utm_source=chatgpt.com
utm_source=chatgpt.com is the tag ChatGPT adds to the links it sends people to, so your analytics can tell those visits came from ChatGPT.
utm_source=chatgpt.com is a tag ChatGPT adds to the end of links in its answers. When someone clicks through to your site, the address they land on carries it, and your analytics can see the visit came from ChatGPT.
OpenAI describes this in its FAQ for publishers. It's the simplest way to see the people ChatGPT sends you.
How it shows up
A UTM tag is a small label added to a link, the same kind marketers use in email and ad campaigns. Google Analytics and most other tools read it automatically. Visits with this tag show up with chatgpt.com as their source.
For example, a link from ChatGPT to Fernhill Coffee's gift page arrives as fernhill.coffee/gifts?utm_source=chatgpt.com. In Google Analytics, Fernhill sees the visit under chatgpt.com, along with the page, the country and what the visitor did next.
What it doesn't tell you
The tag tells you about clicks. Many people read an answer, remember your name and come back later by searching for you or typing your address. Those visits don't carry the tag, and they show up as search or direct traffic.
It's also ChatGPT's own habit. Other AI platforms handle their links in their own ways, and some visits from AI assistants arrive with no source at all. So the tag covers part of your AI traffic, and an AI channel in your analytics that groups several sources together gives you a fuller view.
Don't strip it
Some sites remove tracking tags from addresses, or redirect them away. If yours does, check that your analytics records the source before the tag is removed.
In AnswerOrbit
The AI traffic tab in Website and AI traffic shows the visits AI assistants send to your site, from Google Analytics, broken down by assistant, landing page, country and device. Click Connect Google Analytics to see it.