago 18's credit line and note. Free, no sign-up.
Image details
Copy it exactly. If you refined the image over several prompts, give the main one here and describe the rest in your text.
As the company writes it: DALL·E, Midjourney, Adobe Firefly, Imagen.
A number such as 3 or V7 becomes MLA's version 3; a name such as GPT Image 1 becomes model GPT Image 1.
MLA and Chicago prefer a stable share link; MLA falls back to the tool's address.
APA dates the tool, not the image. If the tool doesn't say, use the copyright year on its site; left blank, the year you generated the image is used.
APA lets you choose the description that fits the tool.
Your citations
Enter the prompt you used and the AI tool to see your figure note, caption and citations.
How to Use the AI Image Citation Generator
- 1. Save the details when you make the image. The exact prompt, the tool and model, the company, the date and — if the tool offers one — a share link. They are hard to recover later.
- 2. Enter the prompt as you typed it. If you refined the image over several prompts, give the main one and describe the refinements in your text, as APA advises.
- 3. Add the tool's details for APA. APA cites the tool rather than the image: its web address, the year it was last updated and a bracketed description.
- 4. Put each part in its place. APA's note goes under the figure, MLA's caption under the image and Chicago's credit line in the caption — plus a reference list or Works Cited entry where your style wants one.
How Each Style Credits an AI Image
| Part | APA 7 | MLA 9 | Chicago 18 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under the image | A figure note naming the tool and the prompt | A caption: figure number, prompt, tool, version, company, date, link | A credit line: the prompt, then image generated by … |
| List of sources | A reference for the AI tool | Optional: the same details as a Works Cited entry | None (§14.112) |
| Author | The company | None — AI is not an author | None |
| The prompt | In the note or your text, never in the reference | The title element, in quotation marks | In quotation marks |
APA 7. APA's September 2025 guidance says to indicate AI use in a figure's note and to cite the tool generally, in the software format: the company, the year the tool was last updated, the tool or model in italics, a bracketed description and the tool's URL. Prompts belong in the note or the text, not the reference, and version numbers are no longer required. MLA 9. The MLA's August 2025 guidance uses a description of the prompt as the title, then the tool in italics, the model or version, the company, the date and a share link; the caption can carry the whole citation. Chicago 18. The Chicago Style Q&A credits an AI image like any image — the prompt in quotation marks, then image generated by and the tool — and §14.112 keeps AI-generated content out of the bibliography.
AI Image Citation Examples
The MLA's own example: an image made with DALL·E 3 in ChatGPT on September 23, 2024, and shared at a public link.
APA 7th edition
Figure note:
Note. Image generated by DALL·E 3 (OpenAI, 2024) from the prompt “Create an expressionist-style image of two people standing on a beach looking at the ocean.”
Reference list (the AI tool):
OpenAI. (2024). DALL·E 3 [Text-to-image model]. https://chatgpt.com
In-text (parenthetical):
(OpenAI, 2024)
MLA 9th edition
Figure caption:
Fig. 1. “Create an expressionist-style image of two people standing on a beach looking at the ocean” prompt, DALL·E, version 3, OpenAI, 23 Sept. 2024, chatgpt.com/share/66f1c3a3-3f90-8000-9750-82c57c4a6592.
Works Cited:
“Create an expressionist-style image of two people standing on a beach looking at the ocean” prompt. DALL·E, version 3, OpenAI, 23 Sept. 2024, chatgpt.com/share/66f1c3a3-3f90-8000-9750-82c57c4a6592.
In-text citation:
(“Create an expressionist-style image”)
Chicago 18th edition (notes)
Credit line:
“Create an expressionist-style image of two people standing on a beach looking at the ocean,” image generated by OpenAI’s DALL·E 3, September 23, 2024.
Footnote:
“Create an expressionist-style image of two people standing on a beach looking at the ocean,” image generated by OpenAI’s DALL·E 3, September 23, 2024, https://chatgpt.com/share/66f1c3a3-3f90-8000-9750-82c57c4a6592.
Disclosure and Publisher Policies
A citation says where an image came from; it does not make every use acceptable. Check what your instructor, school or publisher allows before you use a generated image. Many publishers restrict them: at the time of writing, Springer Nature journals publish AI-generated images only in narrow cases, such as articles about AI, and the Science journals require the editors' explicit permission. An APA Style blog post (September 2026) makes the case for an AI contribution statement — a short account of how you used AI across a project — though APA requires one only if your instructor does. Under APA's guidance, images made with AI features built into everyday software, such as Canva, need no citation, but your instructor's or publisher's disclosure rules still apply.
Common Mistakes
- Listing the AI as the author. None of the three styles treats AI as an author. APA names the company; MLA and Chicago lead with the prompt.
- Leaving out the prompt. MLA and Chicago build the citation around it, and APA wants it in the figure note or your text.
- Not saying the image is AI-generated. The note, caption or credit line must say so, not just a list of references.
- Adding a Chicago bibliography entry. CMOS 18 keeps AI-generated content in notes and captions.
- Linking to a private chat. Give the share link if the tool offers one. Otherwise MLA uses the tool's general address, and APA cites the tool alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do you cite an AI-generated image in APA 7?
- Say in the figure note that the image was generated with AI, and cite the tool there: Note. Image generated by DALL·E 3 (OpenAI, 2024) from the prompt “…” Then add a reference for the tool: OpenAI. (2024). DALL·E 3 [Text-to-image model]. https://chatgpt.com. APA's September 2025 guidance asks for exactly this: disclose AI use in the figure note and cite the tool generally.
- How do you cite a DALL·E or Midjourney image in MLA?
- Describe the prompt, then give the tool in italics, the model or version, the company, the date and a link: Fig. 1. “Create an expressionist-style image of two people standing on a beach looking at the ocean” prompt, DALL·E, version 3, OpenAI, 23 Sept. 2024, followed by the share link. The same details can form a Works Cited entry instead of a full caption.
- How do you cite an AI image in Chicago style?
- Credit it in the caption, with the prompt in quotation marks: “A modern office rendered as a cubist painting,” image generated by OpenAI’s DALL·E 2, March 5, 2023 — the Chicago Style Q&A's own example. A note takes the same form with a share link if there is one. Chicago 18 does not list AI-generated content in the bibliography.
- Is the AI tool the author of the image?
- No. APA, MLA and Chicago all decline to treat AI as an author, because authorship carries responsibilities only a person can take on. APA names the company that makes the tool; MLA and Chicago start with your prompt.
- Do I need to cite an image made with AI features in Canva or similar software?
- Under APA's guidance, no: AI built into common software is treated like the software itself, which APA does not cite. Your instructor's or publisher's disclosure rules may still ask you to say that an image was AI-assisted, so check them.
- How is citing an AI image different from citing ChatGPT text?
- Text from a chat is cited as a source in your reference list or Works Cited. An image you include is credited where it appears — APA's figure note, MLA's caption, Chicago's credit line — with the prompt alongside. For quoted or paraphrased AI text, use the ChatGPT & AI Citation Generator.