Referencing AI / GitHub Copilot
How to cite GitHub Copilot
Treat GitHub Copilot as software: GitHub is the author, "GitHub Copilot" is the title, and the link is https://github.com/features/copilot. Add the version if you can see it in the tool. Examples below use 9 October 2026; swap in the date you used it.
APA 7
Goes in your reference list. In the text, cite it as (Developer, Year).
GitHub. (2026). GitHub Copilot [AI coding assistant]. https://github.com/features/copilot
In text: (GitHub, 2026)
MLA 9
Goes in your Works Cited list. MLA puts your prompt at the start of the entry.
“Explain the main causes of urban heat islands” prompt. GitHub Copilot, GitHub, 9 Oct. 2026, github.com/features/copilot.
In text: (“Explain the main causes…”)
Chicago (notes)
Chicago suggests a footnote rather than a bibliography entry.
1. GitHub Copilot, response to “Explain the main causes of urban heat islands,” GitHub, October 9, 2026, https://github.com/features/copilot.
AGLC4
A footnote, then list it under 'Other' in your bibliography.
Output from GitHub Copilot, GitHub to Alex Chen, 9 October 2026.
The acknowledgement
A reference covers what you quoted. Many universities also want a short statement saying how you used GitHub Copilot. For example:
I used GitHub Copilot (GitHub, https://github.com/features/copilot) on 9 October 2026 to explain concepts I found hard to follow. My prompts included “Explain the main causes of urban heat islands”. I rewrote anything I used in my own words. I checked the facts it gave me against the original sources. A full record of my prompts and the outputs is available on request.
Your university may want its own wording. Make yours in the generator or find your university.