Microsoft Ads Enhanced Conversions is Microsoft’s answer to the same privacy-driven tracking problem that Meta addressed with Conversions API and Google addressed with Enhanced Conversions for Web. It uses first-party customer data (hashed email) to match conversions back to Microsoft Ads users even when cookies are blocked or unavailable.
What Microsoft Ads Enhanced Conversions Does
When a customer completes a purchase on your website, your UET tag normally relies on cookies and session data to attribute that conversion to a Microsoft Ads click. When a user blocks cookies, uses a different device than when they clicked the ad, or clears their browser history, the cookie-based match fails and the conversion is not attributed.
Enhanced Conversions adds a layer on top of cookie matching. You send a hashed version of the customer’s email address (and optionally phone number) with the conversion event. Microsoft uses this hashed data to match the conversion to a Microsoft account (Outlook, Hotmail, Xbox, LinkedIn) and attribute it correctly even when cookies would have failed.
The Data Microsoft Uses for Matching
Microsoft can match conversions using:
- Email address (SHA256 hashed): matched against Microsoft account email addresses (Outlook, Hotmail, Live, etc.)
- Phone number (SHA256 hashed): matched against Microsoft account phone numbers
The more of these you send, the higher the match rate and the more conversions Microsoft can attribute. Email is the most valuable since most Microsoft accounts are email-based.
How to Set Up Enhanced Conversions in Microsoft Ads
Step 1: Confirm UET Tag Is Installed
Enhanced Conversions requires the UET tag to already be installed and working. Verify UET is active and recording conversions before enabling Enhanced Conversions.
Step 2: Enable Enhanced Conversions in Your Conversion Goal
In Microsoft Ads, go to Tools → Conversion Goals. Open the conversion goal you want to enhance (typically your Purchase goal). Look for the Enhanced Conversions section and enable it.
Step 3: Pass Hashed Customer Data via UET
To send the customer’s email with each conversion event, add the following to your thank-you page UET event call:
window.uetq = window.uetq || []; window.uetq.push('event', 'purchase', { 'revenue_value': ORDER_TOTAL, 'currency': 'USD', 'pid': { 'em': SHA256_HASHED_EMAIL } });
The SHA256_HASHED_EMAIL must be generated server-side from the customer’s email address before being inserted into the page. Do not send the raw email — only the hashed version should be exposed in the page JavaScript.
In Shopify, you can generate the SHA256 hash in a Liquid snippet using the sha256 filter: customer.email | sha256
What to Expect After Enabling Enhanced Conversions
After enabling Enhanced Conversions, you may see an increase in reported conversions in Microsoft Ads. This is not necessarily an increase in actual purchases — it is Microsoft now attributing conversions that were previously not matched due to cookie limitations.
Typical improvement: 5–20% more conversions attributed, depending on your audience’s cookie blocking behaviour. Microsoft Ads users (particularly those using Edge browser with Microsoft accounts signed in) tend to have high match rates because Microsoft can directly match the first-party data to account records.
Privacy and Compliance
Enhanced Conversions uses SHA256 hashing to anonymise the customer data before it is sent to Microsoft. The hashed data cannot be reversed to obtain the original email address. This approach is compliant with GDPR and other major privacy regulations when combined with appropriate consent collection.
Ensure you have the appropriate consent language in your checkout flow if you sell to EU or UK customers, as sending any form of customer data to advertising platforms for matching requires explicit consent under GDPR.
Enhanced Conversions vs Offline Conversions
Microsoft also supports Offline Conversion Imports (similar to Google’s offline conversions), where you upload conversion data from your CRM. Enhanced Conversions is specifically for improving matching on online conversions that already happen on your website, while Offline Conversion Imports are for conversions that happen outside the browser entirely.
Get Microsoft Ads Enhanced Conversions Set Up
Enhanced Conversions requires a small code change to your UET tag implementation to pass the hashed customer email. Once set up, it improves attribution without any ongoing maintenance.
Book your free Shopify tracking audit here and we will set up Enhanced Conversions as part of a full Microsoft Ads tracking review.