GOOGLE AI MODE TRAFFIC IS UNTRACKABLE

Summary from the TLDR Marketing newsletter

Google's AI Mode in Search hides referral data, making traffic from it invisible in Google Search Console and analytics tools, where it's instead classified as Direct or Unknown. This lack of transparency prevents website owners from knowing how much traffic AI Mode is driving, despite claims that it delivers higher-quality visits. The links generated include a “noreferrer” attribute, which strips referrer information and blocks attribution. While Google states AI features are included in overall search traffic, current documentation only references AI Overviews, not AI Mode, leaving significant gaps in reporting and visibility.