The order that didn't come from the ads
Published July 7, 2026 · Gymshoppen is part of our own site network, so all data below is our own, verified in both Savri and the partner network
On July 7, 2026, Gymshoppen's first Google Ads campaigns went live. That same afternoon an affiliate order arrived, and without session data the ads would have taken the credit. The channel report in Savri showed something else: the order started with a ChatGPT answer.
The problem
The day was special: Google Ads was running for the first time on Gymshoppen, the site in our own network that gathers gym wear and supplements from leading brands. When the day's first order showed up in the Adtraction partner network, the explanation seemed obvious.
Without more data, attribution would have been a guess:
- The ads had been running all day and were the new, obvious candidate
- The visitor also googled mid-journey, so regular SEO looked credible too
- The wrong answer would have steered the next budget decision the wrong way
What the session journey showed
The channel report classified the visit as AI Search thanks to utm_source=chatgpt.com, and the session journey could be followed step by step:
- 15:15
A visitor in Gothenburg, on an iPhone, asks ChatGPT about protein powder and lands directly on a product page, with no referrer but with utm_source=chatgpt.com
- ·
On to the comparison page for best protein powders and a campaign page
- ·
Off to Google to double-check, back via an organic search result
- ·
Searches the site, compares another size and returns to the product
- 15:29
Outbound click to the store, matching the Adtraction click to the second
- 15:52
Order at the partner: SEK 676.79, of which SEK 67.68 in commission
Not a single ad click appeared in the session. The Google search mid-journey was a double-check, not the starting point, and that is exactly the distinction that decides which channel gets the credit.
Results
With the journey in black and white, we could:
- Credit the right channel - The order was attributed to AI Search, not to the ads or SEO
- Judge the ads on real data - The campaigns' true return was spared a wrongly attributed order
- Put a concrete value on AI traffic - A single ChatGPT answer led to a verified order 37 minutes later
"We were close to giving the ads credit for this order. The session journey showed it was ChatGPT from the very first click."
Operations lead for Gymshoppen, part of our own site network
See your own AI traffic
The AI Search channel is available on every account, and in the demo you can explore what AI traffic looks like on real data.