OpenAI drops UTM parameters from ChatGPT links, breaking source tracking
OnlineInference · x · 2026-10-16
Barry Schwartz (Search Engine Roundtable) reports OpenAI appears to have removed or replaced the UTM parameters on links in ChatGPT results, starting around the GPT-6 launch. Per Adobe's Cedric Huesler, GPT-6 opens links with window.open(url, "blank", "noopener,noreferrer"), stripping ?utmsource=chatgpt.com and the referrer, so analytics file the visit as direct. Comparing 500 pages where ChatGPT drove 5%+ of visits (Oct 9–13 vs. the prior week), ChatGPT-attributed traffic fell by 31k visits/day. OpenAI had added UTM tracking in June. For SEO/AEO practitioners, ChatGPT-sourced clicks are now much harder to distinguish from other channels.
Related event: ChatGPT strips UTM parameters from links, breaking traffic attribution(5 posts)→
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