How-To · Measurement
How to Track Traffic From ChatGPT, Perplexity and Other AI Assistants in GA4
A step-by-step setup for an "AI assistants" channel in Google Analytics 4, a copy-ready regex, and an honest look at what the numbers can and can't tell you.
In Google Analytics 4, create a custom channel group, add a channel called AI assistants that matches assistant domains like chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai and claude.ai, and move it above Referral. GA4 applies custom channel groups to past data too, so you can see assistant visits right away. Some assistant traffic arrives without a referrer, so treat the number as a floor.
Key Takeaways
- Create a custom channel group in GA4 with an AI assistants channel.
- Match assistant domains like chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai and claude.ai, and place the channel above Referral.
- Custom channel groups apply to past data too.
- Some assistant visits arrive without a referrer, so treat the number as a floor.
Out of the box, GA4 lumps visits from AI assistants in with every other referral. ChatGPT sits somewhere between a recipe blog and that one directory site from 2014. Not ideal if you want to know whether your AEO work is paying off.
The fix takes about ten minutes and doesn't need any code on your site.
Before You Start
- You need Editor access or higher on the GA4 property.
- Standard GA4 properties can have two custom channel groups with up to 50 channels each. If you've used both, you'll need to edit one instead of creating a new one.
- Custom channel groups work on existing data, not just new visits. Nice.
Setting It Up
- Open channel groupsIn GA4, go to Admin, then Data display, then Channel groups.
- Copy the default groupStart from the default channel group so all your usual channels come along. Give it a name like "Channels with AI."
- Add a new channelName it "AI assistants."
- Add the conditionPick the Source dimension, choose "matches regex," and paste the pattern below.
- ReorderDrag AI assistants above Referral. GA4 puts each visit in the first channel it matches, so order matters.
- Save and viewOpen the Traffic acquisition report and switch the dimension to your new channel group.
The Pattern
.*(chatgpt\.com|openai\.com|perplexity\.ai|claude\.ai|gemini\.google\.com|copilot\.microsoft\.com).*This catches the main assistant domains without grabbing ordinary Google or Bing search traffic. Add domains as new assistants show up in your referral reports.
What the Numbers Tell You
What it shows
- Visits where an assistant passed along its domain as the referrer
- Which assistants send traffic, and to which pages
- Trends over time, especially after you improve a page
What it misses
- Visits from assistant apps that don't send a referrer, which often land in Direct
- Times you were cited but nobody clicked
- Mentions of your brand without a link
That's why it's worth pairing GA4 with two other views:
- Bing Webmaster Tools has an AI Performance report that counts how often Copilot and Bing's AI summaries cite your pages, clicks or not.
- Google Search Console includes AI Overviews and AI Mode traffic in its Web performance report, though it isn't broken out separately.
Make the Data Useful
A number on its own doesn't do much. A few ways to put it to work:
- Compare landing pages. Which pages get assistant visits? They're usually the ones that answer a specific question clearly. Do more of that.
- Mark your changes. When you rewrite a page or fix a crawl issue, note the date. Look at that page's AI assistants traffic a few weeks later.
- Watch engagement. Assistant visitors arrive with context already. If they bounce, the page may not match the answer they were promised.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my AI assistants channel empty?
Either you aren't getting assistant traffic yet, or those visits arrive without a referrer. Check the Referral channel for assistant domains first. If they're there, your regex or channel order needs a tweak.
Does this slow down my site?
No. Channel groups are just a reporting setting inside GA4. Nothing changes on your website.
Can I see which questions people asked?
Not in GA4. Bing Webmaster Tools shows a sample of the grounding queries Copilot used to find your cited pages. Other assistants don't share this yet.
Sources
- Custom channel groups, Google Analytics Help
- Introducing AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools Public Preview, Microsoft Bing
- AI features and your website, Google Search Central