Introduction
The era of AI search has arrived, and it's fundamentally changing the rules of digital marketing. ChatGPT, Perplexity.AI, DeepSeek and other large language models (LLMs) are becoming increasingly popular among users seeking information. According to Similarweb data, ChatGPT directs traffic to 900,000 unique domains monthly, while Perplexity.AI shows 17-24% monthly growth.
If you've noticed a decline in organic traffic, it might not be due to poor SEO, but rather because some of your users are now getting information through AI systems instead of traditional Google search.
Why This Matters
Impressive Statistics:
- Google.com: 76 billion visits per month
- ChatGPT.com: 4 billion visits per month
- Perplexity.AI: 110 million visits per month
Although ChatGPT holds only 1.5-5% of Google's market share, and Perplexity.AI about 0.15%, the growth rates of AI systems are impressive. Google shows 0% growth (stagnation), while ChatGPT grows 5-15% monthly, and Perplexity.AI - 17-24%.
How to Set Up AI Traffic Tracking
The first step is to create a separate channel for AI referral traffic in GA4:
1. Go to Admin → Data Display → Channel Groups
2. Create a new channel "AI Search & LLMs"
3. Add condition for referral source
Step 2: Regex for AI Traffic Filtering
Use this regex to identify AI referrals:
This regex covers major AI platforms:
• OpenAI: ChatGPT, GPT tools
• Google: Bard, Gemini
• Microsoft: Copilot
• Perplexity.AI: AI search engine
• Others: Neeva, Writesonic, Copy.ai and others
Practical Analysis Tips
1. Basic Monitoring Metrics
Monthly reports should include:
- Percentage of traffic from AI sources
- Growth/decline trends
- Comparison with organic traffic
- AI traffic conversion rate
2. Deep Behavior Analysis
Research questions:
- Which pages are most visited through AI?
- How long do users stay on the site?
- What conversions does AI traffic generate?
- Does behavior differ from organic traffic?
Case Study: TechCorp +340% AI Traffic
Problem: 15% decline in organic traffic during 2024
Diagnosis:
- Set up AI traffic tracking
- Found that 23% of users now come through AI systems
- ChatGPT generated 67% of AI traffic
Solution:
- Optimized content for AI understanding
- Created FAQ sections with direct answers
- Improved data structure
Result:
- AI traffic increased by 340%
- Total traffic increased by 8%
- AI users' conversion rate 12% higher
Common Mistakes to Avoid
❌ Don't do this:
- Ignoring AI traffic - "It's a small percentage"
- Using outdated regex - not all AI platforms covered
- Focus only on ChatGPT - Perplexity.AI and others are also important
- Lack of segmentation - different AI systems have different behavior
✅ Do this:
- Regular monitoring - monthly reports
- Regex updates - adding new platforms
- Deep analysis - understanding user behavior
- Strategy adaptation - changing approaches for AI traffic
Conclusions and Next Steps
Tracking AI traffic is not just a trend, but a necessity for modern marketers. AI systems are becoming increasingly popular, and companies that adapt to this reality will gain a competitive advantage.
Your action plan:
- This week: Set up basic AI traffic tracking
- Next month: Analyze data and identify trends
- Within a quarter: Develop AI search optimization strategy
Key takeaways:
- AI traffic is growing exponentially
- Traditional SEO metrics are insufficient
- Content strategy adaptation is needed
- Tracking is the first step to optimization
Remember: the future of search is already here. Are you ready for it?