Where AI orders hide in attribution reports
Assistant-driven orders do not vanish. They get filed under something else entirely. Five places they surface, and the signature that gives each one away.
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By Joris van Huët, Founder & CEOUpdated 2 min read
The orders are in the report. They are filed under a channel that did not cause them, and each hiding place has a signature.
One: direct, landing deep
The largest bucket. A session with no referrer and a product page landing did not start at your homepage. Homepage direct is typed URLs and returning buyers; deep direct is somebody who was sent.
Signature: interior landing pages growing faster than homepage direct.
Two: branded search
An assistant names your brand, the visitor searches it, clicks the brand ad, buys. Last-click attribution gives the sale to branded search, which did no persuading.
Signature: branded search volume rising with no change in brand spend or above-the-line activity.
Three: organic, on an answer page
The assistant cites a page, the visitor reads it, then comes back later through search. The organic session gets the credit for a decision made elsewhere.
Signature: answer or comparison pages with high assisted conversion and low last-click credit.
Four: email
The visitor discovers you through an assistant, subscribes, and buys from a later send. Email takes the order in full.
Signature: subscriber cohorts whose first touch is unknown growing faster than campaign-attributed signups.
Five: nowhere, because the session expired
Discovery and purchase separated by more than the attribution window. Nothing links them, and the order is genuinely unattributable rather than misattributed.
Why the pattern matters more than the total
| Hiding place | Wrong conclusion it produces |
|---|---|
| Deep direct | Direct is growing, nothing to do |
| Branded search | Brand ads are efficient, scale them |
| Organic answer pages | Content works, but the wrong pages get credit |
| Email is the best channel, over-invest | |
| Expired window | Demand appeared from nowhere |
Each wrong conclusion moves money in a specific direction, which is why finding the pattern is more useful than estimating the total.
Related answers
Frequently asked questions
Where do AI assistant orders show up in analytics?
Usually filed under something else: deep direct, branded search, organic on an answer page, or email. A small share is genuinely unattributable because discovery and purchase fell outside the attribution window.How can I tell branded search is taking credit for AI discovery?
Branded search volume rising with no change in brand spend or above-the-line activity is the signature. Last click gives the sale to the brand term, which did no persuading.Why look for the pattern rather than the total?
Because each hiding place produces a different wrong conclusion and moves money in a specific direction. Knowing which channel is over-credited is more actionable than an estimate of the channel size.
Go deeper: Incrementality testing, explained.
Sixty-second versions of these ideas: Causality Engine on YouTube Shorts.
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Terms in this article
- AttributionAttribution identifies user actions that contribute to a desired outcome and assigns value to each. It reveals which marketing touchpoints drive conversions.
- Attribution WindowAttribution Window is the defined period after a user interacts with a marketing touchpoint, during which a conversion can be credited to that ad. It sets the timeframe for assigning conversion credit.
- ClickClick is the action a user takes to interact with a digital advertisement, redirecting them to a website or landing page. Clicks are a fundamental metric for measuring ad engagement and a primary input for click-based attribution models.
- ConversionConversion is a specific, desired action a user takes in response to a marketing message, such as a purchase or a sign-up.
- Landing PageLanding Page: A single web page that appears after clicking a search result, marketing promotion, email, or online advertisement.
- Product PageProduct Page is a webpage dedicated to a single product. It includes images, descriptions, pricing, and purchase options.
- SessionA Session is a group of user interactions with your website within a given timeframe. It can include multiple page views, events, and transactions.