Has Google Made It Impossible to Track Clicks in AI Mode?

Google’s AI Mode Is Rolling Out—But It’s Breaking Click Attribution

Google has started rolling out its new AI Mode to users in the U.S., and while testing it, I noticed something concerning: clicks from AI Mode are not being recorded in Google Search Console.

This issue was highlighted by Tom Critchlow in a LinkedIn post, which got me thinking—how are these AI Mode clicks being tracked in analytics platforms?

Here’s the short version:

• Clicks from AI Mode aren’t appearing in Google Search Console.
• They also don’t pass a referrer, so most analytics tools will classify them as either Direct or Unknown.

That’s a serious attribution gap. Without accurate tracking, marketers and site owners lose visibility into traffic driven by AI-generated results.

To verify, I ran a simple test multiple times:

1. Choose a URL on your site that gets zero or very low traffic.
2. Paste it into Google’s AI Mode.
3. AI Mode generates a summary with a clickable link to your URL.
4. Click it.

Result? No traffic is recorded in GSC or shown with a proper source in analytics.

This raises a big question: Is Google deliberately making these clicks untrackable? If so, what does that mean for SEO and digital marketing strategies?

After clicking the link in AI Mode, I checked the page using Ahrefs Web Analytics, which offers real-time tracking. You could replicate this using Google Analytics or any other platform you prefer.

What I found was telling:

The visit was classified as coming from an “Unknown” source in Ahrefs. This same visit would likely be categorized in Google Analytics as Direct traffic.

This further confirms the issue—Google’s AI Mode isn’t passing referrer data, making it impossible to identify these visits as originating from AI-powered search results.

That’s a major gap in attribution and could seriously impact how we evaluate the performance of content in the AI-driven search era.

So What’s Actually Going On Here?

When you inspect the link generated in AI Mode, you’ll notice that it’s marked with rel=”noreferrer” in the HTML. You can confirm this yourself using your browser’s developer tools.

This attribute is the key issue:

It strips the referrer information, which means analytics platforms can’t identify where the traffic is coming from. As a result, visits are labeled as “Unknown” or “Direct”, depending on your analytics system.

Over the past few days, I’ve been running tests on low-traffic pages to determine whether clicks from AI Mode are registered in Google Search Console. Unfortunately, they aren’t.

For example, yesterday I ran a query in AI Mode—“what are accelerated mobile pages from Ahrefs?”—and clicked the generated link to my page. Despite the clear interaction, no click was recorded in GSC.

This isn’t just an isolated issue—it’s a structural limitation that could have broad implications for SEO reporting and content performance tracking as AI-powered search becomes more prominent.

Looking at the code, I see the normal tracking info that indicates where and how a link is displayed and the ping which I believe sends it over to Google’s tracking systems.

Even though the link was tagged, the data doesn’t seem to be in Google Search Console. This could indicate that AI Mode tracking is coming soon, though, possibly as a separate classification.

Attribution matters—and right now, we simply don’t have it.

The absence of tracking for clicks from Google’s AI Mode raises real concerns. It’s hard not to wonder: Why is this traffic hidden from us? Is the performance of AI-generated results so opaque or experimental that Google prefers to keep it off the record?

At the very least, I hope Google will reconsider the use of the noreferrer tag on these links. Removing it would allow proper referrer data to flow into analytics systems, helping site owners understand where their traffic is truly coming from.

Until then, here’s the reality:

• Google Search Console will not show clicks from AI Mode.
• Your analytics tools will misclassify this traffic as Direct or Unknown.

If you rely on accurate attribution to measure performance or justify investment in content, this missing data is something to keep on your radar.

Want to Stay Ahead of AI-Driven Search Changes?

As AI continues to reshape how people discover content online, it’s more important than ever to stay ahead of the curve—and that starts with smart SEO strategies and reliable analytics.

At Engage Coders, we help businesses adapt to the evolving search landscape with advanced SEO services, analytics consulting, and performance tracking. Whether you’re navigating challenges like AI Mode attribution or looking to boost your organic visibility, our team is here to guide you.

Contact us today!