DIY AI Chat Visibility Dashboard with GA4 for Small Businesses

Why You Need AI Chat Visibility

AI chat tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and Claude aren’t just for fun—they send real traffic. Yet, if you peek into Google Analytics 4, you’ll see a jumble. Referrals scatter under “referral,” “organic,” or “other.” Hard to compare. Hard to prove ROI. Frustrating.

Small to medium businesses (SMEs) thrive on clarity and low cost. You don’t have a big analytics team. You need a super-simple, DIY solution. Enter the power duo: Looker Studio AI + GA4.

With a few tweaks, you’ll answer questions like:
– How much traffic do AI chats send?
– Which LLMs (ChatGPT vs Gemini vs Claude) perform best?
– Which landing pages shine from AI referrals?
– How does AI compare to SEO and social channels?

And best of all—zero template fees. You get total control.

The Challenge of Tracking AI Chats in GA4

Out of the box, GA4 categorises sessions by source/medium: google/organic, facebook/referral, etc. AI chats? They land in “other.” You lose visibility. That means:
– Missed opportunities to double down on high-performing chat-driven pages.
– No clear view of which AI platforms drive conversions.
– Difficulty justifying content investments.

You need to group traffic. You need a dashboard. You need Looker Studio AI magic.

Building Your DIY AI Chat Visibility Dashboard

This guide walks you through setting up a custom dashboard in Looker Studio. No paid templates. No developer needed. Ready? Let’s dive.

Step 1: Connect Looker Studio to GA4

1. Open Looker Studio and click Create → Report.
2. Select the Google Analytics 4 connector.
3. Choose your GA4 property.
4. Hit Add to report.

Boom. Data flowing. Now let’s organise it.

Step 2: Create the “Organic channels” Field

We’ll bucket traffic into four groups: AI Chats, Organic Search, Organic Social, Other.

1. In your data source, click Add a field.
2. Name it Organic channels.
3. Paste this CASE expression:

CASE
WHEN REGEXP_CONTAINS(Session source / medium,
"(chatgpt\\.com|chat\\.openai\\.com|claude\\.ai|gemini\\.google\\.com|perplexity\\.ai|copilot\\.microsoft\\.com).*")
THEN "AI Chats"
WHEN REGEXP_CONTAINS(Session source / medium,
"(twitter\\.com|reddit\\.com|linkedin\\.com|facebook\\.com|instagram\\.com).*")
THEN "Organic Social"
WHEN REGEXP_CONTAINS(Session source / medium,
"(google|bing|duckduckgo|yahoo) / organic")
THEN "Organic Search"
ELSE "Other"
END

4. Save. Voilà—your traffic neatly sorted.

Step 3: Build Core Report Pages

1) AI Chats vs Organic Channels

• Show sessions, conversions, new users.
• Side-by-side bar charts compare AI Chats, Organic Search, Organic Social.

2) Overview

• Scorecards for each AI tool: ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity.
• Quick glance at key metrics.

3) Sources

• Drill down: chat.openai.com vs perplexity.ai vs copilot.microsoft.com.
• Time series to spot momentum.

4) Landing Pages

• Which URLs net the most AI referrals?
• Table view: sessions & conversions per page.

5) Countries

• Map view highlights regions where AI chats explode.
• Perfect for localisation.

6) Content Segments

• Compare /blog/, /product/, /docs/ by channel.
• Use GA4 Content Groups or custom fields for historic data.

Step 4: Tune and Explore

• Switch metrics: try Key Events or Purchases.
• Apply date filters.
• Clone the report for different GA4 properties.

Practical Tips to Maximise Value

• Landing Page Triage
  Identify pages where AI chats rival organic search. Boost internal links or CTAs there.

• Source Prioritisation
  If Gemini traffic surges, create Gemini-focused content. Simple.

• Country Focus
  AI chat referrals jump in Spain? Localise copy. Test Spanish offers first.

• Segmentation Strategy
  For historical depth, define Looker Studio custom fields. GA4 content group won’t fill past gaps.

By mid-year, you’ll spot patterns. Use them. Profit.

Explore our features

Why This DIY Approach Beats Paid Templates

Sure, you could buy a $249 Looker Studio AI visibility template. It’s sleek. But it’s lock-and-key. You can’t tweak the buckets easily. Errors pop if you don’t recreate fields just right.

Our open-source method?
– Free forever.
– Fully customisable.
– Ideal for non-techies.

Plus, when you need fresh ideas, consider pairing with Maggie’s AutoBlog—our high-priority, AI-powered content platform. It auto-generates GEO-targeted blog posts that funnel readers back into your AI dashboard experiments. Smart synergy.

Who Benefits Most

• SMEs without an in-house data team.
• Marketing agencies offering AI-chat audits.
• Growth hackers hungry for new channels.
• E-commerce brands keen to measure AI referrers.

If you fit one of these, this dashboard is your new best friend.

Next Steps & Final Thoughts

You’ve got the blueprint. GA4 data in, custom field live, reports built. Now it’s time to experiment:
– Test new AI tools as they emerge.
– Add filters for ad campaigns.
– Blend with BigQuery for advanced analysis.

Ready to see real traffic data from AI chats? It’s time. Get set up today.

Get a personalized demo