Are Startups Getting Signups From ChatGPT?

Short answer: Some are. Founders are posting about real signups, trials and sales that came from ChatGPT and Perplexity. But for most sites, AI is still a small slice of traffic. Published studies put it under 1% of visits. And a lot of it is hard to see in your analytics. The only way to know for your product is to measure it: track AI referrers, ask new users how they found you, and check if AI names you at all.

Want a quick first look? MadeTheAnswer's free check asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude 5 questions like the ones your buyers ask, one run each, and shows whether your product comes up. We work out your category and suggest likely competitors. It needs an email, no card. It's a one-run snapshot, not a verdict, since AI answers change from run to run.

The question founders are asking

On Oct 30, 2026, indie builder @CJ__McG posted this:

"Everyone says Google traffic is going to zero. We're still putting up local pages on Packmates, like dog walks around Woodhall Spa, because the AI answers have to get their info from somewhere. Anyone actually getting signups from ChatGPT or Perplexity yet?"

It's a fair question. Lots of people say AI search matters. Fewer show what it does for them.

What founders say they're seeing

These are public posts from founders, in their own words. They're single examples, not a study. Your results may be very different.

• Signups. @danielborodin_ wrote: "32% of signups to my SaaS are coming from ChatGPT (and they convert the most)." That's his own number for his own product.
• Trials. @zuess05 wrote: "most of our trials actually come from Google and ChatGPT."
• A first customer before launch. @erikmejias wrote: "This morning ChatGPT recommended to someone a product I'm building that's still in stealth." The visitor tried the demo within a minute.
• Paying users. @wilczyn wrote: "ChatGPT and Perplexity recommended my app and users who bought came from there." @Ryan_Heltemes wrote that ChatGPT "sent me 2 customers already without me paying for placement."
• Small numbers, high intent. @deeponailabs wrote: "tiny numbers so far, but they land way more ready to buy than my google traffic."
• Different pages win. @ElliotPadfield, a cofounder of Influship, wrote: "Many of our pages that barely rank drive more LLM traffic than our big SEO winners."
• Traffic share. @HeartbeaTechno wrote: "In 2026, 14.5% of my SaaS traffic comes from ChatGPT, Claude and Copilot."

Keep in mind who posts. Founders with a win are more likely to share it than founders who see nothing.

What the published data shows

Bigger studies tell a quieter story. AI sends real visits, but a small share:

• SE Ranking looked at 101,574 websites. In 2026 (its data runs through April), AI platforms sent 0.32% of all website traffic. ChatGPT sent about 75% of that AI traffic. (source)
• Ahrefs tracks 115,254 sites. In September 2026, AI assistants sent 0.43% of their traffic. (source)
• Usermaven studied 15.4 million sessions on 150 B2B SaaS sites, from October 2025 to September 2026. AI referrals were 0.88% of sessions, but 96% of the sites got at least some. ChatGPT sent 65% of it. (source)

The Usermaven study has one more finding that matters for signups. Of the conversions tied to an AI visit, 36.4% happened in a later visit, not the first one. And 83.7% of those later conversions showed up as direct or organic search traffic. So your analytics may give credit for an AI-driven signup to some other channel.

Bottom line: AI is a small channel for most sites today, and it's undercounted. A small number in your reports doesn't mean AI isn't helping. A big number from one founder doesn't mean you'll see the same.

How to measure signups from ChatGPT for your own product

You don't have to guess. These steps are free.

1. Look for AI referrers in GA4

In Google Analytics 4, go to Reports → Acquisition → Traffic acquisition and look at session source. Look for sources like:

• chatgpt.com
• perplexity.ai
• gemini.google.com
• claude.ai
• copilot.microsoft.com

Then check which pages those visitors land on. Those landing pages are clues to what AI is pointing people to.

2. Give AI its own channel

By default, many AI visits get mixed into "Referral". Google's own help page shows how to make an "AI assistants" channel in a custom channel group, using a "matches regex" rule, and how to move it above "Referral" so it gets counted first. (Google Analytics Help)

A simple rule to start with:

chatgpt\.com|perplexity\.ai|gemini\.google\.com|claude\.ai|copilot\.microsoft\.com

Update the list when new assistants show up. Then mark signups as a key event so you can see signups per channel.

3. Ask "How did you hear about us?"

Analytics misses a lot. Some AI visits arrive with no referrer and show up as "Direct". Some people read an AI answer, then come back later by typing your name. So add one question to your signup form:

"How did you hear about us?"

Make it a dropdown, with ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Google search, a friend, social media and "Other". Add a short text box too. People's own answers often catch what analytics can't.

4. Check whether AI names you at all

Referrals only count the clicks. Many people read an AI answer and never click. So also check the answers themselves:

1. Write 5–10 questions a buyer would ask, like "What's the best tool for [your job]?"
2. Ask each one in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude. Use a logged-out, private window.
3. Ask each question a few times. Answers change from run to run.
4. Write down if you were named, who was named instead, and which pages were cited.

If you're named but get no signups, look at your landing page and offer. If you're never named, start with the pages AI cites for your questions.

5. Track it over time

Use the same questions and the same steps each time. Compare month to month. One week's numbers can swing a lot, so look for a trend.

FAQ

Are startups really getting signups from ChatGPT? Some founders say yes, and have shared signups, trials and sales in public. But published studies show AI sends under 1% of website traffic for most sites. Results vary a lot by product and category.

Why don't I see ChatGPT in my analytics? It may be small, mixed into "Referral", or hidden in "Direct". Some people also come back later by typing your name. Set up an AI assistants channel and ask new users how they found you.

Is ChatGPT traffic better than Google traffic? Some founders say AI visitors are more ready to buy. That's their experience, not a rule. Compare signup rates by channel in your own data before you decide.

Can anyone guarantee ChatGPT will recommend my product? No. AI answers change from run to run, and no one controls them. Be careful with anyone who promises a spot. What you can do is measure where you stand and improve the pages AI reads.

How long until I see signups from AI? There's no set time. Track your AI referrals, "how did you hear about us" answers and AI mentions every month, so you can tell when something changes.

Related guides

• ChatGPT Recommended Me, but Google Shows Direct — Why AI-influenced visits often show up as Direct or branded search.
• Why Did My ChatGPT Traffic Drop? — How to log citations and catch a swing early.
• How to Track AI Visibility: A Plain-English Guide — How to measure mentions, not just the clicks that follow.
• Is My Brand in ChatGPT? How to Check, and What to Do if You're Missing — A first check on whether ChatGPT names you at all.

Check where you stand

You can do all of this by hand, for free. If you'd like a quick first look, MadeTheAnswer's free check asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude 5 buyer-style questions, one run each, and shows whether AI names you, which competitors get mentioned, and which sites it cites. We work out your category and suggest likely competitors. It needs an email, no card. Each assistant's score links to the actual AI answers, so you can read them yourself. Treat it as a starting point. Paid weekly reports, which ask each question 3 times to show the trend, start at $29/month. See plans and prices.

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Sources: posts on X by @CJ__McG, @danielborodin_, @zuess05, @erikmejias, @wilczyn, @Ryan_Heltemes, @deeponailabs, @ElliotPadfield and @HeartbeaTechno; SE Ranking, AI traffic research study; Ahrefs, AI vs Search traffic analysis; Usermaven, AI referrals in B2B SaaS; Google Analytics Help, "Custom channel groups".