cytado for ChatGPT
ChatGPT making up sources? Not anymore.
You write with ChatGPT and the bibliography looks great — until your supervisor checks the first entry. cytado gives ChatGPT access to real academic publications: every reference from an existing source, with a printed page number and a quote.
100 citations a month free, no card.
Fabricated references are not a bug — they are how the model works
ChatGPT has no access to academic libraries. Ask it for literature and it generates the most plausible-sounding entries: a real surname, a credible journal, convincing page ranges — and, often, a paper that does not exist. Supervisors spot-check references, reviewers check them systematically, and integrity committees increasingly start with the bibliography. One fabricated reference undermines the whole thesis.
cytado flips the mechanism: instead of generating sources, ChatGPT asks cytado for them — and cytado answers only with what exists, or an honest “not found”.
How to enable cytado in ChatGPT
Works today · Free plan too
The cytado connector
Add one address in the Plugins section, sign in to cytado and write. The whole setup takes two minutes — full step-by-step with screenshots below.
Step-by-step guide ↓In OpenAI review
cytado app in the ChatGPT directory
The cytado app has been submitted to the official ChatGPT app directory. Once approved, installation shrinks to a single click — no address to paste. This page will be updated when it ships.
Step by step (2 minutes)
1Open Plugins and click “Create”
In ChatGPT (chatgpt.com, in the browser) find Plugins in the left sidebar. At the bottom of the list there is a “Create” button — it opens the custom connector form. Works on the Free plan too.
2Paste the address and choose OAuth
Name: cytado. MCP server URL: https://cytado.com/api/mcp. Authentication: OAuth — leave client ID/secret empty, ChatGPT negotiates with cytado on its own. Tick the trust box and click Create.
3Sign in and consent
ChatGPT opens the cytado sign-in window (an account takes 30 seconds, no card). After signing in you will see the consent screen — click Allow. The connector lists its four tools and is ready from then on.
4Write — and ask for sources “via cytado”
In a conversation just ask: “find a citation for this sentence via cytado” or “write a paragraph and ground the claims in sources via cytado”. ChatGPT calls the tool and every reference comes from an existing publication — with a page number. When no source exists, it says so.
FAQ
Why does ChatGPT make up sources and citations?
A language model has no access to academic libraries — it fills text with the most plausible-sounding content, bibliography included. A real-looking author, journal and page range is, statistically, a correct answer for the model. The only fix is plugging in an external source of truth — cytado checks every claim against real publications.
Does this work on the free ChatGPT plan?
Yes. The connector is added in the Plugins section (the “Create” button) and in our tests it works on the Free plan too — no card, no developer mode. A cytado app for the official ChatGPT app directory is under review, which will make installation a single click.
Do I need to code?
No. Connecting means pasting one address into the Plugins section and signing in to cytado — then you just write.
Where do the sources come from?
From scholarly registries (OpenAlex, Crossref, DOAJ, DOAB and more) and from our own corpus of full texts with real pagination — that is where the printed page numbers next to quotes come from. If no source exists, you get an honest “not found”, never an invented reference.
Start with a free account
One cytado account works across ChatGPT, Claude, Word and Google Docs — one sign-in, shared limits.
Create an account →Wondering how much to hand to the AI? Read: writing a thesis with ChatGPT — where it helps and where it invents sources →