In recent months, we have witnessed a significant evolution in the way users navigate the web. The number of visits to sites from responses generated by “generative AI search engines” such as SearchGPT, Perplexity, and Copilot (formerly Bing AI) is increasing month on month.
Unfortunately, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) often miscategorises these visits. It is not uncommon for them to end up in the Referral, Direct or Unassigned categories, obscuring their true origin. Due to the imprecise assignment of this traffic to a single, clearly defined channel, this makes traffic analysis difficult. Fortunately, by modifying the GA4 settings, we can create a dedicated channel to measure this traffic.
What will we gain from a separate traffic channel with AI in GA4?
Creating a dedicated traffic channel for traffic from generative search engines offers several key benefits:
Precise aggregation of traffic volume from AI: The ability to determine exactly how much traffic is generated by AI sources.
Analysis of user behaviour: Understanding how users coming from AI platforms interact with the site.
Comparison with traditional sources: Benchmarking the quality of traffic from AI against other channels such as organic, direct, referral, paid search or social media.
Assessing the impact of GEO: Verifying the real effects of AI search engine presence activities.
How to create a Generative AI channel in GA4 - step-by-step
Here’s how to set up a custom channel in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to track traffic coming from generative artificial intelligence tools:
Login to GA4 with an account with administrator rights.
Go to Administration and in the Data display column select Channel Groups (Admin > Data display > Channel Groups)
3. Create a new channel group by clicking the “Create new channel group” button
4. Give the new channel a name, for example “Generative AI”.
5. Define the inclusion conditions. You can use the Session Source dimension and add rules containing the domains of popular AI tools (or similar):
Source includes: chatgpt.com
Source includes: perplexity.ai
Source includes: gemini.google.com
Source includes: copilot.microsoft.com
Source includes: claude.ai
next… when they appear / or there are new hosts
6. Save the new group.
7. Change the order of the channels in the group: move the newly created channel (which will initially be at the end) so that it comes after Organic Search but before Referrals. This will ensure that the grouping for AI is applied before the system classifies the traffic as referrals.
8. Set the new set as the default in your GA4. This way, when you log into your account, you will always see these custom channels.
Analysis: what's next?
Once representative data is collected in the new channel, it will be possible to:
Measure the volume of sessions coming from AI.
Evaluate engagement rates, time spent on site and conversion rates.
Analyse which content on our site is generating traffic from these sources, i.e. which pages of our site have gained visibility in generative search engines!
Identify opportunities to optimise your AI presence (e.g. by refining the site’s content, structuring content better, developing new page types, promoting the site, etc.). In other words, by having the data in GA4, it will be easier to optimise the site for GEO (Generative Engines Optimisation).
AI as a new traffic channel: the importance of GEO
For many years websites were working hard to reach the top positions in Google. Today, the search space is changing and there are new areas where potential customers are. It is important to reach the areas where we can present ourselves to our users.
Generative – conversational search engines do some of the work for users. Some of the “work” that the user has been doing, i.e. research, can be done by artificial intelligence. This can result in a shorter path to conversion, meaning that the conversion rate of traffic from AI can be higher than standard traffic from search. This is very important information, indicating that AI search traffic will be a very important traffic channel.
Very interesting data has been published by NP Digital
Source: https://npdigital.com/
According to the data above, comparing traffic before and after the launch of AI overviews, traffic on B2B and B2C sites has decreased, but conversions have not dropped significantly, and in the case of B2B have even increased.
The search engine environment is undergoing a transformation, but the shopping needs of users remain the same. Sites need to use the opportunity to appear generative in search engines, and meet the user in the new space.
Want to talk about how to build your company’s visibility in generative search engines and make the most of GEO? Contact us to discuss a strategy tailored to your goals.