How to Measure Success in Generative Engine Optimization

by Gary
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Measurement has always been a pillar of digital marketing, but it’s gotten a lot trickier recently. With traditional SEO, we had traffic, rankings, and conversions. Easy enough. But with Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), the rules are changing.

Content is now being surfaced in AI-driven search results, chatbots, and answer engines where clicks don’t always happen and visibility is harder to track.

That doesn’t mean measurement is dead—it just means you need new criteria, new tools, and a smarter strategy. GEO measurement requires shifting away from purely click-based metrics and towards more nuanced indicators of success like brand mentions, AI citations, and answer inclusions.

You’ll also want to explore tools and methods that track your content’s presence in generative results—whether that’s through structured prompt testing, SGE tracking tools, or even qualitative analysis of AI outputs. These are all part of a comprehensive GEO measurement strategy.

Step 1: Track LLM Traffic Like a Pro (Because You Can’t Optimize What You Don’t Measure)

Let’s start with the basics: if you want to measure the impact of your Generative Engine Optimization efforts, you need to be able to identify when traffic comes from AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude.

Yes, some of these tools actually send referral traffic and the good news is that they often show up in your analytics with recognizable sources. But to make sense of that data, you’ll need a dedicated setup.

If you’re using Google Analytics 4 (which we’ll assume you are), the first thing to do is create a Custom Channel for LLMs. This will let you separate out traffic that comes specifically from AI search tools, rather than mixing it in with generic referral or organic traffic.

This matters because you want to track:

How much traffic you’re getting from LLMs

Whether those visitors are converting into leads or revenue

Which landing pages are getting picked up, so you can better understand the types of queries that are surfacing your content

Once your custom channel is in place, you’ll have a clean view of how LLMs are contributing to your performance and whether your Generative Engine Optimization strategy is actually driving results.

Setting Up a Custom Channel for AI Search Traffic in GA4

This procedure consists of several steps:

✅ Step 1: Create a Custom Channel Group

Open GA4 and navigate to the Admin section.
Find the Channel Groups option under the Data Display settings.
Select the option to create a new channel group by clicking the blue button.

✅ Step 2: Add a New Channel for LLM Traffic

Inside your channel group, click on Add new channel
Name it something clear like AI Chatbots or LLMs
Set up the rule to catch AI referral traffic.

✅ Step 3: Add the Regex Condition

Click + Add condition group
Set the condition to Source
Choose matches regex and paste the following:

This regex string matches the known domains and identifiers for a wide range of AI chatbots and LLMs.

Note: You’ll want to keep this list updated over time as new models and tools enter the scene.

✅ Step 4: Reorder Channels

This step is crucial.
Click the Reorder button
Drag your new LLM channel above the Referral channel

GA4 processes channels from top to bottom. If you don’t reorder, all that traffic will fall into Referral and never hit your new custom bucket.

✅ Step 5: Save Everything

Click the Save group button at the top
Done! You’ve now got a dedicated channel for tracking traffic from AI-driven tools.

✅ Step 6: Check It’s Working

Go to your Traffic Acquisition report
Select your newly created custom channel group from the dropdown
Look for the LLM channel in the report

If it’s not showing up yet, there are two likely explanations:

You made a mistake in setup (double-check the regex and ordering)
You haven’t received traffic from LLMs yet

Setting Up a Custom Exploration to Track LLM Traffic

If you want more than just surface-level numbers from your AI traffic, it’s time to start GA4 Explorations. Think of this as your control panel for all things LLM-related: a place to slice and analyze exactly how AI-driven visitors are behaving on your site.

Start by opening the Explorations tab and selecting the blank free-form template. From there, you’ll create a custom segment that mirrors the setup from your LLM channel group.

Same logic, same regex; this ensures consistency across your reports.

Once your segment is in place, it’s time to plug in the data points that matter. Here’s what we recommend including to actually get value from the exploration:

A breakdown table showing sessions and key events by chatbot source and initial entry page

A time-series graph tracking week-over-week performance so you can spot trends (or red flags) early

These two views together give you a full picture: which AI tools are sending users your way, which pages are showing up in their results, and, most importantly, whether any of that is leading to conversions.

Check this report weekly. Seriously. It’s one of the fastest ways to understand whether your Generative Engine Optimization strategy is working.

Step 2: Track Branded Search and Direct Traffic

Here’s the not-so-fun truth: AI chatbots aren’t great at giving you credit. Tools like ChatGPT might mention your brand in a response, but often they won’t link to your site.

Even when they do, users might not click. Instead, they’ll do something that flies under your analytics radar, they’ll either:

Type your brand name into Google

Or go straight to your website by typing the URL

And just like that, your Generative Engine Optimization work gets lost in the attribution void.

GA4 has no way of knowing where the user first heard about you; it only logs the last step.

That disconnect creates one of the biggest measurement headaches in modern marketing: you can’t always track what’s actually driving awareness and interest.

So how do you measure GEO impact when your tools don’t show the full picture? You start by setting smart, practical benchmarks.

Branded Search Volume

If more people are typing your brand name into Google, something’s working. An increase in branded searches often means your name is popping up in AI responses (or elsewhere) and users are curious enough to look you up.

What to do:

Track your branded search terms using Google Search Console or a keyword tracking tool

Monitor for steady increases, but factor in other campaigns or PR pushes that could also influence search volume

Direct Traffic

When someone skips the middleman and goes straight to your site, there’s a good chance they already heard about you, possibly from an LLM. This makes direct traffic a strong (though not perfect) signal of GEO success.

What to do:

Monitor changes in direct traffic in GA4

Compare trends with the start date of your GEO campaigns

Be mindful of other efforts that could affect this metric (ads, email, brand partnerships, etc.)

Don’t Forget Business Metrics

Ultimately, the goal isn’t just clicks; it’s results. Keep an eye on bigger-picture metrics like:

Qualified leads

Revenue

Sales calls or demos

Any other north-star metrics your business cares about

If those are all trending alongside your branded search and direct traffic, then yes, your Generative Engine Optimization work is doing its job.

Step 3: Ask People Where They Found You

So far, we’ve talked about data you can track in GA4. But now let’s talk about something even more powerful: what your leads say directly.

If you’re not asking users how they found you, you’re overlooking some of the strongest evidence that your Generative Engine Optimization is making an impact.

Add a How Did You Find Us? Field

If you’ve got a lead gen form and it doesn’t include this question, that’s your first action item. But here’s the trick, don’t give them a dropdown list. Keep the field open-ended. Why?

Because when you list options, people pick the first one. Or the easiest one. And often, the real answer isn’t even on the list.

Let people type freely. You’ll be surprised how honest (and detailed) they get.

Include Your Sales Team

Forms aren’t the only place to collect this info. Your sales team should be asking every new lead the same question and logging the answer.

Here’s how to make it work:

Add a custom field in the CRM for How did they hear about us?

Make it mandatory, no skipping

Train your sales team to ask early in the convo and fill it in every single time

Step 4: Check If LLMs Are Talking About You

This step is all about visibility and accuracy. In other words: are Large Language Models even mentioning your brand? And if they are, what exactly are they saying?

While this isn’t the most data-driven part of your Generative Engine Optimization measurement plan, it’s still crucial.

Set a Regular Monitoring Schedule

The best way to stay on top of your presence in AI-driven tools is to build a simple monitoring habit. Focus on the platforms your audience actually uses; don’t waste time checking LLMs no one in your market cares about.

Here’s what we recommend:

Monthly check-ins to assess how LLMs describe your brand

Ask tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude to summarize your company’s online presence. Look for recurring themes, tone, accuracy, and any red flags.

If the summaries are off, that’s a cue to dig in, locate the source, and clean it up.

Weekly spot checks to see if your brand gets recommended

Ask whether your brand would be suggested for your product or service. If you’re consistently left off the list, it could mean your GEO efforts aren’t hitting the mark or that your competitors are doing it better.

Why This Matters

You may not be able to drop this into a spreadsheet or turn it into a neat bar chart, but it’s still a key insight. Monitoring LLM responses tells you:

Whether your content is surfacing in AI answers

If your brand is positioned accurately

What kind of reputation you’re building

Final Checks, Real Impact

Measuring the success of Generative Engine Optimization isn’t about obsessing over perfect attribution. It is actually about watching for signals that tell you something is working.

The truth is, AI-powered search is evolving fast, and the brands that adapt early will win big later. That means building systems now to track visibility, attribution, and influence, even if they live outside your typical analytics dashboards.

GEO isn’t just about showing up in chat responses; it’s about being remembered, clicked, and chosen.

Author

Gary

How to Measure Success in Generative Engine Optimization