AI referrals (GA4)
See how many visitors ChatGPT and other AI platforms send to your website, and whether they convert. Learn how to connect Google Analytics 4.
Updated
When someone discovers your business through ChatGPT or another AI platform, they may click a link to visit your website.
"AI referrals" helps you see how many visits come from AI platforms, which pages people land on, and whether those visits lead to engagement or conversions.
Klarvu retrieves this information from your Google Analytics 4 (GA4) property, allowing you to look at AI-driven traffic alongside your other AI visibility metrics.
Find "AI referrals"
Go to "Traffic" → "AI referrals" in the menu.
If you haven't connected Google Analytics yet, you'll see the card:
"See how many people AI platforms send to your site"
Click "Connect Google Analytics" to go to the setup.
The connection itself is managed under "Settings" → "Integrations", in the "Google Analytics" card.
Only owners and administrators can create the connection. Other users will see:
"Ask an owner or admin to connect Google Analytics in Settings → Integrations."
Connect Google Analytics 4
Klarvu needs access to a GA4 property that measures activity on your website.
You can connect using your Google account or a service account.
Open the Google Analytics integration
Go to "Settings" → "Integrations" and find the "Google Analytics" card.
Your brand needs to have a website associated with it before you can continue.
If no website has been added, you'll see "This brand has no website yet. Add one in Brand Entities, then connect it here." and a "Go to Brand Entities" button.
Add your website there first.
Select your website
Under "Website", select which of your brand's websites the connection is for.
Each website connects separately and can use its own GA4 property.
Sign in with Google
Click "Connect Google Analytics" and sign in with your Google account.
If Google sign-in isn't set up, Klarvu displays a message directing you to use a service account instead.
Choose your GA4 property
Once connected, select the Google Analytics property associated with your website.
Click "Use this property" to confirm your selection.
Wait for the first synchronization
Klarvu now retrieves the last 12 months of AI referral data from Google Analytics.
While that's running, the "AI referrals" page shows "Syncing your Google Analytics data".
This typically takes a few minutes. Afterward, data is updated automatically once a day.
Alternative: Connect with a service account
If you'd prefer a connection that isn't tied to one person's Google login, select "Connect with a service account".
You'll need to:
- Create a service account in your Google Cloud project. No IAM role is required.
- In that project, enable both the Google Analytics Data API and the Google Analytics Admin API.
- Add the service account's email address as a "Viewer" under GA4 → "Admin" → "Property Access Management".
- Create a JSON key for the service account, paste the whole file into Klarvu, and click "Connect".
- Select the relevant GA4 property using "Use this property".
Choose your conversion events
In Google Analytics, you can mark certain events as key events, such as a signup or another important action on your website.
Under "Conversion events", you can choose which of your property's key events Klarvu should count as conversions. Save your choice with "Save conversion events".
- No events selected: All key events are included.
- Specific events selected: Only the selected key events are counted.
If you change the selection, Klarvu resynchronizes the last 12 months so the conversion figures reflect your updated settings.
If your property doesn't have any key events, Klarvu will explain that you need to mark relevant events as key events in GA4 first.
Check your connection status
Under "Settings" → "Integrations", you can review the status of your Google Analytics connection.
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| "Connected" | A Google Analytics connection has been established. |
| "Choose a property" | The connection is established, but you still need to select the GA4 property Klarvu should use. |
| "Needs attention" | Klarvu can't read the property right now. The error is shown on the card. |
Owners and administrators can also use these options on the integration card:
- "Validate connection": Checks the connection and displays "Connection OK" when validation succeeds.
- "Edit" / "Choose": Lets you change or select the property.
- "Disconnect": Disconnects Google Analytics from Klarvu.
Understand your AI referral metrics
Once your data has been synchronized, you'll see an overview of traffic from AI platforms.
Choose a reporting period:
- "7 days"
- "30 days"
- "90 days" (default)
- "12 months"
If your brand has multiple connected websites, you can select the relevant one under "Website".
All key metrics include a comparison with the preceding period.
| Metric | What it shows |
|---|---|
| "AI page views" | Page views in sessions that started from an AI platform. |
| "AI sessions" | Sessions originating from a recognized AI platform. |
| "New users" | First-time visitors arriving from an AI platform. |
| "Engaged sessions" | Sessions with at least 10 seconds of engagement, a key event, or at least two page views. |
| "Conversions" | The number of conversions based on your selected key events. |
| "Conversion rate" | The percentage of AI sessions containing at least one conversion. |
| "Avg. engagement time" | The average engagement time per AI session. |
Why look at both sessions and engagement?
"AI sessions" tells you how many visits Klarvu has identified as traffic from AI platforms.
But it doesn't tell you what those visitors actually did.
That's why "Engaged sessions", "Conversions", and "Conversion rate" are useful alongside your traffic figures.
For example, one AI platform might send fewer visitors than another, but a higher percentage of those visits may result in conversions.
Explore the charts and tables
Further down the page, you can investigate how AI traffic develops and which pages visitors use.
| View | What it shows |
|---|---|
| "AI sessions over time" | AI referral sessions over time, broken down by platform. |
| "AI traffic funnel" | How sessions progress from visits to engaged sessions and sessions with conversions. |
| "Conversions by type" | Which key events result from AI-referred visits. |
| "Platform breakdown" | A comparison of traffic and engagement across AI platforms. |
| "Conversions over time" | How conversions change over time. |
| "AI landing pages" | The pages visitors first reach after arriving from an AI platform. Use "Filter pages…" to find a specific page. |
| "Page views and sessions" | Page views and sessions from AI over time. |
| "New vs returning users" | The split between new and returning visitors from AI. |
With "12 months" selected, the charts show weekly instead of daily figures.
Compare platforms with "Platform breakdown"
The table includes:
- "Platform"
- "Sessions"
- "Engagement rate"
- "Page views"
- "Conversions"
- "Conv. rate"
If your website has ecommerce data, the table can also show "Transactions" and "Revenue".
This helps you compare whether visitors from different AI platforms engage with your website and convert at different rates.
Which AI platforms are recognized?
Klarvu shows referral traffic from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, and Grok separately.
Traffic from platforms such as DeepSeek, Meta AI, Mistral, You.com, Phind, and Poe is grouped under "Other AI".
Copilot is recognized here as a traffic source, even though Klarvu doesn't track Copilot answers through its regular prompt tracking.
Why might your numbers be lower than expected?
AI referrals rely on the referral information received by Google Analytics.
If someone clicks a link from an AI platform but the referral information isn't passed along, GA4 may record the visit as direct traffic instead.
That means "AI referrals" doesn't necessarily capture every visit that actually originated from an AI platform.
It's best to treat these figures as identified AI referral traffic rather than a complete count of every AI-driven visit.
If no data appears
If no AI referrals were recorded during the selected period, you'll see:
"No AI referrals in this period"
This can mean there were no identified AI referrals or that the selected period contains no relevant traffic.
If Klarvu can't read your GA4 property, you'll see a "Google Analytics needs attention" card with the error. The numbers shown will then come from the last successful synchronization.
You can check the connection status under "Settings" → "Integrations".
Frequently asked questions
Why does Klarvu show fewer AI visits than I expected?
Not every visit from an AI platform includes recognizable referral information.
Some clicks may therefore appear as direct traffic in GA4. Also check your selected reporting period and, if applicable, "Website".
How often is my data updated?
Klarvu automatically synchronizes with Google Analytics once a day.
The initial synchronization typically takes a few minutes. "AI referrals" therefore doesn't show real-time data.
Can Klarvu change anything in my Google Analytics account?
No. The integration has read-only access.
Klarvu can retrieve the relevant data but cannot change your GA4 property's configuration.
Why does my connection show "Needs attention"?
It means Klarvu can't read your GA4 property right now. The error is shown on the integration card.
Go to "Settings" → "Integrations", check the selected property, and use "Validate connection" to test the connection. A successful check displays "Connection OK".
"AI referrals" helps you understand whether your AI visibility is also bringing people to your website. Combine it with "Sources" to explore the pages AI cites, and "Agent traffic" to investigate visits from AI crawlers.