How to Build a GA4 Report to Track Generative Engine Traffic (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini & More)

As marketers, we’re increasingly asking two big questions:

1. Are we showing up in generative engines?
2. Are they actually sending traffic to our website?

Because here’s the reality — especially in B2B — most companies are not converting directly inside generative engines like ChatGPT or Claude.

Your website is still your primary conversion mechanism.

That means if you want to measure the real impact of AI visibility, you need to track how much traffic is coming from generative engines — and how those users behave once they arrive.

In this guide, I’ll show you exactly how to build segments in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) so you can monitor generative engine traffic across all your reports.

Why You Should Track Generative Engine Traffic

Generative engines like:

• ChatGPT
• Perplexity
• Claude
• Microsoft Copilot
• Gemini

are increasingly influencing how people discover brands.

But impressions alone don’t matter.

What matters is:

• How many users land on your site
• What they do once they arrive
• Whether they convert
• How they compare to other acquisition channels

The best way to measure this in GA4 is by building acquisition-based segments.

Step-by-Step: Build Generative Engine Segments in GA4

Here's how it works.

Step 1: Go to Admin in GA4

1. Open Google Analytics 4
2. Click the Admin gear icon (bottom left)
3. Navigate to Segments

Segments allow you to isolate specific groups of users so you can analyze their behavior across reports.

Step 2: Create a New Segment

1. Click New Segment
2. Scroll down to Acquisition
3. Select First User Acquisition

Templates in GA4 make this easy — definitely use them.

Since we’re measuring traffic sources, we want to look at First user source.

Step 3: Set the Condition

Inside the segment builder:

• Select First user source
• Choose Contains
• Type the name of the generative engine

For example:

• Contains chatgpt
• Contains perplexity
• Contains claude
• Contains copilot
• Contains gemini

You’ll want to create separate segments for each platform so you can see the breakdown clearly.

Step 4: Save Each Segment

After setting your condition:

1. Name your segment (ex: “ChatGPT – First User Source”)
2. Click Save

Repeat this process for each generative engine.

Once saved, these segments will be available throughout GA4 — including:

• Explore reports
• Funnel explorations
• Path explorations
• Conversion analysis
• Acquisition comparisons

What This Allows You to Analyze

Once your segments are built, you can answer powerful questions like:

• How many users first discovered us via ChatGPT?
• What percentage of total users came from generative engines?
• Do AI-referred users convert at a higher or lower rate?
• What pages do they visit first?
• How does their engagement compare to organic search?

For example, you might discover:

• 3% of your total users had a first touch from ChatGPT
• Perplexity users spend more time on site
• Gemini traffic has a higher bounce rate
• Claude traffic converts better in B2B scenarios

Without segments, you’d never see this clearly.

Why “First User Source” Matters

Using First user source instead of Session source allows you to track:

• Where users originally discovered you
• Which generative engine influenced the initial touchpoint
• True acquisition impact

This is especially important if users return later via direct traffic or branded search.

You want to know who introduced them to your brand.

Gain Vis

If you’re serious about measuring generative engine impact, impressions aren’t enough.

You need to track:

• Who is coming from AI platforms
• What they do on your website
• Whether they convert

Building acquisition-based segments in GA4 gives you the clarity you need to understand how generative engines are influencing your pipeline.

As AI-driven discovery grows, this kind of reporting won’t be optional — it’ll be foundational.

Start tracking it now.