In short. Create pageview or custom event goals, add them to a Plausible funnel, then apply AI assistant source filters to analyze completion.
Definition: As of October 2026, an AI referral funnel in Plausible measures completion of a sequence of website goals among visits attributed to AI assistants. Goals represent tracked page visits or actions; filters select the referral audience.
Key facts
- Plausible's funnel documentation places funnels on the Business plan and permits 2 to 8 steps.
- Its traffic sources documentation defines AI Assistants as sources recognized as assistant tools, including ChatGPT and Perplexity.
- The filter guide describes a segment as one or more filters that can be saved.
How are the goals prepared?
A pageview goal measures visits to a particular page or section. Plausible's pageview goals documentation describes setup under site settings, Goals, then + Add goal. The Pageview trigger uses a pathname matching the dashboard's recorded path. An asterisk matches patterns in paths, including dynamically created checkout pages. The documentation gives this example:
/checkout/order-received/*
Custom events measure actions such as button clicks and subscription signups. The custom event guide supports adding this CSS class to a tracked element:
plausible-event-name=Button+Click
A corresponding goal uses the Custom event trigger and the name Button Click, with a space replacing the plus sign. Sending an event also requires creating its matching goal in site settings before conversions appear in the dashboard.
How is the AI referral audience selected?
Plausible's sources documentation describes clicking AI Assistants in the Channels tab to see its individual sources. Clicking a source selects traffic from that source; the Filter button also supports selecting multiple sources simultaneously.
The filter documentation describes selecting the Source dimension, searching its value list and selecting the required sources. The resulting filter pills show each dimension, operator and selected values. Changes apply immediately. Additional filters can narrow the audience by device or country.
The same guide provides Save as segment beside the filter pills. A personal segment is visible to its creator; a site segment is visible to team members with dashboard access.
How is the funnel created and interpreted?
Plausible's funnel analysis guide describes site settings, Funnels, then Add funnel. The setup names the funnel, selects goal steps and a Funnel type, then saves it.
Sequential, the default, requires every step in order while allowing intervening activity. Flexible requires the first and last steps and permits skipped middle steps. Strict requires consecutive steps without intervening actions.
The funnel appears at the bottom of the dashboard after a visit reaches its steps. Referral-source filters restrict its audience. Its conversion rate measures completion from the start to the conversion event. Flexible funnels can show more visitors at the last step than at a middle step because visitors can skip intermediate steps. Date comparison compares step completion and overall conversion rate against a previous or custom period.
Related terms
- Where does Plausible show AI assistant traffic?
- How do I filter Plausible conversions by AI assistant source?
- How does Plausible count visitors who complete a funnel?
- AI referral traffic
FAQ
Why does my new funnel show no data?
Plausible's funnel guide says counting starts after creation. Trigger your configured steps after saving the funnel.
Why does my custom event goal stay empty?
The custom event troubleshooting guide requires the goal name to match the event name exactly, including capitalization. For the CSS class example above, use Button Click as your goal name.
Can I compare every AI referral with this filter?
Plausible's sources guide explains that visits without a browser referrer can appear under Direct / None, leaving their originating source unidentified.
Sources
- Plausible, "Funnel analysis", 24 September 2026
- Plausible, "Traffic sources, referrers and UTM campaigns", 15 October 2026
- Plausible, "Filter and segment your audience", 16 October 2026
- Plausible, "Pageview goals", 10 June 2026
- Plausible, "Custom event tracking", 10 June 2026
Check how a page reads to answer engines. Open the GEO score analyzer