How to Track and Report on Traffic from AI Tools in GA4
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Mins 46 Sec
As AI-powered platforms like ChatGPT, Bing AI, and Perplexity become more common sources of traffic, marketers and analysts need to know how to track this activity in Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Unlike traditional sources like Google or Facebook, traffic from AI tools often appears under vague labels like (direct) or unassigned—making it difficult to analyze accurately.
In this blog, we’ll walk you through how to identify, track, and report on traffic from AI tools in GA4.
Why This Matters
AI tools often summarize and share links from your website. When users click these links, they land on your site—but you may not be capturing that source data properly.
This can affect:
Attribution modeling
SEO performance understanding
Referral reporting
Content strategy decisions
So let’s fix that.
1. How AI Traffic Usually Appears in GA4
Here’s how traffic from AI tools might show up by default:
Channel: Direct
Source/Medium: (not set) / (not set)
Landing Page: Valid
User Behavior: Normal browsing session
This happens because most AI platforms do not pass UTM parameters or referrer data.
2. Ways to Track AI Tool Traffic in GA4
A. Use UTM Parameters
Whenever you share content that may end up being picked up by AI tools (newsletters, press releases, or social media), tag your links with UTMs.
Even if the AI tool uses your link, UTMs may stick and help you identify the traffic source.
B. Monitor Landing Pages
AI tools often link directly to specific blog articles or guides. You can spot this behavior in GA4:
Go to Reports > Engagement > Landing Page.
Sort by new users.
Look for unusual spikes or patterns in certain pages.
Use secondary dimensions like "Session source" or "Session medium."
If you spot traffic spikes without a clear source—especially from knowledge-based articles—it could be AI-driven.
C. Use Referrer in Explorations
Some AI tools (like Perplexity or Bing AI) do pass a referrer, though not always. You can build an Exploration report to find this:
Go to Explore.
Set “Session source” or “Page referrer” as a dimension.
Filter for keywords like bing, perplexity, or ai.
Add a condition like "Contains 'ai'" to catch new tools.
D. Create Custom Channel Groups
To segment AI traffic better:
Go to Admin > Data Settings > Channel Groups.
Create a new rule like:
If session source contains "perplexity"
Or session source contains "chatgpt"
Name it: “AI Tools”
Use this custom channel in your reports.
This helps you isolate and track AI traffic as a unique channel.
3. Reporting AI Traffic in GA4
Once you’ve segmented the traffic using UTMs or custom rules, here’s where you can report on it:
Traffic Acquisition Report: Track volume and session source.
User Acquisition Report: See how new users first discovered you.
Conversion Paths: Understand how AI-driven visitors contribute to goals.
Landing Pages: Identify which content AI tools are using most.
4. Pro Tips for AI Traffic Tracking
Use Looker Studio: Build a dashboard to track all AI-related sources over time.
Set Alerts: If a page gets an unusual traffic spike, set up GA4 alerts so you can investigate if an AI tool featured your content.
Monitor New Referrals: AI tools change fast. Keep an eye on the "Source" dimension for new names like “you.com” or “phind.com”.
Final Thoughts
AI tools are quickly becoming the next major traffic source—especially for content-heavy websites. But GA4 doesn’t automatically label this traffic clearly. By using UTMs, custom explorations, and channel groupings, you can track and report AI-driven sessions more accurately.
Understanding this traffic helps you:
Improve attribution
Optimize content for AI visibility
Prepare for the future of search
