Google Analytics Alternative with AI Traffic Detection (2026)

Google Analytics is powerful, but it has two major problems in 2026:

1. Privacy concerns: GDPR headaches, cookie banners, data retention questions
2. AI blindspot: GA4 can't properly track traffic from ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity

If you're looking for an alternative, you're not alone. Let's compare the options.

Why GA4 Misses AI Traffic

Before comparing alternatives, understand why this matters:

The Referrer Problem

When ChatGPT sends a visitor to your site, GA4 might show:

• chatgpt.com (web clicks only, ~20% of traffic)
• (direct) (mobile app, Operator, most traffic)
• (not set) (API integrations)

Result: GA4 captures only 20-30% of actual AI traffic.

Why It Matters

• AI traffic converts at 27% vs 2.1% for search
• It's the fastest-growing traffic source (300%+ YoY)
• You're optimizing blind if you can't see it

The Analytics Landscape in 2026

Here's how the major players stack up:

Privacy-Focused Analytics

Tool	Privacy	AI Detection	Open Source	Price
Loamly	GDPR, no cookies	Full	MIT	Free + $89/mo
Plausible	GDPR, no cookies	No	AGPL	€9+/mo
Fathom	GDPR, no cookies	No	No	$14+/mo
Simple Analytics	GDPR, no cookies	No	No	$19+/mo
Pirsch	GDPR, no cookies	No	No	$6+/mo

Enterprise Analytics

Tool	Privacy	AI Detection	Open Source	Price
Google Analytics 4	Requires consent	Partial	No	Free
Adobe Analytics	Requires consent	Limited	No	$$$$$
Mixpanel	Requires consent	No	No	$25+/mo
Amplitude	Requires consent	No	No	$49+/mo

Why AI Detection is the New Must-Have

Two years ago, AI traffic wasn't significant enough to track. Now:

Traffic Share Growth

Year	AI Traffic % (Avg)
2024	1-3%
2025	5-10%
2026	8-20%

Conversion Advantage

AI traffic isn't just growing—it's your highest-converting traffic:

Source	Conversion Rate
AI (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity)	27%
Email	4.2%
Organic Search	2.1%
Paid Search	1.8%
Social	0.7%

If you're not tracking AI traffic, you're missing your best visitors.

Loamly vs Plausible: Detailed Comparison

Both are privacy-focused and open source. Here's where they differ:

Similarities

• GDPR compliant
• No cookies required
• Clean, simple dashboards
• Open source
• Lightweight script (under 1KB)

Key Differences

Feature	Loamly	Plausible
AI traffic detection	Full (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini)	None
Cryptographic verification	RFC 9421 for Operator	N/A
GEO score	AI visibility scoring	N/A
AI brand monitoring	What AI says about you	N/A
Revenue attribution	With Stripe integration	Manual
Goal tracking	Automatic + custom	Custom only
Self-hosting	Docker	Docker
EU hosting	Frankfurt	EU

When to Choose Plausible

• You only need basic page view analytics
• AI traffic isn't relevant to your business
• You want the simplest possible setup

When to Choose Loamly

• You care about AI traffic (it's 8-20% of traffic for most sites)
• You want to know what AI says about your brand
• You need GEO optimization insights
• You want revenue attribution with AI source breakdown

Loamly vs Fathom: Detailed Comparison

Fathom is another popular privacy-first analytics tool.

Similarities

• GDPR compliant
• No cookies required
• Clean interface
• US/EU hosting options

Key Differences

Feature	Loamly	Fathom
AI traffic detection	Full	None
Open source	MIT license	Proprietary
Self-hosting	Free forever	N/A
AI visibility monitoring	Included	N/A
Pricing	Free tier + $89/mo	$14+/mo (no free)
Event tracking	Automatic + custom	Custom only

When to Choose Fathom

• You're already on Fathom and don't need AI features
• You prefer a fully managed service
• You don't want to think about self-hosting

When to Choose Loamly

• You want AI traffic detection
• You want a free tier or self-hosting option
• You need AI brand monitoring

Loamly vs Google Analytics 4

The heavyweight comparison.

GA4 Advantages

• Free for most use cases
• Deep Google Ads integration
• Massive ecosystem
• Advanced segmentation

Loamly Advantages

Feature	Loamly	GA4
Privacy	No cookies, no consent needed	Requires consent banner
AI traffic	100% detection	~20% detection
Setup time	2 minutes	30+ minutes
Learning curve	Minimal	Steep
Page load impact	Under 1KB script	45KB+ script
Data ownership	You own it	Google owns it
GDPR compliance	Built-in	Configuration required

The Best of Both Worlds

Many teams use both:

• GA4 for marketing attribution, Google Ads, and deep analysis
• Loamly for AI traffic, privacy compliance, and GEO insights

They're complementary, not competitive.

How Loamly Detects AI Traffic

What makes Loamly's AI detection accurate:

1. Cryptographic Verification

For ChatGPT Operator, we verify RFC 9421 cryptographic signatures:

// Operator sends signed requests
const signature = request.headers.get('Signature');
const isValid = await verify(signature, OPENAI_PUBLIC_KEY);
// 100% accurate Operator detection

2. Referrer Analysis

For web-based AI traffic:

• Pattern matching for chatgpt.com, claude.ai, perplexity.ai
• Subdomain and variation handling
• Mobile app referrer reconstruction

3. Behavioral Analysis

When referrer data is missing:

• User agent analysis
• Session behavior patterns
• Navigation timing
• Request fingerprinting

4. Edge Network Detection

Our managed proxy provides additional detection:

• IP-based analysis
• Request header inspection
• TLS fingerprinting

Migration Guide: GA4 to Loamly

Switching is simple—and you can run both during transition.

Step 1: Install Loamly (2 minutes)

Add to your site:

<script src="https://app.loamly.ai/t.js?d=yourdomain.com"></script>

Step 2: Run Parallel (2-4 weeks)

Keep GA4 running while Loamly collects data. Compare metrics.

Step 3: Evaluate

After a few weeks, you'll see:

• How much AI traffic GA4 was missing
• Comparative accuracy for other sources
• Which dashboard you prefer

Step 4: Decide

Many users keep both. Some switch fully to Loamly. Choose based on your needs.

FAQ

Can I migrate my GA4 data to Loamly?

We don't import historical data. Loamly starts fresh from installation. You can keep GA4 running for historical comparison.

Is Loamly really GDPR compliant?

Yes. We don't use cookies, don't store IP addresses, and don't fingerprint. No consent banner required for basic analytics.

Does Loamly slow down my site?

No. Our script is under 1KB and loads asynchronously. GA4's script is 45KB+. You'll likely see a performance improvement.

Can I self-host Loamly?

Yes! We're open source under MIT license. Deploy with Docker and own your data completely.

How accurate is the AI detection?

For cryptographically verified traffic (Operator): 100% For referrer-based detection: 95%+ Overall AI traffic accuracy: 90%+ (vs 20-30% for GA4)

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