How to Track AI Traffic in GA4 (ChatGPT, Gemini and More)

By Dustin de Koekkoek, Founder of Mosaic Digital | Published November 14, 2026

More of your customers are asking ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI tools which business to call. Some of them click through to your website. If you can’t see those visits in Google Analytics, you can’t tell whether AI search is bringing in leads.

Here’s how I track AI traffic in GA4 for local businesses, including the gaps GA4 still doesn’t cover.

GA4 now has an AI Assistant channel

In May 2026, Google added an AI Assistant channel to GA4’s default channel group. Google’s channel definitions describe it as traffic from sources like ChatGPT, Gemini, Deepseek, Copilot and Grok.

That makes the first check easy. You don’t need to set anything up to see the visits GA4 recognizes.

Step 1: Find the AI Assistant channel

1. In GA4, go to Reports, then Acquisition, then Traffic acquisition
2. Make sure the table’s first column is Session default channel group
3. Look for the AI Assistant row

If you don’t see it, either no recognized AI tools sent visits in your date range or the channel hasn’t reached your property yet.

Step 2: See which AI tools sent the visits

Click the plus sign next to the first column and add Session source / medium as a secondary dimension. You’ll see rows like chatgpt.com or gemini.google.com. ChatGPT also often adds a utm_source=chatgpt.com tag to the links it shows, which makes its visits easier to spot.

Step 3: Catch the AI traffic GA4 misses

The built-in channel doesn’t catch everything. Search Engine Journal reported that Perplexity visits still land in the Referral channel, and that some ChatGPT visits end up in Referral or Unassigned instead of AI Assistant.

To group all of it together, build a custom channel group:

1. Go to Admin, then Data display, then Channel groups
2. Create a new channel group, starting from a copy of the default group
3. Add a channel called AI tools with the condition Source matches regex, using the pattern below
4. Move AI tools above Referral and Organic Search in the list so it is checked first
5. Save, then pick your new group in the Traffic acquisition report

chatgpt[.]com|openai[.]com|perplexity[.]ai|claude[.]ai|gemini[.]google[.]com|copilot[.]microsoft[.]com

Review the list a few times a year. New AI tools appear, and existing ones change the domains they send traffic from.

Step 4: Measure leads from AI traffic

Visits only matter if they turn into calls and form submissions. Mark your form submission or thank-you page view as a key event in GA4, then compare the key event rate for AI traffic against your other channels.

For a San Diego catering company, I compared form submissions by channel from January 1 to November 8, 2026. Visitors from AI assistants submitted the form at a rate of 6.55%, compared with 1.67% for organic search and 2.25% for paid search. AI traffic was a small share of total visits, but it converted at about 3.9 times the rate of organic search. I break down that data in my post on getting recommended by ChatGPT.

What GA4 still can’t show you

• Google AI Overviews and AI Mode. Google’s channel definitions place these visits in Organic Search, so they mix with regular Google traffic. Search Console counts clicks from Google’s AI features in the Performance report under the Web search type.
• Visits with no referrer. When someone opens a link from an AI app, an in-app browser or a copied link, the visit can arrive without a source and show up as Direct.
• People who never click. Many people read an AI answer and call the business directly. Ask new leads how they found you and include ChatGPT and AI search as options on your form.

Want to know if AI tools recommend your business?

I test the questions your customers ask in ChatGPT, Google AI Mode and other AI tools and set up tracking so you can see the leads they send. See my AI search optimization service, or request a free AI visibility check.

FAQ

Does GA4 track ChatGPT traffic?

Yes. In May 2026 Google added an AI Assistant channel to GA4’s default channel group, and Google lists ChatGPT among its example sources. Some ChatGPT visits still arrive without a referrer and show up as Direct.

Where is AI traffic in Google Analytics?

Go to Reports, then Acquisition, then Traffic acquisition, and look for the AI Assistant row in the Session default channel group column. Add Session source / medium to see which AI tools sent each visit.

Is Google AI Overviews traffic counted as AI traffic in GA4?

No. Google’s channel definitions place AI Overviews and AI Mode visits in Organic Search, together with regular Google search traffic.