The short answer
Google Analytics now has a default AI Assistant channel for visitors who click through from assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot. Google's own AI Overviews and AI Mode stay in Organic Search. A custom channel group lets a firm set its own list of assistants. Many people read an answer and never click, so the visits are a floor, not the whole effect. Count signed clients by first source, not sessions.
Google Analytics now gives visits from AI assistants a channel of their own. A person who asks ChatGPT for a lawyer, reads the answer and taps your site can be counted as an AI Assistant visit, not lumped in with other websites. This note covers what the channel counts, what it misses, and how to judge it by the clients you sign. For the bigger picture, read our guide to AI search for law firms.
Where do visits from ChatGPT show up in Google Analytics?
In the default channel group, under AI Assistant. Google says a visit is placed there when the medium is set to “ai-assistant” and the campaign is set to “(ai-assistant)” if the referrer matches a list of AI Assistants. In plain words, Google checks which site sent the visitor, and if it is on Google’s list of assistants, the visit lands in this channel instead of Referral.
Look in Reports, then Acquisition, then Traffic acquisition, with “Session default channel group” as the row. If the AI Assistant row is empty for your firm, that is useful too: it tells you assistants are not sending clicks yet, which is a reason to check whether they mention you at all.
Why are AI Overviews counted as search, not as an assistant?
Because Google counts its own answers as part of search. Its definition of Organic Search covers visits via non-ad links in organic-search results, including Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode, and the AI Assistant definition says It excludes Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode.
So a click from an AI Overview on “truck accident lawyer near me” looks like any other Google search click. Google Analytics cannot split the two. Google Search Console reports search clicks, and our AI mention rate is a separate check of whether the answers name your firm at all.
| Where the visit came from | Where Google Analytics puts it |
|---|---|
| A link in a ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot answer | AI Assistant |
| An AI Overview or AI Mode answer on Google | Organic Search |
| An assistant Google’s list does not know yet | Referral, until you add it to your own group |
| An assistant app that passes no referrer | Direct |
| Someone who read an answer, then searched your firm’s name | Organic Search or paid search, as a brand search |
Should you build your own AI assistants channel group?
Build one if you want the list under your control. Google’s help page walks through it: copy a channel group, add a channel named “AI assistants”, Add a new condition and select “matches regex”. and enter a pattern for the source. A standard property can add two custom channel groups, on top of the default one.
A pattern that names each assistant’s site is safer than a loose one. Google’s own sample starts by matching any source that contains the letters “ai”, which also catches email sources such as Gmail. Something like this keeps to the assistants:
chatgpt\.com|chat\.openai\.com|perplexity\.ai|gemini\.google\.com|copilot\.microsoft\.com|claude\.ai|chat\.deepseek\.comTwo details matter. Order: Google says Traffic is included in the first channel whose definition it matches given the current order of channels in the group. So move “AI assistants” above Referral. History: Custom channel groups can be applied to your reports retroactively. You can look back at past months the day you set it up. Review the pattern every quarter, because new assistants appear and old ones change their web addresses.
What can Google Analytics not see?
It sees clicks that carry a source. It cannot see the rest:
- Answers with no click. A person reads that your firm handles Spanish-language injury cases, writes down the name and calls later. That call has no AI source in analytics.
- Visits that lose their source. Google describes “(direct) / (none)” as traffic that doesn’t have a clear referral source. Some assistant apps and copied links arrive this way.
- Brand searches. Someone who reads an answer and then searches your firm’s name shows up as search, not as an assistant.
That is why the channel is a floor. It tells you assistants are sending people. It does not tell you how many clients assistants influenced.
How do you tie AI visits to signed cases?
Record the source where clients are counted: on the intake record. Three steps cover most firms:
- Keep the first source. Store the channel or the referrer of the first visit on each form entry and call record, and stop later visits from overwriting it.
- Ask every new client. Add “An AI assistant, such as ChatGPT” to your “How did you hear about us?” question, on forms and in the intake script.
- Count signed clients by source each month. Sessions and form fills are early signals. A signed fee agreement, counted once, is the result. Our guide to tracking signed cases in Google Ads uses the same definitions for paid search.
If the AI Assistant row brings a few visits a month and one of them signs, that matters more than a large row of sessions that never call. Pages that answer questions plainly are what assistants cite and what visitors act on; our guide to law firm landing pages covers the page they land on, and how to get your firm recommended by ChatGPT covers being named in the first place.
What this means for your firm
- Open Traffic acquisition and look for the AI Assistant row. It may already be there.
- If you want your own definition, add an “AI assistants” channel above Referral, with a pattern that names each assistant.
- Ask every new client how they found you, and count signed clients by that answer, not sessions.
Want a second look at how your firm shows up in AI answers and search? Get my free review.
Marketing information, not legal advice. Last reviewed by our editor.
Questions about this note
Does the AI Assistant channel include Google's AI Overviews?
No. Google's definition says the AI Assistant channel excludes AI Overviews and AI Mode. Clicks from those answers are counted in Organic Search with the rest of Google search.
Do we still need a custom channel group for AI assistants?
Not always. The default channel now does the basic job. A custom group helps when you want to decide the list of assistants yourself, keep a stable definition for a monthly report, or split assistants out from other referral sites.
Why are AI visits so low compared with what we hear about AI search?
Many people read an assistant's answer and never click. Some then search your firm's name or call you directly, which shows up as a brand search or a direct visit. Treat the channel as the visits you can see, and ask every new client how they heard about you.
Should we judge AI visits by sessions or by clients?
By clients. A handful of visits that turn into signed matters is worth more than a large number of sessions that never call. Keep the first source on each intake record and count signed clients by that source.
Sources
- Google Analytics Help: default channel group (AI Assistant and Organic Search definitions)Accessed October 28, 2026
- Google Analytics Help: custom channel groups (the AI assistants example, limits and channel order)Accessed October 28, 2026
- Google Analytics Help: understand (direct) / (none) trafficAccessed October 28, 2026