Our team has identified a critical issue occurring with Looker Studio reports that use GA4 data (formerly known as Google Data Studio). This was caused by a recent change Google made without prior notice. It impacts any organization that visualizes GA4 data in a Looker Studio report using a direct connector to GA4 (which is the most common method). At this time, it does not appear that this impacts reports if the data is connected via a data warehouse like BigQuery.
As you begin to dive into the Google Analytics 4 reporting interface, you will notice the “Explore” section This is a new custom reporting feature that allows more custom reporting beyond standard reports. This section is a hub for your custom reports also known as “Exploration Reports.” These reports allow you to analyze your data by dragging and dropping dimensions and metrics to answer complex questions about the data.
Has your Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Google Optimize, GA4, or Microsoft Clarity script been identified as a “severe issue” when running a page speed or experience update test? You are not alone if so, but it might not be as bad as you think.