Regex in GSC Reveals ChatGPT Searches

11/03/25
Source: SEO – Practical Ecommerce by Ann Smarty. Read the original article

TL;DR Summary of How to Identify ChatGPT and AI Agentic Queries in Google Search Console

ChatGPT and AI agents generate longer, detailed search queries often related to pricing and reviews. Using regular expressions (regex) in Google Search Console helps detect these distinctive query patterns. Integrating Google Analytics 4 allows marketers to identify pages with high traffic from ChatGPT sources. Leveraging regex filters for brand, transactional, and informational queries can optimize SEO visibility for AI-driven search behaviors.

Optimixed’s Overview: Detecting AI-Driven Search Behavior with Google Search Console and Analytics

Understanding Agentic Queries from AI Models

Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT perform searches that differ from typical human queries. These agentic queries tend to be longer, more detailed, and often focus on product pricing, user feedback, and reviews. This behavioral pattern can be uncovered and analyzed within Google Search Console (GSC) using custom regular expression (regex) filters.

Using Regex to Filter AI Queries in Google Search Console

  • Longer Queries: ChatGPT queries average around five words longer than human searches. Regex such as ([^” “]*\s){10,}? can filter queries exceeding 10 words, adjustable for different lengths.
  • Brand and Transactional Searches: Regex targeting keywords like review, price, discount, warranty identifies queries related to product evaluation and purchase intent.
  • Informational Queries: To spot instructional or how-to prompts, use regex capturing terms like guide, tutorial, how to, tips.
  • Listicle Mentions: AI often references “best of” articles; regex for words such as best, top, trusted can track these mentions.

Enhancing Insights with Google Analytics 4

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) can filter traffic sources containing “ChatGPT” to identify pages generating significant AI-driven visits. Combining these insights with GSC query filters allows for a comprehensive view of how AI tools impact site traffic and search visibility.

Recommended Tools for Regex Management

  • GSC Helper: A Chrome extension that streamlines saving, managing, and exporting regex queries directly within Search Console.
  • Better Regex in Search Console: Offers pre-built regex patterns and customization options to refine search query analysis.

By leveraging these methods and tools, SEO professionals can better understand and optimize for emerging AI-driven search behaviors, positioning their content effectively in an evolving digital landscape.