Where AI visits show up
- ChatGPT: links in its answers usually carry utm_source=chatgpt.com. In Google Analytics 4 the visit appears as chatgpt.com / referral.
- Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot and Claude: appear as referrers from their own domains, for example perplexity.ai, gemini.google.com, copilot.microsoft.com or claude.ai.
- Google AI Overviews and AI Mode: counted in Search Console under web search, mixed with the classic results.
A simple setup in Google Analytics 4
Create a custom channel group called "AI assistants" that collects sessions whose source matches chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai, gemini.google.com, copilot.microsoft.com or claude.ai. Place it above the referral channel. Then you can follow it over time next to organic search.
What the numbers do not show
Many people read an AI answer and never click. Some search for your name a few days later or call you directly. So ask new customers how they found you, and watch the searches for your company name in Search Console. Both often grow when assistants start naming you.
Bots are not visitors
In your server logs you may see OAI-SearchBot, ClaudeBot or PerplexityBot. They read your pages to find or quote them. Visitors only arrive when people click a link in an answer. Which bots to allow is explained in AI crawlers and robots.txt.
Privacy
Whatever you measure belongs in your privacy policy. For a small website, a lean analytics tool without cookies is often enough.
Questions and answers
Can I see which question led someone to my site?
For Google you see search queries in Search Console. AI assistants do not pass on the question that was asked.
Is AI traffic worth the effort for a small company?
The numbers are often small at first. The visitors tend to arrive well informed, because they have already read an answer that names you.