Check whether citations are real before you submit
Citely verifies references by comparing DOI, title, author, year, journal, and venue metadata against academic records — so you can catch fake citations, AI-generated references, and bibliography entries that look right but don't match a real source.
DOI and identifier resolution
Title, author, and year matching
Academic database evidence
Reference verification workspace
ChatGPT invents citations that look completely real
AI models routinely fabricate references — convincing author names, polished journal titles, and DOIs that resolve to nothing. Citely catches them before your draft reaches a reviewer.
Absolutely — here's a peer-reviewed source you can cite:
Anderson, M., Chen, L., & Williams, K. (2022). Adolescent screen exposure and circadian disruption: a longitudinal cohort study. International Journal of Adolescent Health Research, 38(4), 215–234. https://doi.org/10.5821/ijahr.2022.0832
This longitudinal study tracked over 2,000 adolescents and is widely cited in pediatric sleep research.
This reference doesn't exist anywhere — every identifier is fabricated.
Journal not found. "International Journal of Adolescent Health Research" has no record in CrossRef, PubMed, or Scopus.
DOI doesn't resolve. 10.5821/ijahr.2022.0832 returns no registered work at doi.org.
Authors never co-published. No paper by Anderson, Chen, and Williams on adolescent sleep exists in 2022.
Citely cross-checks every reference against CrossRef, PubMed, arXiv, and OpenAlex — and flags anything that doesn't hold up.
How Citely verifies every citation
From paste to verdict in seconds — here's the pipeline that catches AI-generated fakes before they reach a reviewer.
- STEP 01
Drop in your references
Paste references from ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, a bibliography, or a draft you're reviewing. APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard — any major style works.
- STEP 02
We resolve every identifier
Citely extracts DOIs, PMIDs, and arXiv IDs, then cross-checks each one against CrossRef, PubMed, arXiv, and OpenAlex in parallel.
- STEP 03
Read the verdict with receipts
Each reference comes back as verified, partially matched, suspicious, or not found — paired with the exact reason: broken DOI, phantom journal, or mismatched author.
- STEP 04
Swap fakes for real sources
For anything that fails verification, jump into Citely's source finder to surface real peer-reviewed papers that support the same claim.
Every verdict comes with the evidence behind it
Citely doesn't just stamp a reference "verified" or "fake." For each citation we surface the matched record, the specific metadata fields that line up (or don't), and a short rationale you can hand to a reviewer or co-author — so what you trust is the evidence, not just the badge.
Field-level diff. Title, author list, year, and venue compared directly against the resolved record.
Source of truth, named. Each match cites which database confirmed it — CrossRef, PubMed, arXiv, or OpenAlex.
Linked evidence. Open the matched paper or jump to the original DOI lookup in one click.
Citation verification results
[12] Patel, R., & Liu, S. (2019). Sleep duration and academic performance in undergraduates. Journal of College Student Health, 7(2), 88–102.
[14] Anderson, M., Chen, L., & Williams, K. (2022). Adolescent screen exposure and circadian disruption. Int. J. of Adolescent Health Research, 38(4), 215–234.
Title similarity
Below 85% threshold
Authors similarity
No matching authors in registry
Date similarity
No 2022 publication found
Best match
Screen time and sleep duration in adolescents: a longitudinal cohort study
Hisler, G.; Twenge, J. M. · 2020
[15] Hisler, G., & Twenge, J. M. (2020). Screen time and sleep duration in adolescents. Sleep Medicine, 66, 92–102.
Built for anyone who writes with sources
If you draft, review, or publish text that cites — Citely catches the fakes before someone else does.
Students
Drafting essays with ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini? Run every citation through Citely before you submit — hallucinated AI sources are the fastest path to a misconduct flag.
Researchers & PhDs
Audit your own bibliography — or a co-author's — in minutes. Spot fabricated references yourself before peer review spots them for you.
Editors & Journalists
Fact-check sources in submissions and AI-assisted drafts. Catch invented studies and phantom journals before they make it into print.
Lawyers & Legal Writers
Hallucinated authority has no place in a brief. Verify every reference your AI research tools surface before it reaches a judge or client.
How Citely stacks up against other tools
Most citation tools only check formatting. Very few verify that the source actually exists — here's where Citely closes the gap.
| Capability | Recommended Citely Verify + Find | Scribbr Formatting | Grammarly Grammar | ChatGPT AI chat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detects AI-hallucinated citations | ||||
| Cross-checks references against academic records | ||||
| Explains why a citation is flagged | ||||
| Verifies DOI, journal, and author match | ||||
| Finds real sources from your text | ||||
| Checks citation formatting |
Based on publicly available features. Citely focuses on verifying citations and surfacing real sources to replace the fakes — not just polishing formatting.
Catch the fakes before anyone else does
Don't ship papers with hallucinated references. Citely flags AI-fabricated citations in seconds and points you to real peer-reviewed sources to cite instead.
Plans from $9 / month
Free to try · Cancel anytime · One workspace, every tool
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about how Citely catches AI-fabricated references and verifies real ones.
What is an online citation checker?
An online citation checker verifies whether references point to real academic sources and whether the citation metadata matches academic records. Citely checks DOI, title, author, year, journal, venue, and database evidence so users can catch fabricated or mismatched references before submission.
Can Citely check AI-generated citations?
Yes. Citely is designed for references produced by ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and other AI writing tools. It verifies citations independently against academic data sources instead of asking the model that generated the citation to judge itself.
Is this different from a citation generator?
Yes. A citation generator formats sources you already trust. Citely checks whether a citation is real, whether the metadata agrees across academic records, and whether suspicious references may be fabricated or partially mismatched.
Which citation details does Citely verify?
Citely checks identifiers and metadata such as DOI, PMID, arXiv ID, title, authors, publication year, journal or venue, and publisher records where available. Google Scholar visibility can help, but it is not treated as the only source of truth.
Is Citely a free online citation checker?
This public page is free to read and explains how online citation checking works. Running full verification in the Citely workspace may require sign-in, account credits, or a paid plan depending on usage.
Do I need to sign in to use the full checker?
The public page explains the workflow and routes you to the Citely citation checker workspace. Sign-in may be required to run full verification, save history, and use account credits.
