# ChatGPT's dropped UTM tags were a bug, Adobe exec says

Published: 2026-10-21T03:51:20.514Z · Source: Search Engine Journal (https://www.searchenginejournal.com/chatgpt-traffic-drop-appears-to-be-a-tracking-problem/593157/)
Source date: 2026-10-15
Flags: catch-up (Thu 15)
Entities: chatgpt, openai

Adobe senior director Cedric Huesler says OpenAI told him on October 14 that ChatGPT's missing utmsource=chatgpt.com tag — which started disappearing around October 8 as GPT-6 rolled out — was a bug, not the deliberate product change Profound's tracking had pointed to. OpenAI has not commented publicly; per Huesler's account, carried by Search Engine Journal and Search Engine Land, a fix began rolling out around 2 a.m. PT on October 15, and tagged ChatGPT clicks had recovered to roughly 95-100% of the prior week's levels by 9 a.m. PT that day.

Why it matters: Resolves, via a secondhand account rather than any OpenAI statement, the question our Oct. 16 item left open — bug or deliberate rollout — and underscores how little AI platforms disclose about changes that scramble referral-traffic measurement.

## What this answers

**Was ChatGPT's dropped UTM tracking a bug or an intentional change?**

A bug, according to Adobe's Cedric Huesler, who says OpenAI confirmed that to him on October 14; OpenAI has not made a public statement, and a fix was already rolling out by October 15.


Canonical: https://anythingengineoptimization.com/item/2026-10-21-chatgpt-s-dropped-utm-tags-were-a-bug-adobe-exec-says/
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