# Citing AI

{% hint style="warning" %}
If you use AI you need to cite it. Make sure you are [using AI ethically](https://library.vsa.edu.hk/vsalibrary/research/ai/acceptable-use). Submitting AI-generated work and pretending it is your own goes against **VSA's Academic Honesty Policy.** Remember to be aware of issues like [hallucination and bias](https://library.vsa.edu.hk/vsalibrary/research/ai/what-could-possibly-go-wrong), and use [reliable websites](https://library.vsa.edu.hk/vsalibrary/elibrary/elibrary) instead of AI when possible.
{% endhint %}

## How can I cite a chatbot?

To cite a chatbot, you need to know:

* Your prompt (use the prompt in “quotation marks” as the title)
* Website name (formatted in italics, e.g. *Poe*)
* Bot/Model name (e.g. StableDiffusionXL for images, ChatGPT, Claude-2-100k for text; don't use italics for this)
* The date you used the AI
* Public URL (created using the share button)

In your works cited list it will look like this:

> "[<mark style="color:blue;">Prompt</mark>](#user-content-fn-1)[^1]". *Website Name,* AI Mode&#x6C;*.* Date you used the AI, Public URL.

## How can I cite Poe?

In your works cited list a conversation with *Poe* will look like this:

> ["Who is Louis Cha?"](#user-content-fn-2)[^2]. [*Poe*](#user-content-fn-3)[^3]*,* Gemini-Pro[^4]. [17 Mar. 2024](#user-content-fn-5)[^5],[ ](https://poe.com/s/AdtEREDku86PE8rUSHCO)poe.com/s/AdtEREDku86PE8rUSHCO[^6].

{% hint style="warning" %}
Share a link to the conversation in Poe, don’t copy and paste the URL from the browser address bar. If you click on this link \[[poe.com/s/AdtEREDku86PE8rUSHCO](https://poe.com/s/AdtEREDku86PE8rUSHCO)] you can see that it is a public URL that anyone can view, with the prompt included.
{% endhint %}

### How can I create a public URL that anyone can view?

<figure><img src="https://3072049627-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FlFHkDVYk3JjyxqXxm3ay%2Fuploads%2FmXqg7WwSPffVeCdAdw5j%2FScreenshot%202024-03-18%20at%202.53.10%20PM.png?alt=media&#x26;token=cf3acbd7-3aeb-42be-8a43-487646f1bed3" alt=""><figcaption><p>Click the share button.</p></figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="https://3072049627-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FlFHkDVYk3JjyxqXxm3ay%2Fuploads%2Fd6PnCHo96WCr25qHW0sv%2FScreenshot%202024-03-18%20at%202.53.21%20PM.png?alt=media&#x26;token=bee92120-8de8-4a41-8053-54feed6bee53" alt=""><figcaption><p>Choose "Your chat" and select all the relevant messages.</p></figcaption></figure>

## How can I cite Perplexity?

It's better to click through to the original source and cite this where possible.

The original sources are shown by the numbers in circles in *Perplexity*'s reply. They link to the websites that *Perplexity* has summarised to give you an answer.

<figure><img src="https://3072049627-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FlFHkDVYk3JjyxqXxm3ay%2Fuploads%2FF0r5rWvcRlw9Uqaf6NVI%2FScreenshot%202024-03-18%20at%202.55.52%20PM.png?alt=media&#x26;token=0144cdd3-2851-4214-8e3f-70ea6fd043b9" alt=""><figcaption><p>Click through to the original sources</p></figcaption></figure>

If you still want to cite *Perplexity* rather than the original sources it has used, you can use this format:

> "Who is Louis Cha?". *Perplexity*. 17 Mar. 2024,[ ](https://poe.com/s/AdtEREDku86PE8rUSHCO)[www.perplexity.ai/search/who-is-louis-qcPoWLkkTRWgN2U5yBwGHQ](https://www.perplexity.ai/search/who-is-louis-qcPoWLkkTRWgN2U5yBwGHQ).

You can get the public URL by clicking the share button, selecting shareable, and then clicking "Copy Link":

<figure><img src="https://3072049627-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FlFHkDVYk3JjyxqXxm3ay%2Fuploads%2F5yHemFHlLWxW2n8ctYV3%2FScreenshot%202024-03-18%20at%202.58.32%20PM.png?alt=media&#x26;token=38c4803f-8500-478e-9425-73735c773cf7" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## How can I cite Flint?

### General Guidelines

Click "Share session" to get a link to your session:

<figure><img src="https://3072049627-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FlFHkDVYk3JjyxqXxm3ay%2Fuploads%2FxV0mZecbSUmleSZgdkzB%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=e35417f4-72c4-4d95-a4f2-f2ded8d2844f" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

You can then use the following format to create a works cited entry:

> "Activity Name." *Flint*, Session URL. Accessed Date.

For example:

> "Mr Wright's Physics IA Research Question Development." *Flint*, app.flintk12.com/activity/physics-ia-rese-3b1ff8/session/42de0982. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.

The in-text citation for the above source can be abbreviated to: ("Mr Wright's Physics IA").

### For Formal Assesment

{% hint style="warning" %}
If you are submitting your work for assessment by the IB, the URL should be give as [www.flintk12.com](http://www.flintk12.com), and any personal names and the name of the school need to be removed. You should also include a [statement acknowledging your use of AI.](https://library.vsa.edu.hk/vsalibrary/research/citing-sources/citing-ai/acknowleding-ai-use)
{% endhint %}

Start by naming your session; you can name it yourself, or click "Auto-name" to automatically generate a name:

<figure><img src="https://3072049627-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FlFHkDVYk3JjyxqXxm3ay%2Fuploads%2Fs2mtR7xgAn3oqWKpXPwF%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=5dd91ff8-7c14-4e1d-b2a5-e1ce8cb9bf08" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

You can then use the following format to create a works cited entry:

> "Session name." *Flint*, URL. Accessed Date.

For example:

> "Learning Physics with CERN Data." *Flint*, [www.flintk12.com](http://www.flintk12.com). Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.

The in-text citation for the above source can be abbreviated to: ("Learning Physics").

## How can I cite Deepseek?

In your works cited list a conversation with *Doubao* will look like this:

> "[Tell me about the 1953 coup in Iran](#user-content-fn-7)[^7]". [*Deepseek*](#user-content-fn-3)[^3]. [26 Mar. 2026](#user-content-fn-5)[^5], chat.deepseek.com/share/73qtp6wsf9x00abqlf[^6].

Click the "Create public link" button to create a public link to share:

<figure><img src="https://3072049627-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FlFHkDVYk3JjyxqXxm3ay%2Fuploads%2FRhmkXJehePKCC5ImYGdd%2FScreenshot%202026-03-10%20at%2012.36.43%E2%80%AFPM.png?alt=media&#x26;token=02b077b8-b8ca-477a-b985-8bb63da26e42" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## How can I cite Doubao?

In your works cited list a conversation with *Doubao* will look like this:

> ["What is an AI Agent?"](#user-content-fn-8)[^8]. [*Doubao*](#user-content-fn-3)[^3]. [26 Mar. 2026](#user-content-fn-5)[^5], [www.doubao.com/thread/wbf48706c459d2a49\[^6](http://www.doubao.com/thread/wbf48706c459d2a49\[^6)]

To create a public link that you can share, click the three dots next to the chat, and then the "share/分享" button:

<figure><img src="https://3072049627-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FlFHkDVYk3JjyxqXxm3ay%2Fuploads%2Fu5l3KapMDuLeQIVi2TQc%2FScreenshot%202026-03-10%20at%2012.10.43%E2%80%AFPM.png?alt=media&#x26;token=c84ee34b-851a-44e8-8f7b-dcfcd0b7b6dd" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Make sure you untick "allow access to files" if you want to keep any files you have shared in the chat private:

<figure><img src="https://3072049627-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FlFHkDVYk3JjyxqXxm3ay%2Fuploads%2FFFEnN9s6y1OflvwAyqSl%2FScreenshot%202026-03-10%20at%2012.10.59%E2%80%AFPM.png?alt=media&#x26;token=d0beb2ac-17cf-445f-9b2e-18054f5f823f" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## Should I list the AI tool as an author?

When citing AI tools using MLA, you should not use the AI as the author. Leave the author blank, and start the reference with the prompt or description of the conversation.

## Do I need to include an accessed date?

No accessed date is needed, as long as you include the date you prompted the AI.

[^1]: Or a short summary of the prompt if it's really long.

[^2]: The prompt that you asked Poe to answer.

[^3]: The name of the website in italics.

[^4]: The name of the model or bot that you are using.

[^5]: The date you had the chatbot conversation.

[^6]: The public URL that you created using the 'share' button.

[^7]: The prompt that you asked Deepseek to answer.

[^8]: The prompt that you asked Doubao to answer.


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://library.vsa.edu.hk/vsalibrary/research/citing-sources/citing-ai/citing-ai.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.