# Purchases stopped recording in your ad account

> When Meta suddenly shows few or zero purchases while Shopify still has orders, tracking usually broke, not the ads. Connect Meta Ads and Shopify to Claude and ask it to compare daily purchases with daily orders for 30 days. A sudden change in the ratio shows the start date. Then check the pixel and the Shopify channel connection.

Type: Leak (something broke or wastes money)
Run it: Daily
Source: https://gooseworks.ai/playbooks/meta-pixel-not-tracking-purchases

## 1. Connect

Give your AI assistant read-only access to Meta Ads and Shopify.

## 2. Ask

```text
For each of the last 30 days, compare the purchases Meta recorded with the orders Shopify recorded. Work out the usual ratio. Flag any day where Meta recorded zero purchases while Shopify had orders, and any day the ratio moved more than 30% away from normal. Tell me when it started.
```

## 3. Act

If purchases dropped to zero, check the pixel and the Shopify channel connection right away: Meta is now bidding blind.

## Steps

1. Connect Meta Ads and Shopify read-only, through a Claude connector or MCP server if available, or upload daily purchase and order exports.
2. Run the prompt to compare Meta purchases with Shopify orders for each of the last 30 days.
3. Remember Meta always counts fewer orders than Shopify; look for a sudden ratio change, not the normal gap.
4. If purchases dropped to zero, check the pixel and the Shopify sales channel connection right away.
5. Ask Claude to re-run the comparison every day.

## What it tends to find

Meta recorded 0 purchases for 4 days while $3,000 was spent. Shopify had 140 orders. (Illustrative example, not a result from a named store.)

## Watch out

Meta only counts orders it can link to an ad, so it is always below Shopify. Look for a sudden change in the ratio, not the gap itself.

## FAQ

### Why is Meta showing zero purchases when I have orders?

Usually the pixel or the Shopify connection to Meta stopped sending purchase events. A theme change, app update or expired channel connection can cause it. Meta then bids without sales data.

### Is it normal for Meta to show fewer sales than Shopify?

Yes. Meta only counts orders it can link to an ad, so its number is always lower. What matters is a sudden change in the ratio between the two, which points to a tracking break.

### Can I run this with Grok or ChatGPT instead of Claude?

You can. Any assistant that can read your daily Meta purchases and Shopify orders, either connected or from exported files, can follow the same prompt and spot the change.

### How fast should I fix broken tracking?

Right away. While purchases are not recorded, Meta's bidding has no sales signal, so spend can drift toward people who do not buy. Every day you wait adds spend.