Google Analytics Event Tracking

Q: Events are not showing up. Where should I look first?

Check Reports → Realtime right after a test chat - Measurement Protocol events appear there within seconds, while standard reports can take up to 24 hours. If nothing appears in Realtime, re-check the Measurement ID and API Secret in the widget settings.

2 min read Updated Aug 17, 2026 Integrations

Track Social Intents chat events in Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Measure chat engagement alongside your other website analytics.

Prerequisites

A Google Analytics 4 property
Your GA4 Measurement ID (starts with G-)
A GA4 Measurement Protocol API Secret

Getting Your API Secret

Go to your GA4 property in Google Analytics
Navigate to Admin > Data Streams
Click your web data stream
Scroll down and click Measurement Protocol API secrets
Click Create to generate a new secret

Setup

Open Widget Settings

Go to Chat Widgets > your widget > Settings tab under More settings.

Enter GA4 Credentials

Enter your GA4 Measurement ID (e.g., G-XXXXXXXXXX) and the API Secret.

Save

Click Save. Events will start appearing in your GA4 reports.

Events Tracked

Social Intents sends the following events to GA4 via the Measurement Protocol:

Event Name	Action Parameter	When
`live_chat`	`chat_requested`	Visitor initiates a chat
`live_chat`	`chat_answered`	Agent joins the chat
`live_chat`	`chat_missed`	Chat goes unanswered
`live_chat`	`chat_offline_message`	Visitor leaves an offline message

The chat_answered event also includes an agent parameter with the agent's name.

Viewing Events in GA4

Events appear under Reports → Engagement → Events in Google Analytics. Look for the live_chat event and drill into the action parameter to see breakdowns by type.

You can also create custom explorations, audiences, or conversions based on these events. For example, create a conversion event for chat_requested to track chat engagement as a conversion goal.

Note: Events are sent server-side from Social Intents, not from the visitor's browser. This means they fire reliably even if the visitor has ad blockers or analytics blockers enabled.

Registering the Action Parameter as a Custom Dimension

To break down live_chat events by action in standard GA4 reports, register the parameter once:

In GA4, go to Admin → Custom definitions → Create custom dimension
Dimension name: Chat Action, Scope: Event, Event parameter: action
Save. Data populates for events received after creation (allow up to 24 hours).

Tracking Chats as Key Events (Conversions)

Go to Admin → Events → Create event and create an event named chat_started with the conditions event_name equals live_chat and action equals chat_requested.
Once it starts receiving data, toggle Mark as key event for chat_started.

You can then use chat starts in conversion reporting, audiences, and Google Ads bidding like any other key event.

Frequently Asked Questions

Events are not showing up. Where should I look first?

Check Reports → Realtime right after a test chat - Measurement Protocol events appear there within seconds, while standard reports can take up to 24 hours. If nothing appears in Realtime, re-check the Measurement ID and API Secret in the widget settings.

Why do chat events show no page or session attribution?

Events are sent server-side, so they are not tied to the visitor's browsing session in GA4. Use the chat record in Analyze for page and referrer context; use GA4 for volume, trend, and conversion counting.