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Direct answer

Use Measure > Referrer Analytics to identify sessions whose recorded referrer is classified as an AI platform. Compare those observations with visibility metrics on aligned periods, but do not claim that a mention or citation caused the visit unless you have a separate attribution design.

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Data required

Use connected analytics or referrer data, AI-platform classification, landing page, session date, relevant conversions if available, and a comparable Qwairy prompt, provider, topic, and period cohort. Preserve the traffic source’s own attribution rules.

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Workflow

1

Validate the traffic source

Confirm the analytics connection, property, timezone, consent configuration, and the referrer classification used by Referrer Analytics.
2

Review observed AI referrals

Compare sessions by platform, landing page, and period. Keep direct, unknown, or missing referrers outside the AI-referral total unless your source explicitly classifies them.
3

Align visibility context

Review mentions and citations for a comparable period and provider set. Do not merge answer counts with session counts.
4

Inspect outcomes separately

Where connected data supports it, compare engagement or conversion measures for AI-referred sessions using the analytics system’s definitions.

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Interpretation

An AI referral session is traffic with a recognized referrer under the connected analytics rules. It is not equivalent to a SELF mention or citation in a stored answer. Similar movement across the two datasets is correlation and may justify further investigation.

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Possible next actions

  • If AI referrals rise on a specific page, test which external referrer and landing-page experience are associated with the change.
  • If citations are observed without recognized traffic, verify whether the cited URL is clickable and whether referrer data is available.
  • If traffic is material but conversions are unknown, test a privacy-compliant attribution setup before estimating business value.

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Limitations

Referrer data can be absent, stripped, grouped, or affected by consent and analytics configuration. Qwairy cannot observe every user journey or prove which answer generated a visit. The REST performance endpoint is not a traffic endpoint and uses its own contract.

Referrer Analytics

Review observed AI referral traffic in the product.

Performance Overview

Build a report with documented dimensions.

Performance API

Read the separate REST performance contract.

Traffic by platform

Break down recognized AI referrers.

Traffic by page

Compare AI-referred landing pages.

KPIs for GEO

Keep visibility and traffic metrics distinct.

ROI comparison

Add explicit value and cost assumptions.