Are visitors and bookings reaching you from ChatGPT and other AI? How to measure it on your hotel website (2026)

Updated: 9 November 2026

Before investing time in 'appearing in AI', it helps to know whether AI already sends you visitors. You can measure it for free with Google and Microsoft tools, with two limits: not all AI traffic is identified, and being cited does not always mean being visited. Here are the steps, with what each company says (sources at the end).

1. Google Analytics 4: check where your visits come from

Go to Reports > Acquisition > Traffic acquisition and switch the table dimension to 'Session source / medium'.
OpenAI says ChatGPT automatically adds utm_source=chatgpt.com to links pointing to your site: those visits show up as 'chatgpt.com'.
Also look for perplexity.ai, gemini.google.com, copilot.microsoft.com and claude.ai. We found no official rule on tagging for these, so they only appear if the browser passes the referring page.

2. Create an 'AI assistants' channel (5 minutes)

Google's help explains how to create a custom channel group and uses AI assistants as its own example. You need the Editor role.

Admin > Data display > Channel groups > Create new channel group.
Add a channel called 'AI assistants' with the condition 'Source' 'matches regex' and this text (our example): chatgpt\.com|openai\.com|perplexity\.ai|gemini\.google\.com|copilot\.microsoft\.com|claude\.ai
Save the channel and move it above 'Referrals'; otherwise those visits stay in referrals.
Standard (free) properties allow 2 custom groups.

3. What slips through: 'direct' traffic

Microsoft explains that its Clarity tool recognises visits from ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude and Perplexity by the referring page, and that if this is hidden the visit may appear as 'direct'. The same happens in any tool: some people who discover you in an AI and then type your name or open the app are not identified. So it is worth also asking at booking or check-in: 'How did you find us?'.

4. Google and Bing: how often you are shown in their AI answers

Google Search Console: clicks from AI Overviews and AI Mode are counted inside the Performance report, 'Web' search type, without being separated. Since 31 August 2026, the generative AI report also shows how many times links to your site were shown in those features (impressions only, and it may not appear if there are few).
Bing Webmaster Tools: since February 2026 it has, in preview, an 'AI Performance' report showing how often Copilot and Bing's AI summaries cite your site and which pages. It does not give clicks.
Being cited is not the same as being visited: look at both separately.

5. Before measuring, let AI read you

OpenAI recommends allowing its OAI-SearchBot in robots.txt to appear in ChatGPT search, and the other companies say the same about their search bots. If you block them, there is nothing to measure. We have a guide to check it in five minutes.

How iQuota helps

With iQuota, bookings made by an assistant through our connector arrive as direct bookings at your property, commission-free and paid at the property, so you do not rely only on website statistics to know they come from AI. Nobody can guarantee that an AI will recommend you: what you can do is measure it honestly.

Want AI assistants to be able to book your property directly, commission-free? The first 30 hotels join free until 30 June 2027.

See the Founding Hotels programme

Frequently asked questions

Is it free to measure?

Yes: Google Analytics 4, Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools and Microsoft Clarity have free versions that are enough for this.

Why do I see so few AI visits?

Because some arrive as 'direct' and because many answers settle the question without the traveller clicking. Also look at Search Console impressions and Bing citations.

Can I see what the traveller asked ChatGPT?

No. The tools show where the visit came from, not the conversation. Bing shows a sample of the queries that led Copilot to cite you.

Sources

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