How to Track ChatGPT Traffic to Your Website

One of the biggest pain points for marketers in 2025 is AI-originated traffic attribution. Traffic from ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini often has no Referrer header, causing it to appear as Direct / None in Google Analytics.

The Problem: Hidden AI Traffic

If you see a sudden spike in "Direct" traffic but no corresponding increase in brand awareness, it's likely AI-originated traffic.

AI Source	Referrer Behavior
ChatGPT Web	Sometimes passes chatgpt.com, often stripped
ChatGPT App	Almost always appears as Direct
Claude	Aggressively strips referrers
Perplexity	May pass referrer, inconsistent
Gemini	Minimal referrer data

Solution 1: UTM Parameters (Active Tracking)

The only 100% reliable method is UTM-tagged links:

https://yoursite.com?utm_source=chatgpt&utm_medium=ai&utm_campaign=mentions

However, AI models don't always preserve UTMs when citing sources.

Solution 2: AI Traffic Detection (Passive Tracking)

ViaMetric detects AI-originated traffic through:

1. User Agent Analysis - Detecting in-app browsers from ChatGPT mobile
2. Referrer Parsing - Catching android-app:// or ios-app:// prefixes
3. Bot Fingerprinting - Identifying AI crawler signatures (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot)
4. Traffic Correlation - Matching traffic spikes with AI mention data

How to Check in GA4 (Limited)

For partial visibility in Google Analytics:

1. Go to Traffic Acquisition
2. Filter by Session Source / Medium
3. Search for: openai, chatgpt, bing, copilot, perplexity

⚠️ Warning: GA4 typically only captures 10-20% of actual AI traffic volume.

Best Practice: Dedicated AI Analytics

For complete chatgpt traffic analysis, use a specialized tool that:

• ✅ Tracks AI bot crawls separately from human visits
• ✅ Monitors brand mentions across AI platforms
• ✅ Correlates citation data with traffic patterns
• ✅ Provides AI visibility scoring

Try ViaMetric free →