{"id":28438,"date":"2026-01-26T09:33:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T09:33:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rankshift.ai\/?p=28438"},"modified":"2026-01-27T08:13:58","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T08:13:58","slug":"how-to-track-chatgpt-referrals-in-ga4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rankshift.ai\/nl\/blog\/how-to-track-chatgpt-referrals-in-ga4\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Track ChatGPT Referrals in GA4 (Google Analytics 4)"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-powered search is changing how we track website traffic. This guide shares top tips and answers common questions, so you can confidently track and understand referrals from ChatGPT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) Know how ChatGPT referral traffic works<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, ChatGPT includes links to websites in its answers. When someone clicks one of those links, OpenAI often adds a tag like utm_source=chatgpt.com to the URL. GA4 will then log that visit as Referral traffic, with the session source showing as chatgpt.com \/ referral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this doesn\u2019t happen for every user. People using the free version of ChatGPT don\u2019t send referrer data, so their visits show up as Direct traffic instead. Other AI tools—like Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, and Claude—work in a similar way. Some of them even remove all referrer info.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of this, the number of AI referrals shown in GA4 is actually lower than the true number of visitors coming from AI tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2) How to check for ChatGPT referrals in GA4 (Google Analytics 4)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. Open\u00a0Reports \u2192 Traffic acquisition<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Above the table, change the dimension dropdown to\u00a0Session source \/ medium<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. In the search box, type\u00a0chatgpt<\/strong>\u00a0(or\u00a0gpt<\/strong>). You\u2019ll see rows like\u00a0\u201cchatgpt.com \/ referral\u201d<\/strong>, indicating visits from ChatGPT. If nothing appears, you have no recorded referrals in the selected date range.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. To see which pages were clicked, click the\u00a0+<\/strong>\u00a0next to the primary dimension and add\u00a0Landing page + query string<\/strong>. GA4 will display a table showing the destination pages and the number of sessions from ChatGPT.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    This quick check gives you a snapshot of AI traffic, but it\u2019s limited. You can\u2019t easily compare multiple AI sources or see trends over time. That\u2019s where Explorations and channel groups come in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3) Build a GA4 Exploration for AI referrals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    GA4\u2019s Explore<\/strong> section allows you to build custom reports. Here\u2019s a repeatable approach:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. Navigate to\u00a0Explore<\/strong>\u00a0and create a\u00a0Blank<\/strong>\u00a0exploration. Give it a name like \u201cAI Traffic\u201d and choose a long date range (e.g., \u201cLast 12 months\u201d).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Add the\u00a0Session source<\/strong>\u00a0(or\u00a0Session source \/ medium<\/strong>) dimension and\u00a0Landing page + query string<\/strong>. Add metrics such as\u00a0Sessions<\/strong>,\u00a0Engagement rate<\/strong>,\u00a0Active Users<\/strong>, and\u00a0Key Events<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Scroll down to\u00a0Filters<\/strong>\u00a0and set a condition on\u00a0Session source<\/strong>. Choose\u00a0Matches regex<\/strong>\u00a0and paste a pattern that matches multiple AI domains, for example:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
      ^https:\/\/(chatgpt\\.com|gemini\\.google\\.com|perplexity\\.ai|copilot\\.microsoft\\.com|claude\\.ai|openai\\.com)(\/.*)?$<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
      This pattern will capture sessions coming from ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, Claude and OpenAI. Adjust the regex to include other sources you see in your data or remove ones you don\u2019t. GA4\u2019s regex matching is case\u2011sensitive, so double\u2011check the source values in your property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      1. Add\u00a0Landing page + query string<\/strong>\u00a0to\u00a0Rows<\/strong>,\u00a0Session source<\/strong>\u00a0to\u00a0Columns<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Sessions<\/strong>\u00a0(plus any other metrics) to\u00a0Values<\/strong>. You now have a table showing pages and sessions broken down by AI source. Switch the visualisation to a line chart to see trends over time.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
        Explorations are private to your user account but can be shared. They\u2019re ideal for ad\u2011hoc analysis and pattern discovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
        4) Create an AI channel group for ongoing reporting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
        If you want AI referrals to appear alongside other marketing channels (Organic, Social, Paid Search, etc.), create a custom channel group:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        1. Go to\u00a0Admin \u2192 Data display \u2192 Channel groups<\/strong>. Click\u00a0Create new channel group<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        2. Name the group something like \u201cAI Traffic Channels\u201d. Click\u00a0Add new channel<\/strong>, name it \u201cAI Traffic\u201d and set the\u00a0Bron<\/strong>\u00a0condition to\u00a0Matches regex<\/strong>. Use a pattern such as\u00a0^.*(chatgpt\\.com|gemini\\.google\\.com|openai\\.com|perplexity\\.ai|copilot\\.microsoft\\.com).*<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n
        3. Save the new channel and drag it above\u00a0Referral<\/strong>\u00a0in the channel list. The order matters \u2014 GA4 assigns traffic to the first matching channel, so placing AI above Referral ensures AI visits aren\u2019t lumped in with generic referrals.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        4. After saving, open your\u00a0Traffic acquisition<\/strong>\u00a0report and select your new channel group from the dropdown. AI traffic will now appear as its own channel.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
          Custom channel groups apply retroactively to historical data and are visible to anyone with access to the property. They provide a consistent way to monitor AI traffic without manually filtering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n