Google has started adding UTM parameters to links shared through its AI chatbot, Gemini.
This addition should make it easier for website owners and online marketers to identify when visitors have arrived on their site through the AI platform.
In a recent update, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) began identifying traffic from AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity categorising these visits under the “AI Assistants” channel.
However, this relies on GA4 receiving enough information from the referral source to identify where the visitor came from.
If enough referral information isn’t available, this traffic may be inaccurately recorded as “Direct” in GA4. This is typically thought to be the case when a user is directed to a website from the Gemini app on a mobile device.
This means that the amount of traffic a website receives from Gemini may previously have been higher than the figures shown within traffic reports.
What are UTM parameters?
UTM parameters are small pieces of information that are added to the end of a URL.
They allow analytics platforms such as GA4 to understand more about where a visitor came from.
For example, a normal link might look like this:
www.exampleurl.co.uk
With a UTM parameter, it could look like this:
www.exampleurl.co.uk/?utm_source=gemini&utm_medium=referral
In this example, the parameters tell GA4 that the visitor came from Gemini via a referral link.
By adding these parameters to outgoing links, Gemini can provide clearer information about the source of a visit, which should allow for more accurate performance reporting.
Will Gemini traffic appear under AI Assistants in GA4?
As mentioned above, GA4 already has the ability to categorise recognised AI traffic under its “AI Assistants” channel.
The difference with this update is that Gemini’s new UTM parameters should make it easier for GA4 to recognise more of those visits in the first place, rather than incorrectly attributing them to Direct traffic.
At Engage Web, we set up custom channel groups for our search engine optimisation (SEO) clients to provide a much clearer view of where website traffic is coming from.
This can include separating out AI traffic, Instagram Organic Social traffic and other sources that might otherwise be grouped together.
This extra level of detail can make it much easier for website owners to understand where their website traffic is coming from, and which traffic source is contributing to meaningful conversions.
Curious to know where your website visitors are coming from? Get in touch with the team at Engage Web today.
- Google Gemini adds UTM parameters to improve AI traffic tracking - October 5, 2026
- YouTube to add shopping feature to Ask YouTube AI - October 2, 2026
- Google Search Console adds new filter for image-based searches - October 1, 2026
