Citation with AI
Also used: Citing AI
Citation with AI is the practice of documenting how AI contributed to research, writing, analysis, or other work while still citing the original sources that support factual claims.
Why it matters to educators
AI can help students and educators find, organize, and phrase ideas, but it may invent sources or obscure where information came from. Clear citation protects credibility and makes the work traceable.
The foundation
An AI response is not usually the underlying evidence for a factual claim. When a tool names a study, policy, or statistic, the responsible next step is to locate and evaluate the original source before citing it.
Disclosure should match the assignment or organizational policy. It may include the tool, date, purpose, prompt or workflow, and the parts of the work that were reviewed or revised with AI assistance.
What this can look like in education
Verify a suggested source
A student uses AI to generate search terms, finds the actual article through the library, and cites the article rather than the chatbot's summary.
Disclose drafting help
An educator notes that AI helped turn approved meeting notes into a first draft and that the final version was checked against the notes.