How many visitors does ChatGPT send my shop? Measure it in Google Analytics
Once AI assistants can see your shop, the next question is whether it pays. Google Analytics 4 can show it: visits from AI assistants arrive as referrals from their websites, and ChatGPT often adds utm_source=chatgpt.com to its links.
Quick look (2 minutes)
- In GA4 open Reports › Acquisition › Traffic acquisition.
- Change the first column to Session source.
- Add a filter: Session source matches regex, and paste the pattern below.
- Add Purchases or Total revenue as a column to see sales, not just visits.
chatgpt|openai|perplexity|claude|anthropic|gemini|copilot|bard
Permanent report: an “AI assistants” channel
- Admin › Data display › Channel groups › Create new channel group (copy the default group).
- Add a channel named AI assistants with the condition Source matches regex, using the pattern above. Don't restrict the medium, or ChatGPT's tagged links are missed.
- Move it above Referral, save, and choose the group in your acquisition reports.
Custom channel groups don't change past data: the report counts from the day you create it. If your GA4 already shows its own AI channel, check which assistants it covers before relying on it.
What it can't see
- Visits from AI mobile apps and in-app browsers often arrive without a referrer and land in Direct.
- Someone who reads an answer and later types your address in shows up as Direct or Organic search.
- So treat the number as a floor: real AI-driven visits are higher.
Small numbers are normal today: AI assistants send a small share of most shops' visits. Watch the trend and the sales per visit, which industry studies find higher than average for AI referrals.
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