At this time, there is little consensus on whether AI should be cited as a source of information or treated as a co-author. Nor are there clear rules on how to cite AI in the citation style set forth by The Bluebook. Law reviews and law journals have varying approaches to the use of AI and AI authorship. At the very least, many journals require some acknowledgment or disclosure regarding the author's use of AI. Carefully review the submission guidelines for each journal or reach out to their editorial staff for clarification.
The upcoming 22nd edition of The Bluebook (likely to be published in 2025), will likely have helpful guidance. Until then, this is our best guess for how a Bluebook citation to a generative AI response should look, with the full citations below:
| Citation Element | Bluebook Rule(s) | BingChat | Lexis+AI | ChatGPT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Institutional Author | 18.2.2(a) & 15.1(d) | Microsoft | RELX | OpenAI |
| Title (Descriptive) | 18.2.2(b)(iv) | Response to: "What Is the Official Name of BingChat?" | Response to: "What Is the Official Name of Lexis+AI?" | Response to: "What Is the Official Name of ChatGPT?" |
|
Title Main page |
18.2.2(b)(i) | BingChat | Lexis+AI | ChatGPT |
| Date and Time | 18.2.2(c) | (Jan. 19, 2024, 2:21 PM) | (Jan. 19, 2024, 2:23 PM) | (Jan. 19, 2024, 2:24 PM) |
| URL | There is no URL for a chatbot! BUT you can use the root URL for the application you accessed the chatbot in (18.2.2 (d)) ("Alternatively, the root URL of the site from which information is accessed may be used if ... (2) the source may be obtained only by submitting a form or query | https://www.bing.com/ | https://plusai.lexis.com/lexisplusai/ | https://chat.openai.com/ |
| URL (clarifying parenthetical) | 18.2.2(d) ("If the root URL is used and the site's format is not clear from the rest of the citation, a clarifying parenthetical should be added to explain how to access the specific information to which the citation refers.") | (can be accessed through the Bing website or the Microsoft Edge Browser by selecting "BingChat") | (Select "ask a legal question") | (enter query into "Message ChatGPT" box) |
Full citations:
Microsoft, Response to: "What Is the Official Name of BingChat?”, BingChat (Jan. 19, 2024, 2:21 PM), https://www.bing.com/ (accessed through the Bing website by selecting "BingChat").
RELX, Response to: "What Is the Official Name of Lexis+AI?", Lexis+AI (Jan. 19, 2024, 2:23 PM), https://plusai.lexis.com/lexisplusai/ (select "ask a legal question").
OpenAI, Response to: "What Is the Official Name of ChatGPT?", ChatGPT, (Jan. 19, 2024, 2:24 PM), https://chat.openai.com/ (enter query into "Message ChatGPT" box).