AI Traffic Attribution

ChatGPT Traffic Attribution

Q: What referrer does ChatGPT pass?

ChatGPT passes chatgpt.com as the referrer in most web browsing contexts. Older sessions may use chat.openai.com. Mobile app sessions and API-generated responses typically do not pass a referrer.

Q: Is ChatGPT traffic high quality?

ChatGPT traffic tends to show higher engagement than cold organic search clicks for the same pages. The user has already encountered the content or brand name in an AI context, so the visit is often intentional rather than exploratory. Conversion rates vary by site and content type.

How ChatGPT refers traffic to websites, what referrer information it passes, and how to identify ChatGPT-originated visits in your attribution data.

Quick Answer

Does ChatGPT send traffic to your website?

ChatGPT sends traffic to websites when users click links in AI-generated responses. The referrer header identifies the source as chatgpt.com or chat.openai.com depending on the access method. Server-side attribution classifies these visits as AI Referrer traffic rather than Direct or generic Referral. Visits opened from the ChatGPT mobile app or via the API may not carry a referrer.

ChatGPT is typically the largest single AI referral source for most sites that appear in AI-generated responses.

Attribution challenges specific to ChatGPT

Challenge

ChatGPT traffic appears as Direct in standard analytics

When a ChatGPT user opens a link in a new tab or from the mobile app without passing a referrer, the visit arrives with no source information and is classified as Direct. This is not a configuration issue. It is a result of how the referrer header is or is not set depending on the access context.

The effect

A portion of ChatGPT traffic will always be unattributable via referrer methods. Honest measurement accounts for this rather than claiming complete coverage.

Challenge

ChatGPT referrals are mixed with other referral traffic

Without a dedicated AI Referrer channel, ChatGPT traffic appears alongside directory links, press mentions, and other referrals. The conversion behaviour and intent profile of ChatGPT traffic differs from these sources. Separating it requires a taxonomy that maps chatgpt.com to a dedicated AI channel.

The effect

ChatGPT traffic can be analysed separately from other referral sources, including conversion rate, session depth, and content performance.