GA4 AI traffic filter builder
Pick the AI assistants you care about and get a ready-to-paste regex for GA4, plus the steps to see that traffic as its own channel.
- In GA4, open Admin and go to Data display, then Channel groups.
- Choose Create new channel group. Name it, for example “Channels with AI”.
- Click Add new channel, name it AI assistants, and set the condition to Source matches regex. Paste the regex above.
- Save, then use Reorder to move AI assistants above Referral. GA4 assigns each session to the first channel it matches.
- Save the group. In Reports, go to Acquisition and switch the channel group selector to your new group.
- Go to Explore and start a Free form exploration.
- Add dimensions Session source and Landing page + query string. Add metrics Sessions, Engaged sessions and Key events.
- Drag Session source into Rows, and the metrics into Values.
- Under Filters, add Session source, choose matches regex, and paste the regex above.
- Set the date range and save. Add Landing page as a second row to see which pages AI assistants send people to.
This will undercount. Some AI visits arrive with no referrer, for example from apps or when a link is copied, so GA4 files them under Direct. Use the numbers as a floor, not a total.
How to use this
- Keep the sources you want to count ticked. Add any extra AI domains your team has seen in referral reports.
- Copy the regex. It matches the full source value, so it works in GA4 whether the field does a full or partial match.
- Follow the custom channel group steps for an always-on view, or the exploration steps for a quick one-off analysis.
- Compare AI assistant sessions with organic search: engagement, key events and top landing pages.
What to do next
- Look at which landing pages AI assistants send people to. Those are the pages AI already trusts, so keep them current.
- Match the traffic to the questions behind it. The buyer prompt generator gives you a list to test.
- Review the regex every quarter. New assistants and domains appear often.
- Use Seeqly to connect the answers that name you with the visits and sales they drive.
Common questions
Why does ChatGPT traffic show up as direct?
Some visits carry no referrer, for example links opened from mobile apps, copied links, or browsers that strip referrer data. GA4 cannot tell where those came from, so it files them as Direct. Your AI numbers in GA4 are a minimum.
Should I use Session source or Page referrer?
Session source is the simplest and works in standard reports and channel groups. Page referrer can catch extra detail in explorations, but it is not available everywhere. Start with Session source.
Will a custom channel group change my other reports?
No. It is an extra way to group the same data. Your default channel group stays as it is, and you can switch between them in reports.
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