AI Search: The Hidden Growth Channel You’re Not Tracking (Yet)

AI Search: The Hidden Growth Channel You’re Not Tracking (Yet)

Data & Analytics CRO Retention Marketing Strategy & Consulting

Fix The Blind Spot in Your Analytics in the next 30 Days

If you're running ecommerce performance, there's a new source of high-intent traffic that’s likely hitting your site, but you may not be tracking it.

AI search platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude are driving product discovery and changing consumer behavior. If your analytics reports aren’t  accounting for them, you’re flying blind while competitors optimize for visibility and conversions.

66% of shoppers purchasing more than once a week, say they regularly use AI assistants like ChatGPT to guide their purchase decisions. (1)

The Opportunity: ‘Doing more with AI’ is on every business’s strategic plan for the year, but what does that look like in application? The easiest way to start gaining momentum on this initiative and show progress to executives is setting up the reports that let you track this channel better.  

Maze Will Help You Track, Attribute & Optimize AI Search

You can’t afford to stay blind to this traffic. We can help you:

  • Audit and setup your analytics for AI attribution
  • Build actionable reporting dashboards
  • Identify high-opportunity content and keywords
  • Optimize site experiences for AI-discovered shoppers

Let’s review your AI Search Attribution
 Book a session →

Why AI Search Matters 

By the end of 2025, platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude could be responsible for +5% of new referral traffic. Perplexity AI had over 780M queries in May 2025 alone. (2)

By 2028, AI referrals could eclipse traditional search engines. (3)

The AI assistant mobile app market reached 1.5 billion downloads in 2024, growing 136% year-over-year. While ChatGPT maintains leadership with 45% U.S. market share and 400 million weekly users, competition is intensifying with integrated platforms like Google Gemini and Grok gaining traction. 

Knowing which AI Search platforms to track can start with prioritizing the ones with the most installs:

  • ChatGPT: 282 million downloads in 2024, 45% U.S. market share, 400M weekly active users (175M mobile) (4)
  • Google Gemini: 75-80 million downloads since Feb 2024 launch, 12% global market share, 47M active users (5)
  • Perplexity: 13.9 million total downloads, 22M active users, 6.2% AI search market share (6)
  • Claude: 769,600 downloads (Jan 2025), 2.9M monthly mobile users (7)
  • Grok: 202.7 million visits (March 2025), 17.6M monthly users, 16,800% growth in 2 months via X integration (8)
  • Meta AI: Grew from 16% to 31% U.S. market share (2023-2024) through platform integration

AI platforms are now surfacing product links, guides, reviews, and brand content directly in responses. 

This is qualified, ready-to-convert traffic, if you can see and act on it.

How to Track AI Search Traffic in GA4

Your user behavior reports may look like this, an unsorted assignment of channels and sources, muddling AI Search traffic in with everything else, but it doesn’t have to be this way.

You can track and attribute this traffic, if you know where to look. Use this table to filter AI-driven traffic in reports and compare performance.

Analyze AI Traffic Like a Pro

Once your sources are grouped, do more than just count sessions. Build custom audience segments and report explorations:

      • Track conversion rates
      • Compare AI vs. organic traffic behavior
      • Identify PDPs most visited via AI
      • Understand what drives highest AOV

Think of AI search as a new channel in your performance stack—and act accordingly.

Analytics have changed significantly in 2025 because of AI. If you’re not optimizing for this, you’re missing out on revenue. We’re here to help you analyze your traffic and succeed.

Let’s review your AI Search Attribution

Book a session → 

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