A recent change to ChatGPT’s link tracking briefly made it harder to see how many website visits came from the platform. If you noticed ChatGPT referrals fell while Direct traffic rose, it’s understandable to wonder what was happening. The numbers may not tell the whole story.
Here’s a quick look at what changed, what it means for your reporting, and how we’re keeping an eye on it.
What changed with ChatGPT link tracking?
Links shared in ChatGPT results had been carrying a tracking tag: utm_source=chatgpt.com. Analytics tools can use this tag to identify a visit as coming from ChatGPT.
After the GPT-6 rollout, some ChatGPT links temporarily stopped including the tag. Without it, analytics could record those visits under Direct traffic instead of ChatGPT referrals. The change was reported on 14th October, and the report was updated the following day to say the missing tag was a bug and that ChatGPT links were being tagged again.
Why might Direct traffic have increased?
When analytics can’t identify where a visit came from, it may classify it as Direct. So a rise in Direct traffic around this time could include some visits that began in ChatGPT.
In one analysis cited in the original report, ChatGPT visits fell while Direct visits rose across the pages examined. That’s a helpful pattern to look out for, although it doesn’t prove that every change in Direct traffic came from ChatGPT.
What does this mean for your website data?
This was an attribution issue: some visits may have been labelled under a different traffic source in analytics. It doesn’t, by itself, mean visitors stopped reaching your website or that your website data was lost.
It also doesn’t automatically mean your search rankings or SEO performance changed. We look at reporting changes like this alongside your wider traffic, engagement and business goals, so we can get a clearer picture before drawing conclusions.
How we’re monitoring your reports
We keep a close eye on your website traffic and reporting, including visits from AI platforms. When a platform changes how it labels referrals, we take that into account to help make your reports as clear and useful as possible.
We’re watching how ChatGPT referrals and Direct traffic are being reported, and we’ll keep the affected period in mind when comparing results. If this changes how we interpret your performance or shape a recommendation, we’ll explain what we’re seeing and what it means for your business.
What should you do?
There’s no need to change your website because of this tracking update alone. If your reports show a dip in ChatGPT referrals or a rise in Direct traffic around this time, bear the tracking change in mind when comparing channels.
AI platforms are becoming another way for people to discover and research businesses. We’ll continue keeping an eye on how those visits appear in your analytics and help you make decisions with the full picture in mind.
Have a question about your website traffic?
Get in touch with your SEO account manager and we’ll talk you through what we’re seeing.
