How to Track ChatGPT Traffic in GA4

How do you identify traffic from ChatGPT and other AI-driven platforms like Perplexity in Google Analytics 4, GA4? Most people wonder if their website is even discoverable by AI and if it gets referral traffic from these sources? 

Here is a step-by-step guide that will show you exactly how to track and analyze referrals from evolving AI search engines.

While there are various ways to set this up in GA4, we’re focusing on two key questions:

1. Are you getting referral traffic from ChatGPT and Perplexity?
2. If so, which pages are mentioned in AI engines and drive clicks and referrals to your website?

All steps and screenshots are for the desktop view.

Step 1: Navigate to Traffic Acquisition in GA4

• From the left-hand menu, locate the “Life Cycle” section.

• Click on “Acquisition”, then select “Traffic acquisition” from the dropdown.

The Traffic Acquisition report will display data on sessions by primary channel group (e.g., Organic Search, Direct, Referral, etc.).

Step 2: Add a Comparison to Filter Traffic Sources

In the Traffic acquisition report, click on the “Add comparison” button at the top of the report.

Step 3: Customize the Comparison

• In the “Add a comparison”

  window, uncheck the box for “All Users”

  at the top.

• Scroll down and check the box for “Referral & affiliates traffic” to focus only on traffic acquired via referrals.

Once selected, click “Apply” to save and view the updated report.

Step 4: Filtered Data

After applying the Referral & affiliates traffic comparison, your report will update to display the relevant metrics.

You’ll see a breakdown of sessions, engagement metrics (e.g., engaged sessions, engagement rate, average engagement time per session), and events specifically for all referral traffic.

Step 5: Add a Secondary Dimension for Detailed Analysis

• Next, click the ”+” icon next to “Session primary channel group” at the top of the table.

• Then add a secondary dimension, choose Source/Medium from the list.

Step 6: Review the Referral Sources List

The table will now display a detailed list of referral sources.

Look for entries such as chatgpt.com/referral or other platforms like perplexity.ai/referral to identify traffic coming from ChatGPT or similar sources.

This report gives you aggregated data on number of sessions, engaged sessions, engagement rate, and other metrics that come from each referral channel in GA4.

For us, ChatGPT became the top referral source at the end of 2024.

How to see what pages are being referenced in ChatGPT or Perplexity

Step 7. Choose Pages and Screens

In the left-hand menu, go to Engagement > Pages and screens under the Life cycle section.

Step 8: Apply a Filter

In the Pages and screens report, click on “Add filter” at the top of the page.

Step 9: Build a Filter for ChatGPT Traffic

After clicking “Add filter”, the Build filter panel will open.

• In the Dimension dropdown, select “Session source/medium”.

• Set the Match Type to “contains”.

• In the Value field, type “chat” (or another keyword like “ChatGPT” or “chatgpt.com”) to filter for sessions originating from ChatGPT or related sources.

Click “Apply” to save the filter and update the report.

Step 10: Review the Filtered Results

After applying the filter, your table will update to show pages visited by users referred by sources containing “chat” (e.g., ChatGPT).

Page paths is your specific pages that received traffic.

As AI-powered search tools continue to evolve, understanding this data is key to staying competitive. For more on how generative AI is shaping search and discovery, check out our webinar: Understanding AI-Powered Generative Search. Video and text transcript are available.