If ChatGPT is sending people to your website, the useful questions are where they arrive, what they do next and whether the business receives enquiries that fit.
You can start with the reports already in GA4. The current default AI Assistant channel makes a custom channel unnecessary for the first check.
The quickest current check
- Open Reports → Acquisition → Traffic acquisition and choose a complete date range.
- In Session default channel group, inspect AI Assistant.
- Switch the table to Session source / medium and search for
chatgpt.com. - Remove any AI Assistant-only filter and check that source again, so older or differently classified records remain visible.
- Add Landing page + query string as a secondary dimension to see where those sessions began.
Navigation can vary when a property uses customised report collections. Ask the person with access for the Traffic acquisition report and these dimensions if the menu is different. Google documents the report and its session dimensions.
Save the date range, source filter, landing pages and relevant completion event with the export. That makes the next reading comparable.
What changed in GA4
Google introduced the AI Assistant channel in May 2026. Recognised assistant referrers can receive the medium ai-assistant and campaign (ai-assistant).
Do not filter only for chatgpt.com / referral. Inspect the source and retain the actual medium shown. An older record or different collection path may be classified differently.
The AI Assistant channel excludes Google AI Overviews and AI Mode. Visits from those Google Search features remain in Organic Search. The AI Assistant total is therefore not a total for every kind of AI discovery.
OpenAI says ChatGPT search referral URLs include utm_source=chatgpt.com. That helps identify recorded visits; it does not give your analytics access to the user’s prompt or a complete record of every ChatGPT interaction.
Read the entry page and the next action
The landing page is the first page in the session. It may be a guide, service page or another page entirely. It does not describe every page the visitor saw.
Use the source and landing page together. Google’s Landing page report can also show a secondary Session source / medium dimension.
Then inspect the key event that represents your intended completed action. Choose that event specifically rather than using a total containing unrelated actions.
| Record | What to check next |
|---|---|
| Recorded ChatGPT sessions | Which service or question brought people to an entry page? |
| Sessions landing on a guide | Can a suitable reader reach the relevant service, proof and contact step? |
| Recorded lead completion | What exactly triggered it, and did the business receive the enquiry? |
| Received enquiry | Did the need fit your service, and what happened after the conversation? |
Use the scorecard and enquiry log to keep the business records beside the analytics. A source report cannot classify a buyer’s suitability for you.
Check the completion before trusting the count
Ask the person responsible for measurement to establish four things:
- The event fires for the intended completed action, not merely a button click or form start.
- The intended event is marked as a key event in GA4.
- An agreed test occurrence is visible in Realtime or DebugView.
- The receiving inbox or business system contains that test, with duplicate events and repeat submissions checked separately.
Google documents marking a key event and validating its occurrence. Marking an event changes reporting prospectively; it does not establish that an event already fired. Standard reports can take time to update.
Keep test records out of the business reading. A manually tagged test URL can help check collection and redirects, but it is not evidence of a real ChatGPT referral or citation.
If collection is restricted by hostname, use the GA4 hostname filter guide to inventory the main site, campaign and booking events before changing a filter. A referral source and the hostname where an event occurs answer different questions.
Resolve missing or conflicting records
The source exists, but the channel is Unassigned
Check the source and medium actually recorded, the dates and any custom channel rules. Unassigned means the data did not match a channel rule. A reporting label alone does not establish a broken visitor journey.
Do not create a custom group before inspecting the current default channel. If the team needs a custom view, document its rules and use the same view in later comparisons. Reclassification changes reporting, not the underlying visits.
The report shows no ChatGPT source
Check the correct property, date range, source dimension and filters. Then check whether collection works on the relevant pages and whether redirects preserve the incoming source information.
Consent choices, blocked collection and lost referral information can affect what is recorded. Google describes Direct / none as traffic without a clear identified source. Leave that source unknown unless you have separate evidence; do not assign it to AI to improve a report.
The UTM is absent from the landing-page column
That is expected: GA4 omits UTM parameters from Landing page + query string and Page path + query string. Use the acquisition dimensions. Page location can retain the captured URL for diagnosis.
The buyer names a different source
Keep both records. In the scorecard’s fictional HR example, one enquiry has a captured ChatGPT source while the buyer says a colleague recommended the firm. Those answer different questions: the recorded entry and what the buyer remembers influencing discovery.
Do not attach a GA4 session to a person merely because the timestamps look close. Keep the link unknown unless the business has a reliable captured association.
Make the next website decision
If the entry page answers a useful question but does not explain the relevant service, inspect that route. If people reach the contact step but the business receives no message, check the completion and receiving process. If enquiries arrive but do not fit, review the need and the page’s scope before chasing more traffic.
For answer visibility itself, keep a separate monthly buyer-question sample. For a fuller diagnosis of enquiry problems, use the traffic-without-leads guide.
Our AI SEO plan uses these readings to help choose the work. Request a free Clarity Call to discuss your website and the decision you need to make. A completed analytics report is optional.