Generative AI and Copilot: 5. Keeping Track of Your Gen AI Use

Why keep records of my use of gen AI?

Documenting your use of gen AI serves two major purposes:

• It records exactly how you used the tools, which will make it easier to acknowledge use accurately - especially if you are working on a project over a longer period of time.
• It acts as a record of your assignment process. If your lecturer or supervisor has any questions about whether your use of gen AI was appropriate, you will be able to show them exactly what you did.

How do I keep track of my use of gen AI?

Exactly how you want to keep records is up to you, but you will want to record at least the following aspects.

Details about the tool:

• The name of the gen AI tool.
• The company that created it (e.g. Microsoft, OpenAI, Google).
• The version of the tool you used. The version can have a large effect on the way the tool works and the sort of output it provides.

Details about your interaction with the tool:

• The date(s) you used the tool.
• Your prompt, including any follow-up questions or instructions.
• The gen AI output. Take screenshots or copy the text of your prompt and the output into a clearly labelled document (e.g. Word or Google Docs).
• Any links the gen AI output used as sources in its response (and remember to critically assess all links generated by gen AI).
• How your gen AI use contributed to your work.

Some assessments may have additional requirements or want more detail about your gen AI use. For instance, your lecturer may want you to include screenshots with a date, a justification for why you selected a particular tool, annotations showing where gen AI contributed to your work, or a reflection on your use of gen AI. Check your assessment instructions carefully to be sure you understand what is expected of you.

You can use this Word template for recording gen AI use: