Track AI traffic in GA4

Check the built-in AI channel first

Since May 2026, GA4's default channels include AI Assistant, which groups visits from assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot. Clicks from Google's own AI Overviews and AI Mode still count as Organic Search.

1. Open Reports, then Acquisition, then Traffic acquisition.
2. Look for AI Assistant in the channel column. That is your AI-referred traffic, already separated from Referral.
3. Test it: from a private window, click a link to your site inside a ChatGPT answer, then check Reports, Realtime.

Build your own AI Referral channel (optional)

Worth doing if you want every AI source in one channel you control, or the built-in channel misses a source you care about. The current domain list lives on the measurement page.

1. Go to Admin (the cog, bottom left), then under Data display choose Channel groups, then Create new channel group. It starts as a copy of the default group.
2. Name the group, choose Add new channel, name it AI Referral, then + Add condition group and set Source matches regex with the domain list. At the time of checking:

chatgpt\.com|chat\.openai\.com|perplexity\.ai|claude\.ai|gemini\.google\.com|copilot\.microsoft\.com|you\.com|meta\.ai

1. Choose Save channel, then Reorder, drag AI Referral above Referral, choose Apply, then Save group. GA4 checks channels top to bottom, so below Referral it would never catch anything.
2. Switch the channel dropdown in Traffic acquisition to your new group. It applies to past data too.

Standard GA4 properties allow two custom channel groups. Don't copy Google's example regex: patterns like .*gpt.* catch sites that have nothing to do with AI.