How traffic from ChatGPT (and related AI search features) will appear in Google Analytics 4 (GA4), broken into scenarios.
1. ChatGPT Web App (chat.openai.com) |
Click Type |
GA4 Result |
Reason |
User clicks a link in ChatGPT |
Direct (most common) |
Referrer is stripped; GA4 sees “no referring site.” |
User clicks and referrer is passed (rare) |
Referral from chat.openai.com |
Occasional browser behavior or testing environments. |
Link has UTM parameters |
Source/Medium as per UTM |
GA4 ignores referrer and uses your UTM tags.
|
2. ChatGPT in Bing’s AI Chat (Copilot / Bing Chat) |
Click Type |
GA4 Result |
Reason |
User clicks from Bing search results (not chat) |
Organic Search (bing / organic) |
Bing is in GA4’s organic search list. |
User clicks a link in Bing’s AI chat answer |
Referral from bing.com |
Comes from chat UI, not search results page. |
Bing AI shows source link in search result format and user clicks |
Organic Search |
Treated same as standard SERP click. |
3. ChatGPT in SearchGPT or AI Overviews in Google Search |
Click Type |
GA4 Result |
Reason |
Click on a result link in the overview |
Organic Search (google / organic) |
Still part of the SERP experience. |
Click on “source” link in an AI explanation (outside SERP layout) |
Referral from google.com |
If not in classic organic slot. |
4. ChatGPT in Third-Party Integrations (e.g., Slack, WhatsApp bots, embedded widgets) |
Click Type |
GA4 Result |
Reason |
Most integrations |
Direct |
Referrer usually hidden. |
Some web-based widgets |
Referral from host site |
If widget page passes referrer. |
Link with UTM tags |
Source/Medium per UTM |
Best way to track. |
Credits: AI Generated content
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