---
title: "How to Track ChatGPT and Perplexity Traffic in GA4"
description: "GA4's AI Assistant channel explained, plus a custom channel group and regex for ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot and Claude, and what GA4 can't see."
canonical: "https://ossvy.com/blog/ai-traffic-ga4"
lang: "en"
dir: "ltr"
dateModified: "2026-10-09"
type: "blog-post"
author: "Selin Arıkan"
reviewedBy: "Karim Nassar"
datePublished: "2026-10-09"
category: "Guides"
source: "Ossvy (https://ossvy.com)"
---

# How to track ChatGPT and Perplexity traffic in GA4

GA4 now has an AI Assistant channel, but it doesn't cover every assistant. Here's how to check it and fill the gaps with a custom channel group.

> In short: Since May 2026, GA4 puts visits from recognized AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude into a default "AI Assistant" channel. Google hasn't published the full list, so add a custom channel group above Referral for Perplexity, Copilot and others. Visits without a referrer and AI Overviews clicks stay hidden.

- GA4's AI Assistant channel catches recognized assistants automatically.
- A custom channel group above Referral catches the assistants it misses.
- Clicks are only part of AI impact; track mentions too.

Breadcrumb: [Home](https://ossvy.com/index.md) › [Blog](https://ossvy.com/blog.md) › [Guides](https://ossvy.com/blog/category/guides.md) › How to track ChatGPT and Perplexity traffic in GA4

## Where does ChatGPT traffic show up in GA4?

ChatGPT traffic shows up as referral traffic with the source `chatgpt.com` (older visits may show `chat.openai.com`). Perplexity shows as `perplexity.ai`, Gemini as `gemini.google.com`, Microsoft Copilot as `copilot.microsoft.com` and Claude as `claude.ai`. Since May 2026, GA4's default channel group has an **AI Assistant** channel: sessions from assistants Google recognizes get the medium `ai-assistant` and land there. Google hasn't published which assistants it recognizes, so check your report: sources missing from that row still land in **Referral**, next to every blog and partner that links to you ([Google Analytics Help](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891)).

## How do you see AI traffic quickly, without changing settings?

Open **Reports → Acquisition → Traffic acquisition** and look for the **AI Assistant** row. Then change the primary dimension to **Session source / medium** and type `perplexity` or `copilot` in the search box to find assistants that row doesn't cover. This works for a quick look, but it's one engine at a time and not saved. For ongoing reporting, build a channel group.

## How do you cover the assistants GA4 misses?

A custom channel group gives every AI assistant, recognized or not, one row in every acquisition report, including past data ([Google Analytics Help](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13051316)). You need the Editor role.

1. Go to **Admin → Data display → Channel groups**.
2. Copy the **Default channel group** so you keep all standard channels, and name the copy "Channels with AI".
3. Click **Add new channel** and name it **AI assistants**.
4. Set the condition: **Source** · **matches regex** · paste the regex below.
5. Save the channel, then use **Reorder** to move **AI assistants above Referral**. GA4 assigns each session to the first channel that matches, so if Referral comes first, it takes the AI traffic.
6. Save the group. In **Traffic acquisition**, switch the dimension to your new channel group.

Regex for the source condition:

```
.*(chatgpt\.com|chat\.openai\.com|perplexity\.ai|gemini\.google\.com|bard\.google\.com|copilot\.microsoft\.com|claude\.ai|grok\.com|chat\.deepseek\.com|chat\.mistral\.ai).*
```

Add new domains as assistants launch. Keep the list in one shared document so every property uses the same definition.

## What can't GA4 see?

GA4 sees clicks with a referrer or a UTM tag. It misses three kinds of AI influence:

- **Visits without a referrer.** Some apps and in-app browsers strip the referrer, so the visit lands in **Direct**.
- **Google's AI features.** Clicks from AI Overviews and AI Mode are reported as Google organic search, not as a separate source ([Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features)).
- **Answers with no click.** Most of the value of an AI recommendation happens before the click: the buyer reads the answer, remembers your name, and searches for you later. That shows up as branded search or direct traffic, if at all.

That's why AI traffic is an outcome metric, not a visibility metric. Read it next to mention rate and share of voice; our guide to [AI visibility metrics](https://ossvy.com/blog/ai-visibility-metrics.md) explains them.

## Which reports are worth building?

Three views answer most questions:

1. **AI sessions over time:** the AI assistants channel, weekly. Is it growing?
2. **Landing pages from AI:** which pages AI users land on. These are the pages engines cite; keep them current.
3. **Conversions by channel:** key events from AI assistants against organic and paid. AI visitors often arrive with a shortlist already made, so compare conversion rates.

In explorations, add **Session source** as a breakdown to see which assistant drives each page.

## How do you connect traffic to AI visibility?

Match the landing pages from your AI channel with the pages engines cite for your prompts. If a page is cited often but gets few visits, the answer may already satisfy the question; add a reason to click, such as a calculator, data or pricing. If a page gets AI visits but isn't cited for your key prompts, it's being found for other questions; check which with [citation tracking](https://ossvy.com/product/citation-tracking.md).

## Summary

GA4's AI Assistant channel catches the assistants Google recognizes. To catch the rest, copy the default channel group, add an "AI assistants" channel with the regex above, move it above Referral, and report it weekly. Remember what GA4 can't see, and track AI mentions alongside the clicks.

## Sources

- [Google Analytics Help: Custom channel groups in GA4](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13051316) (2025, official)
- [Google Analytics Help: Default channel group](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891) (2025, official)
- [Google Search Central: AI features and your website](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features) (2025, official)

*Steps checked against Google Analytics Help and the GA4 interface on the publishing date. Menu names change; if a step differs, follow the linked help page. Ossvy sells AI visibility software.*

## Questions and answers

### Does a custom channel group change my historical data?

No data is changed. Custom channel groups are applied when reports are built, so they also show past sessions. Learn which numbers matter in [AI visibility metrics](https://ossvy.com/blog/ai-visibility-metrics.md).

### Why is my ChatGPT traffic so low?

Many people read the answer and never click, and some clicks arrive without a referrer. Low traffic doesn't mean low visibility; check your mentions with the [free AI visibility check](https://ossvy.com/tools/ai-visibility-check.md).

### Can I see AI Overviews clicks in GA4?

Not separately. They are reported as Google organic traffic. Track your presence in Google's AI answers on the [Gemini](https://ossvy.com/product/ai-brand-visibility/gemini.md) page.

### Does this work in Looker Studio?

Yes. Custom channel groups are available as a dimension in the GA4 connector. For client-ready AI visibility reports, see [white-label reports](https://ossvy.com/product/reports.md).

### Should I block AI bots to protect my traffic?

Blocking AI search bots removes you from their citations, which cuts traffic rather than protecting it. See which bots to allow in our [AI crawler list](https://ossvy.com/blog/ai-crawlers-list.md).

Related: [AI visibility metrics explained: mention rate, share of voice, citations and sentiment](https://ossvy.com/blog/ai-visibility-metrics.md) · [The AI crawler list: GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot and how to allow them](https://ossvy.com/blog/ai-crawlers-list.md) · [How ChatGPT decides which brands to recommend](https://ossvy.com/blog/how-chatgpt-recommends-brands.md)

**Find out what AI says about your brand**: Start with a free check, or let us walk you through your results in a 30-minute demo. [Start free](https://app.ossvy.com/signup) · [Book a demo](https://ossvy.com/contact?form=demo)

Source: https://ossvy.com/blog/ai-traffic-ga4 · Last updated: 2026-10-09