# How to know if ChatGPT sends you traffic

> Referrers, utm_source and what AI assistants don’t tell you. And how to see AI traffic in one card.

AI & agents · 2026-09-23 · Shipabase team · Source: https://shipabase.dev/blog/chatgpt-traffic-analytics

## TL;DR

- Links that ChatGPT cites as sources usually carry `utm_source=chatgpt.com` in the URL.
- Perplexity and most other assistants show up as the referring site.
- Some clicks carry no source at all and land in “Direct”, in every analytics tool.

## Where AI traffic hides

When someone clicks a link inside an AI answer, your analytics only knows what the browser tells it. There are two signals: the **referrer**, the site the visitor came from, and a **utm_source** parameter that the assistant may add to the link.

If neither is there, the visit looks exactly like someone typing your URL by hand. That’s why AI traffic is easy to under-count.

## utm_source vs referrer

`A source link clicked in ChatGPT`

```bash
https://yourapp.com/pricing?utm_source=chatgpt.com
```

ChatGPT usually adds `utm_source=chatgpt.com` to the links it cites as sources, so the source survives even when the browser sends no referrer. It doesn’t do it every time. Other assistants rely on the referrer instead, which only contains the site’s host (for example `perplexity.ai`), never the conversation.

| Assistant | How it usually shows up |
| --- | --- |
| ChatGPT | `utm_source=chatgpt.com` on cited sources, often |
| Perplexity | Referrer `perplexity.ai` |
| Claude | Referrer `claude.ai` when the browser sends one |
| Gemini | `gemini.google.com`, or `google.com` when the link goes through a Google redirect |
| Copilot | `copilot.microsoft.com`, or `bing.com` from Bing |

## What stays invisible

- Links opened with `rel="noreferrer"`, from desktop apps, or copied and pasted: no referrer, no utm, so they count as **Direct**.
- Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode arrive as `google.com`, like a normal search.
- No tool can see which prompt or conversation led to your site. Assistants don’t share it.

> These limits apply to every analytics tool, cookies or not. What you can do is read both signals correctly and group them by assistant.

## See it in Shipabase

Since `@shipabase/js` 0.3.0, the SDK sends the traffic source of each page load: the `utm_source` when present, otherwise the referring site’s host. Never the full URL, never a query string. The overview then shows a **Sources** card, with visits from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini and other assistants grouped and highlighted.

`Terminal`

```bash
npm i @shipabase/js@latest
```

Nothing else to set up. Click a source to filter the whole dashboard by it. See the [quickstart](https://shipabase.dev/docs/quickstart) if you haven’t installed Shipabase yet.

## FAQ

**Can I see which prompt led a visitor to my site?**

No. AI assistants never share the conversation. You only get the source: a host or a utm_source.

**Does Google AI Overviews count as AI traffic?**

Not separately. It arrives as google.com, exactly like a regular Google search.

**Do I need cookies to track AI referrals?**

No. The source is read once when the page loads and sent with the events. Nothing is stored in the browser.

## Sources

- [Your AI traffic is hiding (Seer Interactive)](https://www.seerinteractive.com/insights/are-ai-sites-like-chatgpt-sending-your-website-traffic)
- [How to track AI traffic in GA4 (Analytics Mania)](https://www.analyticsmania.com/post/ai-traffic-in-google-analytics-4/)