Measurement guide
AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity now send visitors to business websites. By default, Google Analytics hides them under “referral”. Here’s how to see them clearly, in about ten minutes.
Short answer
To track AI traffic in Google Analytics 4, create a custom channel group with an “AI tools” channel whose source matches a regular expression listing AI sites (chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai, gemini.google.com, copilot.microsoft.com, claude.ai and others), and place it above Referral. For Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode, use the Generative AI performance report in Search Console, because those clicks arrive in Analytics as normal Google organic traffic.
Key takeaways
- GA4 lumps AI visits into Referral by default
- A custom channel group with a regex fixes that in minutes
- Put the AI channel above Referral or it won’t work
- AI Overviews and AI Mode clicks count as Google organic
- Use Search Console’s Generative AI report for Google’s AI features
- Treat the numbers as a minimum, because some AI visits show as direct
Why bother tracking AI traffic?
When ChatGPT, Perplexity or Copilot mentions your business with a link, some people click it. Those visitors are often well informed: the AI has already explained who you are and why you might suit them.
The problem is that Google Analytics 4 doesn’t have an AI channel. These visits are dropped into “Referral” alongside every other website that links to you, so most owners never notice them. Tracking them separately lets you see whether your AI search work is paying off.
Where AI visits come from
| AI tool | What shows up as the source in GA4 |
|---|---|
| ChatGPT | chatgpt.com (links often also carry utm_source=chatgpt.com) |
| Perplexity | perplexity.ai or perplexity |
| Google Gemini | gemini.google.com |
| Microsoft Copilot | copilot.microsoft.com |
| Claude | claude.ai |
| Google AI Overviews and AI Mode | google (counted as organic search, see below) |
Step by step: add an AI channel in GA4
Open channel groups
In GA4, go to Admin, then Data display, then Channel groups.
Copy the default group
Click Create new channel group, or copy the default group so you keep all the normal channels. Name it something like “Default + AI tools”.
Add a new channel
Click Add new channel and name it AI tools. Set the condition to Source, matches regex, and paste the pattern below.
Move it above Referral
Drag AI tools above Referral in the list. GA4 uses the first rule that matches, so if Referral comes first, your AI channel will stay empty.
Save and use it in reports
Save the group. In Reports or Explore, switch the channel dimension to your new group to see AI tools as their own line.
Here’s a simple pattern that covers the main AI tools. Paste it exactly as written:
(?i)(chatgpt|openai|perplexity|gemini.google|copilot.microsoft|claude.ai|meta.ai|deepseek|mistral|you.com)
New AI tools appear all the time, so check your Referral list every few months and add any new ones to the pattern.
Link AI visits to enquiries
A channel only shows visits. To see whether AI visitors actually get in touch, make sure your form sends, calls and bookings are set up as key events in GA4. Then you can compare enquiries from AI tools with Google, Maps and ads side by side. Tracking service
Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode are different
When someone clicks your link inside a Google AI Overview or in AI Mode, the visit comes from google.com, so GA4 counts it as normal organic search. You can’t separate it out in Analytics.
Instead, use Google Search Console. Its Generative AI performance report shows how often your pages appeared in AI Overviews and AI Mode, by page, country, device and date. Google made it available to all websites in August 2026. For now it shows impressions only, not clicks.
What the numbers can’t show you
Treat AI numbers as a minimum
- People who copy your website address from an AI answer and paste it in arrive as direct traffic.
- Some AI apps on phones don’t pass on where the visitor came from, so those visits also show as direct.
- People who read your name in an AI answer and then search Google for you show up as organic or Google Maps.
- Visitors who decline analytics cookies aren’t fully counted, which is normal under EU rules.
A simple fix for the blind spots: ask. Add “How did you hear about us?” to your enquiry form, with an option like “ChatGPT or another AI tool”. It’s low-tech, but it often reveals AI-driven enquiries that Analytics misses.
A 5-minute monthly AI check
- Open your GA4 report with the AI tools channel and note visits and enquiries
- Open Search Console’s Generative AI report and note impressions for your key pages
- Ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity three questions your customers would ask
- Write down who gets named, and whether what they say about you is accurate
- Compare with last month
Frequently asked questions
Is AI traffic big enough to matter for a small business?
For most local businesses it’s still small compared with Google search and Google Maps, but it’s growing, and the visitors tend to be well informed. It’s worth tracking now so you can see the trend.
Why is my AI tools channel empty?
Usually because it’s placed below Referral in the channel group, or the report is still using the default channel group. Move the channel up and switch the report to your new group.
Can I track AI traffic without GA4?
Most analytics tools show referring websites, so you can look for chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai and similar sources there. GA4’s channel groups just make it easier to report.
Does this work for past data?
Yes. Custom channel groups in GA4 apply to historical data too, so you can see AI visits from before you set it up.
Want this set up for you?
We’ll set up AI tracking, call tracking and form tracking in your Google Analytics, in your name, and show you what’s coming in.