GA4 Custom Channel Group Guide for AI Traffic

Get the exact steps, with your regex filled in, to see AI-assistant traffic as its own channel in GA4.

How to use

What it checks and how it works

The steps follow Google's Custom channel groups help page, opened 29 Oct 2026: Admin, then Data display, then Channel groups, then Create new channel group, add a channel with a regex condition, reorder, and save. GA4 puts traffic into the channel highest in the list whose definition it matches, so the AI channel must sit above Referral, and above Organic Search if you want it taken from there. Custom channel groups apply to past data as well as new data. A standard property can have 2 custom channel groups and a Google Analytics 360 property 5, each with up to 50 channels, plus the default group. The default channel group already has an AI Assistant channel, which you cannot edit; it uses Google's own list of assistants. A custom group gives you control of that list. The host list in the regex is Zaher's, so add the source values you really see. GA4's screens change, so if a button has moved, search the Analytics Help Center for custom channel groups.

Do I need to be an administrator?

You need the Editor role or higher on the property to create and edit channel groups, according to Google's help page.

Will it change my old reports?

A custom channel group can be applied to reports retroactively, so you can look back at past traffic with it. Reports, audiences and exploration pieces that use a group are affected if you later edit or delete it.

Why not use the default AI Assistant channel?

You can, and it needs no setup. The custom group is for when you want to control exactly which sources count, see them next to your own channels, or keep a stable definition that does not change when Google updates its list.

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