You do not need Google Tag Manager (GTM) to have Google Analytics 4 (GA4) on your site. GTM is only one of three ways to install the Google tag. The other two are a plugin for your content management system (CMS) and the tag pasted into the code of the pages. Any of them lets GA4 read the UTM of your push, because it is the tag that reads the UTM, in the landing address.
In short
- First check whether your site already has GA4. If it does, do not install it again.
- There are three paths, a plugin such as Site Kit or MonsterInsights, the Google tag pasted into the code, or GTM.
- GTM is not required.
- Data collection can take up to 30 minutes to start. Check it in the "Realtime" report.
- The AI Web Push plugin does not install GA4 or GTM.
1. Check whether your site already has GA4
- In GA4, open "Admin", then "Data collection and modification" (or "Property settings", depending on your screen) and "Data streams". See whether there is a web stream with your site's address. That is where your site's tag lives.
- Open your site in another tab and go back to GA4. In the "Reports" menu, open the "Realtime" report and see whether your visit shows up.
If the visit shows up, your site already has GA4. Do not install it again and go straight to section 7. If it does not show up, ask whoever built the site how GA4 was installed. If your site runs on WordPress, also look at the list of installed plugins. Google mentions Site Kit and MonsterInsights among the WordPress plugins that install the tag.
2. Do you need GTM? No
GTM is one of the three paths. Choose by what already exists on your site and by who works on it.
| Path | When it makes sense | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| CMS plugin | You use WordPress and prefer not to touch code | You install a plugin such as Site Kit or MonsterInsights and follow its setup |
| Tag in the code | You can edit the code of the pages | You paste the Google tag right after <head> on every page |
| Google Tag Manager | You already use GTM, or you want to manage several tags and events in one place | You create a Google tag in the site's container and publish it |
GTM adds variables, triggers, custom events and consent control per tag. None of this is needed for GA4 to read the push UTM.
3. Before any path
You need a GA4 account and property, and a web data stream for your site. If you do not have them yet, create them with Google's own guide, Set up Google Analytics. When you create the property, Google asks for the reporting time zone and currency. Choose with care, because a property shows all values in a single currency.
4. Install the tag by the path you chose
Path A, WordPress plugin
If your site runs on WordPress, choose one of these two plugins that Google lists. The steps below come from Google's pages, and the plugin screen may change.
Site Kit
- In WordPress, open "Plugins" and "Add New". Search for "Site Kit", click "Install Now" and then "Activate".
- Open "Site Kit", check the option to connect Google Analytics as part of the setup and click "Sign in with Google". Choose the Google Account that has your GA4 property.
- Click "Proceed" and then "Allow". Next, click "Add site" and "Set up Google Analytics", choose your GA4 property and click "Complete Setup".
MonsterInsights
- In WordPress, open "Plugins" and "Add New". Search for "MonsterInsights", click "Install Now" and then "Activate".
- Click "Launch the Wizard" and complete the setup wizard.
If your CMS is not WordPress and has a field for Google Analytics, paste the Google tag ID into it, the one that starts with G.
Path B, tag in the code
- In GA4, open "Admin", then "Data collection and modification" (or "Property settings", depending on your screen) and "Data streams". Choose "Web" and your site's stream.
- Under "Google tag", click "View tag instructions", open "Installation instructions" and choose "Install manually". Copy the whole code the screen shows.
- Paste the code right after
<head>on every page of the site. Google asks for it to be on all pages. - Save and check it in the "Realtime" report, as in section 5.
Path C, Google Tag Manager
You need a GTM container already installed on your site, access to that container, and the editor role or above in the GA4 account. Create one Google tag for each site.
- In Google Tag Manager, open your site's container, click "Tags" and then "New".
- Under "Tag Configuration", click "Choose tag type" and choose "Google Tag".
- Under "Tag ID", enter the ID that starts with G and appears under "Stream details" in GA4 (the field is called "Measurement ID").
- In Triggering, choose the Initialization trigger that covers all pages. On screen, its name may end in All Initialization Events or in All Pages. Do not choose "Consent Initialization", which has another function.
- Save the tag.
- Click "Preview" to test. GTM opens Tag Assistant and shows whether the tag fired.
- After testing, click "Submit" and then "Publish". The tag only goes live on the site after it is published.
Google now recommends, on its page in English, the "Google Analytics" destination as another way to put GA4 on the site through GTM. Your GTM may offer this destination too. If it shows up, or if the screen shows the notice to optimize the container, follow the screen. As a caution of ours, do not use the destination and the Google Tag in the same container.
Old tutorials
If you find a tutorial that tells you to create a "GA4 configuration tag", it is old. Since September 2023, the old "GA4 configuration tags" are "Google tags". Google itself still has pages with the old name.
5. Check that the data arrives
- Wait. Google says data collection can take up to 30 minutes to start.
- Open your site and, in GA4, the "Realtime" report. See whether your visit shows up.
- Also open a post, because it is the page the push usually opens, and check whether the visit on it shows up. The tag has to be on every page.
6. Do not install it twice
If GA4 is already in a plugin, do not install it again through GTM, and the same goes the other way around. This caution is ours. We did not find a Google page that explains what happens when the tag is installed twice.
7. What AI Web Push does and does not do
- The AI Web Push plugin does not install GA4 or GTM.
- To see the revenue from your push, you do not need GTM. The UTM in the push link is read by the Google tag when the reader arrives on your site. See What AI Web Push already tags with UTM and how to tell each campaign apart and How to see the revenue from your push notifications (UTM, GA4 and Ad Manager).
- To measure subscriptions, the plugin sends capture events, such as modal, permission and subscription, to the site's data layer, the dataLayer. These events do not include the display or the click of the push. To use them, see the post AI Web Push and Google Tag Manager and the tutorial How to create Web Push reports in GA4 via GTM. The post also shows a manual capture without GTM.
8. If the data does not arrive
| Cause | What to do |
|---|---|
| Less than 30 minutes have passed | Wait and check the "Realtime" report again |
| The tag is not on the page the push opens | Open the post, check in the "Realtime" report and paste the tag on every page |
| The cookie notice blocks the tag until consent | Without consent, Google does not collect data from those who refuse. What the law of each country requires is not covered by this text |
| The tag is in GTM, but the container was not published | Publish the container and test again |
| Two installations at the same time | Keep only one, as in section 6 |
9. If you have sites in more than one country
The Google tag has to be on each site. In GTM, Google asks for one Google tag for each site. In GA4, the data stream can be one per site or one for several domains.
An honest warning
Google menu names change, and Google's help pages in different languages do not always agree with each other. A name may vary a little between screens. If a name here does not match your screen, look for the same path by its name in English or talk to AI Web Push support. We checked this text against Google's pages on October 13 and 14, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
1. Do I need Google Tag Manager to see the push UTM in GA4?
No. The Google tag reads the UTM, in the landing address, whichever way you install the tag.
2. How do I know whether my site already has GA4?
Look at the data streams in GA4 and at the "Realtime" report, as in section 1.
3. Can I use only a plugin?
Yes. The WordPress plugin is one of the three paths Google lists.
4. How long does it take to show up?
Data collection can take up to 30 minutes to start. Full reports can take 24 to 48 hours.
5. Does AI Web Push install GA4 for me?
No. The plugin does not put a Google tag on your site.
6. I have sites in other countries. Do I need another tag?
It depends on the path. The Google tag has to be on each site. Through GTM, Google asks for one Google tag for each site. In GA4, the data stream can be one per site or one for several domains.
Read more at Google
- Set up Google Analytics
- Set up GA4 in Google Tag Manager
- Google steps for Site Kit
- Google steps for MonsterInsights
- Data processing time
The Google pages cited were checked on October 13 and 14, 2026.