Shopify
Shopify Agentic Storefronts Are Here. What Happens to Excise Tax?
Some AI shopping channels let customers buy without ever visiting your Shopify store, and that can leave excise tax uncollected. Here's which channels use direct checkout and how Token of Trust keeps excise-taxed purchases on your regular checkout.
A shopper finds your product through an AI assistant, adds it to their cart, and completes the purchase without ever visiting your Shopify store. The order comes through, but the excise tax you normally collect at checkout may not.
Shopify Agentic Storefronts open new ways for merchants to reach customers through AI shopping assistants. For businesses selling excise-taxed products, though, where the purchase is completed matters just as much as how the customer finds it.
Some AI channels let shoppers complete purchases inside the AI platform itself. Shopify doesn't currently allow Token of Trust to calculate and collect excise tax on purchases completed there. That could leave merchants responsible for taxes that weren't collected.
The good news is that AI-assisted shopping doesn't have to mean AI-completed checkout. When excise tax is required, Token of Trust sends the purchase to your store's regular checkout, so you can sell through these new channels and keep collecting excise tax.
What are Shopify Agentic Storefronts?
Shopify Agentic Storefronts let customers discover and purchase your products inside AI channels, such as AI assistants and AI-powered search. You manage which channels your products appear in, and how purchases are completed, from the Agentic sales channel settings in your Shopify admin.
For merchants, this is a real opportunity: shoppers who start in an AI assistant instead of a search engine can now find your catalog there.
How common are agentic orders today?
AI-assisted shopping is still in its early stages. Based on Token of Trust’s current order data, agentic orders are estimated to account for just 0.02% of total orders.
Two ways an AI-assisted purchase can be completed
An AI-assisted order on Shopify ends in one of two places:
- Your online store's checkout. The AI assistant helps the shopper find products, then sends them to your store's regular checkout to pay. This is the same checkout your other orders go through.
- Direct checkout inside the AI channel. Shopify provides a checkout within the AI platform, so the shopper can pay without visiting your store.
| AI channel | Where the purchase is completed | Direct checkout default |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Your online store checkout, opened in ChatGPT's in-app browser or a new tab. Shopify doesn't offer a direct checkout setting for ChatGPT. | Not applicable |
| Microsoft Copilot | Shopify-powered direct checkout inside Copilot, when direct checkout is on | On for eligible stores |
| Google AI Mode and Gemini | Shopify-powered direct checkout inside the chat, when direct checkout is on (rolling out gradually) | On for eligible stores |
| Meta (Meta AI and Muse) | Shopify-powered direct checkout on Meta surfaces, when direct checkout is on | On for eligible stores |
Based on Shopify's Help Center as of November 2026. Availability depends on your store's eligibility and settings, and Shopify continues to add channels and change defaults.
Why purchases completed in direct checkout may miss excise tax
When a purchase is completed in direct checkout, Shopify doesn't currently allow Token of Trust to calculate and collect excise tax on it. As a result, an order could be completed without the required excise tax, potentially leaving your business responsible for the unpaid amount.
Shopify also notes that direct checkout can behave differently from your online store, and that certain checkout customizations may not load there. Any part of your setup that depends on your regular checkout may not carry over.
If you're already seeing unexpected tax results on orders, our guide to excise tax troubleshooting for regulated ecommerce covers what your team needs to see to explain excise tax results at checkout.
How Token of Trust supports AI-based checkout
When excise taxes are required, Token of Trust has the AI agent direct the shopper to complete the purchase on your store's regular checkout page. Token of Trust calculates and collects the applicable excise taxes there through its existing Shopify integration.
The AI assistant still does the part shoppers value: helping them discover products and build their cart. The purchase is completed where excise tax collection is supported, so you can sell through AI shopping channels while excise tax is calculated and collected as usual.
How to check your AI checkout settings in Shopify
Direct checkout may already be on for some channels, so it's worth knowing how each of your channels completes purchases:
- See which AI channels are active. Open the Agentic sales channel in your Shopify admin.
- Check direct checkout for each channel. Where direct checkout is available, Shopify lets you turn it off per channel. With direct checkout off, customers can still discover your products through the AI channel and are redirected to your online store to complete their purchase. Shopify's Help Center has the current steps.
- Review any AI-channel orders you've already received. Confirm that the applicable excise taxes were calculated and collected correctly.
Make AI shopping work with your excise tax requirements
As Shopify adds new AI channels, recheck your settings so excise-taxed purchases keep ending on your store's regular checkout.
If you're using or considering Shopify's Agentic Storefronts, Token of Trust can help you review your setup, understand your checkout options, and keep excise tax collection in place as you expand into AI shopping channels.