If ChatGPT could talk (like, really talk), what would it say about your website? Are you showing up in conversations, or have you been ghosted by the chat?
When OpenAI launched ChatGPT with Search in October 2024, it left the Internet search game reeling.
ChatGPT can now fetch real-time search results, providing accurate responses that combine conversational flair with up-to-date precision. It’s no wonder we’re all asking one big question: how can we track traffic generated by ChatGPT?
Understanding how ChatGPT interacts with your URLs could be the key to measuring a new wave of AI-driven traffic to your website. In this guide, we’ll take a closer look at how ChatGPT handles URLs, the role of UTM parameters, and some helpful strategies to track and optimize all of your AI-generated traffic.
What is ChatGPT Doing to the Search Game?
We all know that while ChatGPT and traditional search engines like Google are on the same playing field, they’re not wearing the same jersey. While Google spits out a bunch of links for users to choose from, ChatGPT does the homework for you and delivers the answers up on a silver platter. No middleman, no clicking through a dozen tabs.
At the same time, ChatGPT sources its “answers” from the internet—and that includes content from websites like yours. If customers are asking about services in your industry, it’s pulling info from that digital jungle to generate its responses.
This is where things get tricky. If your site isn’t optimized or lacks clarity, ChatGPT’s not exactly handing out freebies; it’s just skipping you.
ChatGPT could either boost your website traffic or totally slam the breaks. For businesses offering detailed answers to user questions (think "what’s the best yoga mat for beginners" or "how do I bake a cake for toddlers without sugar"), you’re ahead of the game. If ChatGPT leans on your site for answers, those important links could steer users straight to you.
But there’s a catch. Many process-oriented questions never even make it to the “click a link” stage, because ChatGPT’s already spoon-feeding users everything they need, and in many cases, showing users select links to click on.
So, unless your content is making itself irresistible—like offering valuable tools, resources, or lead magnets—it’s easy to miss the big opportunity with those links.
How Does ChatGPT Decide When to Show Links?
Before we nerd out over tracking, we need to understand how ChatGPT decides to include URLs in its responses. In a nutshell, it all boils down to the type of response ChatGPT is generating.
ChatGPT serves up two types of links: citations and search results.
Citations are URLs that validate the AI’s response, linking to specific sources for credibility. For example, if ChatGPT references a statistic you used in your blog post, it may include your URL as a citation.
This often comes with a UTM tracking parameter, like utm_source=chatgpt.com`. UTM parameters are simply short text codes added to URLs to help track the performance of a webpage or marketing campaign.
When users click on a URL containing UTM parameters, information about the traffic source is sent to your analytics platforms, such as Google Analytics 4 (GA4). This data enables you to identify where your site traffic originates, as well as to assess engagement and conversions.
The second type of link is search results. When a user specifically asks for search results—say, “Find the best coffee shop in New York”—ChatGPT fetches live results from the web. These are less likely to include UTM parameters since they’re acting as direct search crawls.
Why Does This Difference Matter?
If your website appears as a citation, you’re in luck—it’s more likely to be trackable since ChatGPT auto-tags the URL with UTM parameters.
However, search result links function more like traditional organic search referrals, often without UTMs, making them harder to attribute directly in analytics.
When Does ChatGPT Include UTM Parameters?
ChatGPT’s decision to include UTMs is based on several factors:
User Intent
If a user specifically asks for a link, it’s treated as a search result and typically won’t include UTMs. But if it’s part of a broader response, it’s more likely to be tagged with UTMs.
Privacy Sensitivity
ChatGPT might skip UTMs in sensitive topics (medical, legal, financial) or account-specific content (like login pages).
Publisher/Platform Considerations
ChatGPT may include UTMs for citations from publishers or in platforms where tracking is standard practice.
How to Increase the Odds of Trackable Traffic from ChatGPT
AI referrals are the new frontier, and while you can’t directly control how ChatGPT serves your links, you can improve your chances of getting your URLs cited—and tagged with UTMs. Here's how:
1. Create High-Quality, Authoritative Content
Content is still king, and ChatGPT recognizes which content should reign supreme. It prioritizes content that provides clear and accurate answers to user queries.
Because of this, try to invest in articles, blogs, and resources that demonstrate expertise in your industry. Structured content with headers, bullet points, and concise answers is more likely to be picked up by ChatGPT and cited.
2. Standardize Your UTM Parameters
When ChatGPT references links already tagged with UTMs, it can retain these parameters. Make sure your URLs are UTM-friendly before they get indexed.
For example, include `utm_source=chatgpt.com` and relevant campaign tags in key backlinks, syndicated content, and public PDFs.
3. Add UTMs to Meta Descriptions and Public Assets
Meta descriptions, infographics, and downloadable PDFs are fair game for ChatGPT. Adding UTM parameters to URLs in public-facing resources improves the chances of tracking your traffic as ChatGPT fetches those links.
4. Leverage Custom GPTs
If your business uses custom ChatGPT implementations (e.g., via OpenAI API), ensure your setup auto-generates UTM parameters for any URLs included in responses. Custom GPTs give you full control over your link tracking strategy.
Do Internal UTMs Hurt Analytics in GA4?
With Universal Analytics (UA), using UTMs internally within your site wasn’t ideal because it created new sessions for the same user.
Luckily, this is no longer a problem with GA4. Internally tagged UTMs no longer break session continuity, so you can confidently experiment with UTMs for internal links without skewing your metrics.
For example, if you want to track content performance in specific sections of your site as ChatGPT references them, internal UTMs are a safe option.
Why AI Content and UTM Strategy Go Hand-in-Hand
Here’s the deal—ChatGPT doesn’t just reward businesses that create useful, high-quality content. It rewards businesses that make their content easy to track.
Over time, as AI search capabilities improve, the ability to connect this traffic to marketing outcomes will become even more crucial.
Make sure your UTM strategy is watertight, and don’t forget to analyze this traffic consistently. If ChatGPT likes your content, chances are, it’s also resonating with humans—and that’s a win-win.
Prepare for the Future of AI Traffic with Kinetic319
AI-driven traffic isn’t going anywhere. With platforms like ChatGPT pushing real-time search into the mainstream, businesses must adapt their analytics and SEO practices to keep up.
Not sure where to start? That’s where we come in.
At Kinetic319, we specialize in helping businesses like yours track and optimize marketing efforts in an AI-centric world. From UTM best practices to ChatGPT-specific strategies, we’ve got the tools to make sense of your data and turn it into actionable insights.
With AI traffic on the rise, your team needs to be prepared to answer the question: “Are our customers finding us through ChatGPT, and how do we track that?” Don’t let “I don’t know how to track this” be your answer—optimize now for the future of AI-driven search.