Referencing the use of generative AI in your work
08/07/2026

We recognise that Artificial Intelligence (AI) has, and will increasingly, become a part of our everyday lives and that we need to adapt to it. Hopefully you will have already seen the guidance for staff and students that has been published on MyCranfield.
It is provisional as we recognise that we are at the beginning of a long journey and over time our position may change. It’s a journey that we are on together and we have much to learn about how to embrace the opportunities that AI will present in education and research and beyond, how to adapt to it, how to avoid misuse and how to provide effective support and guidance.
- Considerations for using generative AI in academic work.
- Acknowledging the use of generative AI in academic work.
- In-text citations and inclusion of AI generated output in a reference list.
- Use of standardised referencing styles.
Please note that this advice is also provisional and will also change over time, so please refer back to it often in case we make any updates.
If you have any questions about referencing AI in your work, please get in touch with us.
An example of an output produced by a generative AI tool

Image created by generative AI Craiyon.
Acknowledgement
Craiyon was used to create the above image.
The prompt used was: landscape in a futuristic style.
The category chosen was ‘Art’.
Citation in an APA7 style:
Craiyon. (2024, January 22). Craiyon [AI Image Generator]. https://www.craiyon.com/
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Banner image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
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