What’s new and what’s next in GA4

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) made a lot of headlines when it replaced Universal Analytics two years ago. Marketers, upset about losing a familiar tool, moaned loudly about GA4’s “problems.” Since then, however, the criticism has died down. Users now understand Google’s move to an events-based system and, more importantly, how to get the most out of it.

That isn’t to say the grumbles have stopped altogether. That’s a good thing, said Steve Ganem, director of product management at Google Analytics. “Customer feedback is crucial to how we develop and evolve GA.” 

Ganem walked us through GA4’s most recent developments and some changes users can expect to see soon.

Expanding GA4 beyond web analytics

The most significant change is expanding GA4 from only measuring web and app performance into a tool that can measure the entire business.

“We’re evolving to help marketers measure the entire customer journey and enable measurement across your entire business performance,” he said. “This means providing insights across all full-funnel touchpoints, helping you build your first-party data strategy, and integrating data from any source through Data Manager for Google Analytics.”

That means moving beyond last-click attribution with new ways to connect GA4 to non-Google platforms like TikTok, Snap and Pinterest. Ganem said this came about in direct response to customer feedback about understanding the full impact of their media investments. 

“This means you’ll be able to see conversions that happen after someone sees your ad — even if they don’t click it — on Google and other platforms,” he said. “This helps you better understand how effective your ads are and if you’re getting a good return on your investment.”

Dig deeper: 3 ways GA4 is way better than UA

To bridge the gap between last click and AI-powered attribution, GA4 updated path reporting and assisted conversion reports. They will now categorize touchpoints into assists and last touch to better see how different media contribute to conversions earlier in the journey.

AI-powered features for GA4

It won’t be a surprise that Ganem and his team are embedding AI into the platform.

“We’re developing features like projections, which use smarter forecasting so users can see projected KPI performance by channel, enabling real-time optimization decisions and quick adjustments for in-flight budgets,” he said. “We’re also introducing scenario planning to help you create media plans that drive the highest return across your advertising channels based on your defined spend.”

He said adding an AI chat agent is a direct response to feedback for quicker, more straightforward navigation and data understanding. 

GA4 features to help with data quality

Because AI is only as good as the data it operates on, GA4 now has features to aid with data quality, with more on the way. These include: 

• Aggregate identifiers improve reporting accuracy to minimize over-attributing specific channels for refined attribution.
• Diagnostic tools to help quickly pinpoint and fix implementation errors. These offer specific diagnostics for common issues like “(data not available),” “(not set),” and “missing session_start event,” providing clear guidance and links to resolution resources.
• System-generated annotations in reporting inform all users on a property about product updates that may impact data, enhancing transparency and communication around any data changes.

“We aim to offer a complete customer view by bringing together web, app and offline interactions, along with first-party and other business data,” Ganem said. “The audience builder in Google Analytics already easily connects with Google’s tools, and we’re working to make it even simpler for marketers to activate their audiences across various channels.”

Looking ahead, expect more flexible and customizable dashboards, designed to increase the control and access within a Google Analytics property. “This shifts beyond static reports, allowing you to truly visualize your data,” he said.