What are AI Assistants in Matomo
AI tools are becoming the new gateway to the web and transforming how people discover and access information online. Instead of typing queries into search engines and browsing search results, users starting to rely more on conversational systems like ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini to surface answers, summaries, and get direct website links.
With AI Assistants, recommendations now happen inside conversations or generated answers. This means visitors reach your site in new ways, such as clicking on a link suggested in a ChatGPT response or embedded in a Copilot summary. So, conventional measures of visibility such as impressions or referral URLs might not capture the full picture.
By introducing the AI Assistants channel, Matomo can identify new patterns of discovery through visits that originate from AI-powered tools and group them into a dedicated channel type. This new can help assess the growing influence of AI on content discovery and site engagement.
Understanding AI terminology
AI assistants, chatbots, and agents describe several kinds of AI-powered tools and this section explains how Matomo uses the AI terminology in reports.
AI Assistants
AI Assistants represent the broad category of systems powered by artificial intelligence that help users discover, generate, or recommend content. These tools usually respond to defined prompts and can take various forms, from conversational chat interfaces to autonomous background systems.
In Matomo, traffic attributed to AI Assistants includes all visits generated through interactions with AI tools including chatbots (chat-based assistants) and agents (autonomous assistants).
AI Chatbots
AI Chatbots are one form of AI Assistant. They require user prompts to initiate each action and engage directly with users through conversation, interpreting questions and generating responses. Chatbots are most visible in tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, or website-embedded support and sales bots, where users can ask questions or request recommendations.
When a user clicks a link suggested by one of these systems, Matomo classifies that visit under the AI Assistant channel.
AI Agents
AI Agents are automated systems that perform actions. After an initial instruction, an agent can perform tasks, make decisions, or pursue objectives without further user input. Agents can collect data, run processes, or integrate with multiple systems to complete complex workflows. They share the same foundation as AI Assistants but differ in scope.
Traffic originating from these systems is also categorised within the AI Assistant channel in Matomo.
Why Matomo uses AI Assistants
To keep reporting consistent and comprehensive, Matomo uses AI Assistants as the unified label for both chatbot- and agent-based traffic sources. This provides a clearer view of how AI tools contribute to website engagement, conversions, and overall acquisition performance.
You can access all related reports under Matomo > Acquisition > AI Assistant.
By consolidating this data, Matomo allows you to track the complete user journey from an AI-driven conversation to on-site actions such as page views or purchases. You can then compare how traffic from AI Assistants performs against other acquisition channels, identify which assistants generate higher-quality leads, and measure their overall influence on marketing and conversion goals.