Guides / Tracking
How to track leads that come from AI assistants
AI traffic is often hidden inside 'direct' or 'referral'. Here's how to separate it in GA4 and your CRM.
Why it's hard
Some AI assistants pass a referrer, some don't, and many users copy a name from an answer and search for it later. So you'll never see 100% of AI influence. You can still see a lot more than most businesses do.
Step 1: Build an AI channel in GA4
Create a custom channel group with a rule that matches sources such as:
- chatgpt.com and chat.openai.com
- perplexity.ai
- gemini.google.com
- copilot.microsoft.com
- claude.ai
ChatGPT often adds utm_source=chatgpt.com to links, which makes this easier.
Step 2: Capture it in your CRM
Pass the first-touch source into a hidden form field and store it on the lead. If you use GoHighLevel, HubSpot or similar, map it to a "first source" field so sales can see it.
Step 3: Ask
Add "How did you hear about us?" with "ChatGPT or another AI assistant" as an option. Self-reported data catches the people who found you in AI and then searched your name.
Step 4: Track paid AI separately
For ChatGPT Ads, use the pixel and Conversions API, and tag every ad URL with UTMs. Keep paid and organic AI traffic in separate channels so you don't credit ads for organic mentions.
Watch branded search too. A rise in people searching your exact name often follows better AI visibility.
Planning your first AI ads campaign?
We set up ChatGPT and Copilot campaigns with server-side tracking, so every euro ties to a real lead.
See the AI ads launch