AI search optimization
Be found and described accurately by assistants
- Convert
Stage 6: Convert
AI referral segment builder
The referrer filter and step-by-step set-up for a segment that reports AI assistant traffic in Plausible, GA4 or Matomo.
Free to use. No login, nothing stored.
What it checks
Convert- A referrer regex or filter for the known AI assistant domains
- Step-by-step set-up for the analytics tool you choose
- Copy-to-clipboard output
- A note on what AI referral traffic can and cannot show
Method question for this stage: Does visibility become qualified pipeline?
Run the check
Results
No segment built yet
- Info
Choose your analytics tool, tick the referrers, then build
The filter values, regex or segment definition appear here with a Copy button and the steps to set it up.
How we check
The rules this tool tests, and where they come from
A result is a check against a published rule, not a prediction. Every row shows its working.
Rules and sources
- Plausible: filtering and segments
- Google Analytics: create and edit segments (GA4)
- Google Analytics Help: Default channel group
- Google Analytics Help: Custom channel groups
- Matomo: segmentation
Links go to the operator's or standards body's own documentation. We do not link to third-party summaries.
Read more
Next step
Fix what it finds
This check belongs to the Convert stage of the Crawl-to-Citation Method. The service below covers the fix; the Diagnostic ranks it against everything else.
Most engagements start with the Search Visibility Diagnostic ($2,500).
It covers all six method stages, so what this tool finds is ranked against everything else before you commit to any work.
Book the diagnosticBefore you read the numbers
Questions about AI referral traffic
What the segment counts, what it misses and how to keep it current.
Still have questions? Book a callWhy does my analytics show so few AI referrals?
Because most of them never carry a referrer. Browsers and apps often strip the header or send only a generic value, and visits that start in a mobile app usually arrive as direct. The segment counts the visits that did arrive with a known host, so it is a floor. Watch the trend over months rather than the total for one week.
Does GA4 already have an AI channel?
Yes. GA4’s default channel group includes "AI Assistant", which Google describes as traffic from sources like ChatGPT, Gemini, Deepseek, Copilot or Grok. It excludes Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode, which count as Organic Search. Check it first; use this segment when you want to choose the exact hosts, or a custom channel group placed above Referral when you want the grouping to persist.
Is AI referral traffic the same as being cited?
No. An assistant can name or quote a page without the reader clicking, which leaves nothing in your analytics, and a click can come from an answer that mentioned you in passing. Referrals measure one outcome, the visit. Mentions and citations need a different method, which is what we log in the Lab.
Which hosts should I include?
Start with the list on this page, which is the same set we filter in our own analytics, and add any host you already see in your referrer report. Products change hosts (ChatGPT moved from chat.openai.com to chatgpt.com), so review the list a few times a year and keep old hosts for historical comparisons.
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