Tracking Visitors from AI-Generated Searches: A Complete Guide

by Todd | Nov 10, 2024 | AI, Analytics, SEO

AI is changing how people search, making it more important than ever to understand how to track traffic from AI-generated searches. This article will explore how to identify and analyze organic traffic from traditional search engines like Google, as well as AI-driven search activity. We’ll break down the importance of these metrics, how to view them across various analytics tools, and what to look for to make strategic decisions.

For years, Google has maintained its position as the dominant force in search, alongside other established engines like Bing and Yahoo. But, the search world isn’t what it used to be. Companies like OpenAI and Meta are now challenging Google’s stronghold with innovative AI-powered search tools. OpenAI’s ChatGPT Search and Meta’s developing AI-driven platform mark the first significant competition in years, ushering in a new era of search experiences focused on summaries and generative responses.

Google is responding with its own AI-enhanced search called Gemini, but the changes don’t stop there. People are increasingly turning to social media and community-based sites like Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, and Substack for information, highlighting a broader evolution in search behavior. This movement underscores the importance of adapting to how people find and consume content in the age of AI.

Here’s what you’ll gain from this article:

• Understanding the difference between organic and AI-generated traffic
• How to track these traffic sources in analytics tools
• The importance of monitoring these data points for strategic insights
• Step-by-step guides for navigating website platforms and their analytics.

Organic Search vs. AI-Generated Search Traffic: Key Differences

In the SEO world, we talk about “organic” traffic, such as visitors who land on your site through search engines without you paying for placement. This traffic results from dedicated work on content and optimization strategies to rank well on search results pages. I recently read an article referring to this as “Organic Search Optimization,” which aligns closely with how I see SEO and marketing. It’s not just about ranking; it’s about understanding where people go when they want to learn, buy, research, or explore. From the yellow pages of the past to Reddit posts of today.

We are in an AI revolution that is redefining what “organic” really means. It’s not just search engines anymore. People go to social media, forums, search engines, and emerging AI tools to find what they need. At its core, SEO has always been about understanding people, knowing their behavior, what they search for, and optimizing content to meet them where they are. Often, we get wrapped up in tactics and ranking, forgetting that the true goal of marketing is connecting with people where they are. These places are changing.

Right now, there isn’t an out-of-the-box solution for tracking AI-generated traffic in analytics tools. So, it’s a good idea to refresh your understanding of source/medium data and how analytics categorize different traffic channels. For today, we’re focusing on Organic and Referral traffic: visitors coming from search engines and people arriving by clicking links from other sites, particularly those driven by generative AI platforms. Like ChatGPT, Claude AI, Perplexity, Midjourney, Arc Search, Ask AI, Bard, and Google Gemini.

Tools like Google Analytics have traditionally provided a straightforward way to look at organic traffic data. But things are shifting. With the rise of privacy initiatives, we’ve moved from cookie-based tracking to cookieless solutions, making data capture a little trickier. While metrics have adjusted, we can still see when people come to our sites from social media, ads, emails (assuming you utilize UTM links), directly, and from organic searches. But, there’s more than ever to have context around when we analyze marketing data.

I’ve spent countless hours teaching employees and clients about these traffic sources. Now, we’re adding a new channel: Generative AI (or whatever it is that we’re going to call it). Right now, AI traffic shows up under referral data in your reports, unless you fine-tune your channel filter settings. This AI-generated traffic appears individually in your referral data, and that’s where you can spot visits from platforms.

The AI boom is real, with major players in the field, but we haven’t seen one definitive leader emerge yet.

Why Tracking Both Organic and AI Traffic Matters

So, why does this matter? Organic search traffic will likely decline as Google and other platforms ramp up their AI-powered answers and summaries. This shift means people will often get what they need without ever clicking through individual sites, blogs, or articles. Developers design AI-generated responses to provide concise, relevant information right up front. Sure, they’ll sometimes include sources or links for those who want to dive deeper or take further action, but that’s after AI has already delivered the main takeaway.

Historically, traffic from search engines has been some of the best, offering high quality, healthy visitors and often leading to the most conversions. That’s why it’s crucial to understand changes to our organic traffic.

The fast-paced advancements in search technology reshapes how people use which tools to find what they want. Google has layered its AI-powered overviews on top of zero-click pages, delivering information upfront and pushing individual site links further down. This shift impacts how many people visit individual websites, as more people find answers directly on search results pages without clicking through. We’ve experienced an overall decline in organic traffic data and makes tracking visitor engagement more challenging in recent years.

Now, with platforms like ChatGPT Search, people can explore the web in new, AI-driven ways. These platforms pull together resources, cite them, and give concise responses. We don’t yet know exactly how this will impact the industry, so staying on top of your data and watching these changes as they unfold is key.

In the sections that follow, I’ll show you where to find your organic traffic data in Google Analytics and other popular platforms, and how to spot traffic coming from AI sources.

Key Analytics Metrics That Matter

In analytics, conversions should be your top priority (in most if not all cases). While traffic metrics are useful for understanding reach, conversions show real impact, translating directly to revenue. Often, there are two categories: hard (primary) and soft (secondary) metrics. Think of primary as form submissions or purchases, and secondary as PDF downloads or clicks to get driving direction. SEOs often focus on positions, impressions, and click-through rates, but these softer metrics don’t always translate into direct impact. It’s easy to overemphasize them or overlook them entirely. The key? Monitor all metrics, track fluctuations, and remember that SEOs may rely on softer data when hard metrics are limited.

We won’t cover a full analytics deep-dive here, but let’s go over the high-level metrics that count: Conversions and Visitors.

Organic and AI Search Conversions

Common Primary Conversions: You set up these conversions manually in your analytics, and they reflect the most valuable actions, such as moving a prospect to a customer. They align with your business goals and indicate qualified interactions within your sales cycle:

• Purchase: Completed sales on your platform
• Form Submission & Booked Meeting: Form completions and scheduled appointments
• Newsletter Sign-ups: Subscription to your regular email updates
• Downloads: Resource downloads like PDFs, white papers, or software
• Account Creation: New user accounts created
• App Installation: App downloads and installations.

Other examples include calls, video views, or successful interactions with chatbots.

Visitors from Search Engines and AI Platforms

Visitors represent the people coming to your website. While conversions reveal actions users have taken, visitor data helps you understand who these people are and how they navigate your site. This traffic data tells the story of engagement, frequency, and behavior. Key metrics include:

• Users: Unique individuals visiting your website
• Sessions: A single user can have multiple sessions. GA4 defaults session duration to 30 minutes, and logs a new session when a user revisits or reloads after that timeframe.

What to Look for When Analyzing Traffic Trends

Analyzing traffic data can feel overwhelming, but understanding trends in organic and AI-generated traffic helps you navigate changes effectively. Here’s what to monitor when evaluating your data:

• Trend Patterns: Track whether your traffic shows a steady increase, decline, or fluctuating spikes. This helps determine if your current strategies are effective or need adjustment
• Desired Outcomes: Traffic growth is great, but what counts is the quality. Are AI-generated visitors engaging with or converting on your site?
• Quality Over Quantity: Numbers alone don’t guarantee success. Prioritize whether visitors are exploring your site, spending time on it, or taking meaningful actions
• Contextual Shifts: Account for external influences like seasonality, industry trends, or algorithm updates. These insights help explain unexpected fluctuations
• Natural Fluctuations: Not all traffic changes signal issues or successes. Focus on long-term trends over daily variations for an accurate performance picture.

Recognize that Google’s zero-click pages have impacted organic traffic by providing direct answers on the search results page. Combined with the rise of AI sources, this makes monitoring data even more crucial. Stay informed, track trends, and adapt your strategy as needed.

With these insights in mind, I’ll guide you through finding search engine and AI-driven visitors in Google Analytics and other popular website platforms.

Viewing Organic and AI Referral Traffic in Google Analytics

We’re going to focus on the Acquisition area in Google Analytics. Here’s how to navigate to it (see the left side of the screenshot in the first image provided below):

1. Open Google Analytics and select your account
2. Go to Reports
3. Under Life cycle, expand Acquisition.

Within Acquisition, you’ll have two options. Either works for this purpose:

1. User Acquisition (shows user data)
2. Traffic Acquisition (shows session data).

Now, you’ll see a breakdown of traffic channels, such as Direct, Organic Search, Referral, and more. Here’s how to filter for only organic traffic:

Organic Traffic Reports in GA4:

I’m showing you two easy ways to view Organic search traffic in Google Analytics 4. The first method involves using the search bar in the default channel group for a high-level view. The second dives into source/medium to pinpoint which search engines are bringing people to your site.

1. Filter Organic Search via Session Primary Channel Group
   
   
   Type “organic search” into the search bar above the data chart and press Enter. This filters the view to show only traffic coming from search engines.
   
2. Filter Organic Search with Source/Medium
   
   
   Click on the Dimension dropdown, change it from “Session Primary Channel Group,” and select Session source/medium. Search for “organic” to see which individual search engines (e.g., Google, Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo) are driving traffic to your site.

Adjusting the Date Range for a Broader View

To see a higher-level view of your traffic, adjust the date range. Click the date selector at the top right of the screen, just below the toolbar. For example, you might select the last 90 days and compare it to the previous 90 days. Click Apply and explore different time spans to spot trends and fluctuations.

Common Reporting Periods to Review

You can also change the time category from Days to Weeks or Months using the dropdown at the top right of the line graph. This helps you correlate seasonal data. For instance, it’s typical to see lower traffic in November and December if your business isn’t focused on e-commerce, as people shift to holiday and end-of-year activities. On the other hand, industries like residential real estate might experience spikes in spring and summer.

1. Month-over-month
   • w/ Month Prior: Compare the previous month to the month before it
   • w/ Year Prior: Compare the same month from the prior year
2. Previous quarter or 90 days: Compare the current quarter with the previous quarter or the same quarter from the prior year
3. Year-over-year: Compare the current year to date with last year, or any given year to another, such as last year with two or five years ago.

Adjusting these timeframes provides deeper insights into seasonal trends and shifts. This analysis helps shape your strategic decisions and informs your overall understanding of traffic patterns.

Next, let’s walk through how to filter referral traffic to specifically show visits from a list of AI platforms.

Viewing AI-Generated Traffic in GA4: A Step-by-Step Guide

Finding data on AI-generated search traffic in GA4 isn’t straightforward yet. We’ll need to look at source/medium and apply a regex filter to isolate traffic from specific AI platforms. Here’s how to set it up with a regex sample at the end to get you started:

1. Open Google Analytics and select your account
2. Go to Reports
3. Under Life cycle, expand Acquisition
4. Click on either User Acquisition or Traffic Acquisition.

1. Click the Dimension dropdown (like we chose for viewing Organic traffic)
2. Find and select Session source/medium
3. Click on Add filter at the top left of the screen, just below the report title
4. On the right of the screen, under “Dimension”, select “Session Source/Medium“
5. Set Match Type to “Matches Regex”
6. Copy and paste the following regex line into the “Value” field:

Regex code for your filter:

(?i).*(.ai|.openai|copilot|gpt|chatgpt|claude|perplexity|midjourney|arcsearch|askai|google.*bard|bard.*google|gemini|edgeservices).*

EXAMPLE: AI Generated Search Traffic in GA4 Referral Reports

Tracking Organic and AI Traffic on Popular CMS Platforms

Viewing organic search traffic within built-in analytics tools on platforms like Squarespace and Shopify is generally more straightforward than tracking AI-generated traffic. Some tools let you use filters or search features, while others may lack them. I’m going to walk you through how to view both Organic Search and Referral traffic for each platform. Keep in mind that when analyzing referral data, you’ll need to manually look for AI-related traffic alongside other sources unless you export and segment the data yourself.

Find Organic & AI Metrics in Squarespace

Viewing organic and referral traffic in Squarespace analytics is straightforward, but tracking AI-related traffic might require more manual checks. Here’s how to do it:

1. Sign in to your Squarespace account
2. Navigate to your Website section
3. Click Analytics on the left side menu
4. At the top left area of the page, click on Traffic
5. View the Search section for organic traffic insights
6. Review the Referral section and manually identify traffic from AI sources mentioned earlier.

SEO and AI Analytics in Shopify

Tracking organic search and referral traffic in Shopify is simple once you know where to look. Shopify’s built-in analytics tools provide a clear breakdown of traffic sources, helping you monitor visitor behavior and identify potential traffic from AI sources alongside your organic data:

1. Log in to your Shopify account
   
2. Navigate to Analytics > Reports
3. Locate the “Sessions by referrer” report to view the breakdown of Search and Referral traffic. “Search” covers organic traffic from search engines. Select “Sessions by referrer” to review visits from referrals and identify potential AI sources.

Analyzing Organic and Referral Traffic in HubSpot CMS Hub

HubSpot’s CMS Hub provides intuitive tools to track organic and referral traffic. Here’s how to navigate the platform and find the data you need:

1. Log in to your HubSpot account
   
2. Navigate to Reporting > Reports
3. Click on “Traffic” under the Analytics suite on the left navigation panel
4. Review data for Organic and Referral traffic. Click into each section to explore further details
5. Select the Referral category and look for traffic sources related to AI platforms

Tracking Organic and Referral Traffic in Wix Analytics

Wix Analytics makes it easy to view your organic and referral traffic. For more detailed guidance, you can refer directly to Wix’s support page for step-by-step instructions and visual aids:

1. Log in to your Wix account and click on Analytics & Reports from the left menu
2. Select “Traffic Overview”
3. Review the Sessions by Source and Category section to see data for Organic and Referral traffic
4. Click on the Referral category to identify visits coming from AI sources alongside other referral traffic.

Viewing Organic and Referring Traffic in Sitecore Experience Analytics

To effectively track Organic search traffic and identify Referring Sites data in Sitecore, follow these steps. This walkthrough will help you navigate Sitecore’s analytics and pinpoint the sources driving traffic to your site. For additional details and visual references, check out the official Sitecore support page:

1. Log in to your Sitecore instance
2. Navigate to the “Experience Analytics” section
3. Go to the Acquisition tab
4. View the Channels report to find Organic search traffic and Referring Sites for referral data
5. Click on Referring Sites to identify external sources, including AI platforms, that are driving traffic.

Final Thoughts on Tracking Traffic in the Age of AI

As the landscape of web traffic changes, I wouldn’t bet on AI-generated traffic fully compensating for potential declines in organic traffic from traditional search engines. However, I do anticipate an increase in visits from emerging, cutting-edge AI search platforms.

For years, Google has been the leader in search, supported by platforms like Bing and Yahoo. Now, the landscape is evolving as players like OpenAI and Meta introduce AI-driven tools that challenge Google’s dominance. With innovations like ChatGPT Search and Meta’s forthcoming platform, the world of search is shifting toward more interactive, summary-based responses.

Google’s response, including its AI-powered Gemini, shows that even established giants must adapt. Meanwhile, people are turning to other places beyond the traditional website, relying on social media and community hubs like Facebook, Reddit, and Substack for information. This shift signals a broader transformation in search behavior. The rise of AI is also redefining how and where we engages with content. Perhaps nudging us to rethink search strategy.