# GA4 Free-Form Explorations and Segments for Marketers

> Build GA4 free-form explorations that answer real marketing questions, with segments, filters and copyable setups for channel and content analysis.

Source: https://mentionx.ai/learn/ga4/ga4-free-form-explorations-segments  
Author: Dipuck Jones, founder of MentionX  
Updated: 4 November 2026  
Level: Practitioner

**Free-form explorations are GA4's pivot tables: pick dimensions as rows and columns, metrics as values, and add segments to compare groups of users or sessions.** They answer the questions standard reports can't, such as "which landing pages convert AI visitors?"

> **Key takeaways**
>
> - Techniques include free form, cohort, funnel, segment overlap, user explorer, path and user lifetime.
> - Segments can be user, session or event scoped. Choose session scope for channel questions.
> - Explorations follow data retention and can be sampled; check the quality indicator.
> - Share explorations as read-only; save useful ones with a clear naming prefix.
> - Rebuild recurring explorations as Library reports or Looker Studio pages.

*Checked 4 November 2026 (CET) against Google Analytics Help and Google developer documentation. GA4 menus and limits change, so confirm in your own property. "Our view" marks MentionX opinion. Ledgerline is a fictional company used for illustration.*

## Three explorations worth building

**1. AI visitors by landing page**

- Technique: Free form
- Segment (session): Session default channel group exactly matches AI Assistant
- Rows: Landing page + query string
- Values: Sessions, Engaged sessions, Key events
- Filter: Sessions > 10 to cut noise

**2. Channel × key event matrix**

- Rows: Session default channel group (or your custom group)
- Columns: Event name, filtered to your key events
- Values: Event count

**3. Content that leads to demos**

- Segment (user): users who triggered generate_lead with form_id = demo_request
- Rows: Page title
- Values: Views, Active users
- Compare with a segment of all users to see which pages over-index.

## Segment scope, briefly

| Scope | Includes | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| User | All events from users who met the condition at any point in the date range | Audience questions |
| Session | All events in sessions that met the condition | Channel and landing page questions |
| Event | Only events that met the condition | Event-level counts |

> **Pro move:** use a segment with a **sequence** ("first page_view on /blog, then later generate_lead") to test whether blog readers convert in a later session. Standard reports can't show that.

*Our view:* name explorations as `team – question – date`, for example `seo – ai landing pages – 2026-11`. Unnamed "Untitled exploration" lists are where good analysis goes to die.

If you would rather analyse the exported table with an assistant, see [Claude for CSV analysis of GA4 and Ads data](https://mentionx.ai/learn/claude/claude-csv-analysis-ga4-ads) and lesson 19.

Next: [Funnel and path explorations](https://mentionx.ai/learn/ga4/ga4-funnel-path-explorations). Or return to the [GA4 for Marketers track](https://mentionx.ai/learn/ga4/ga4-for-marketers).

## Common questions

**What explorations does GA4 offer?** Free form, cohort, funnel, segment overlap, user explorer, path and user lifetime. Free form is the one marketers use most.

**Why is my exploration missing older data?** Explorations respect your data retention setting. On 2 months, older data is missing. Set retention to 14 months (lesson 2).

**Are explorations shared?** Explorations are private by default. You can share a read-only version with others on the property.

## Sources

- Google Analytics Help, [Get started with Explorations](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/7579450)
- Google Analytics Help, [Data retention](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/7667196)
- Google Analytics Help, [About data sampling](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13331292)
- All accessed 4 Nov 2026.

## Frequently asked questions

### What explorations does GA4 offer?

Free form, cohort, funnel, segment overlap, user explorer, path and user lifetime. Free form is the one marketers use most.

### Why is my exploration missing older data?

Explorations respect your data retention setting. On 2 months, older data is missing. Set retention to 14 months (lesson 2).

### Are explorations shared?

Explorations are private by default. You can share a read-only version with others on the property.

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Written and reviewed by Dipuck Jones for MentionX Learn. The HTML version of this page: https://mentionx.ai/learn/ga4/ga4-free-form-explorations-segments