AlphaSense Office Add-in: Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel Deployment Guides

AlphaSense brings AI-powered research and content creation directly into Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel. It runs as Office add-ins with a local companion app called AlphaSense App Manager that provides the backend AI services on your machine.

There are two ways to deploy AlphaSense to Office, depending on your organization's needs.

Just want the short version? Start with the IT Deployment Checklist (Fast Path). For 95% of organizations, deployment is two things: let App Manager install + run, and allow five network domains. The detailed guides below are the backup reference for edge cases (M365 internals, offline installs, proxy/TLS specifics, troubleshooting).

Choose Your Path

Path 1: Individual Setup (Local Registration)

Best for individual users, small teams, or evaluation/trial use.

• The user downloads and runs the AlphaSense App Manager installer.
• The installer registers the add-in directly with Office on that machine.
• No IT involvement or admin privileges required.
• The user manages their own updates through App Manager.

Path 2: Centralized Deployment (Microsoft 365 Admin Center)

Best for organizations that want IT-managed deployment with centralized control.

• An IT admin deploys the add-in through Microsoft 365 Admin Center, using either the classic XML manifest or Microsoft's newer unified manifest (a .zip). See Add-in manifest formats below.
• Office automatically makes AlphaSense available to assigned users.
• Users still need AlphaSense App Manager running locally for the AI backend services.
• IT can distribute App Manager via Intune, SCCM, or direct download.

How It Works (Both Paths)

Regardless of deployment path, AlphaSense in Office has two components:

Office Add-in (PowerPoint & Excel)
|- Loads the AlphaSense taskpane UI from a hosted web origin
|- Provides chat, research, slide editing, and Excel modeling tools
|
AlphaSense App Manager (runs locally)
|- Python backend for AI processing and slide manipulation
|- Excel backend for spreadsheet operations
|- Service discovery so the add-in can find the local backends

The deployment path only affects how the add-in gets registered with Office. The App Manager and its local services are identical in both paths.

Add-in manifest formats

Office learns about an add-in from its manifest — a small file that tells Office the add-in's name, ribbon buttons, and where to load the taskpane from. AlphaSense ships two kinds:

• Classic XML manifest — the long-standing format. App Manager registers this one on individual setups, and IT can upload it in Microsoft 365 Admin Center as an Office Add-in.
• Unified manifest — Microsoft's newer format: a .zip containing a manifest.json and two icons. It can only be deployed through Microsoft 365 Admin Center, where IT uploads it as a Teams app.

Both give users the same AlphaSense tab and taskpane, and both need the same Office versions (see Requirements). For centralized deployment, IT picks one format per app — the formats use different add-in IDs, so a user assigned both sees two AlphaSense tabs. Use the unified manifest if your admin center only accepts .zip files; otherwise either works. Step-by-step upload instructions: IT Admin: Centralized Deployment — Step 1.

Manifest downloads for Microsoft 365 (IT admins)

End users: your IT team deploys AlphaSense to your account — you do not download these files. This section is for admins uploading the add-in in Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

Production packages (what most organizations deploy to users) are hosted on plugins.alpha-sense.org:

Online App Manager (default for most organizations):

Standalone App Manager (locked loader/ URLs — required with *-standalone.exe):

AlphaSense may give you different download URLs for pre-release validation; use the production links above unless your AlphaSense contact directs you otherwise.

Requirements

• Operating System: Windows 10 or later, or recent macOS with Microsoft 365 desktop Office
• Office: Microsoft 365 desktop apps (subscription). Perpetual / LTSC Office is not sufficient for PowerPoint.
• PowerPoint minimum (hard floor): PowerPointApi 1.8+ — Windows Version 2504 (Build 18730.20030)+ or Mac Version 16.96+. Required for core slide capture (getImageAsBase64 / exportAsBase64).
• Excel minimum (practical): Microsoft 365 recommended; Office 2021+ covers most core edits/charts. Comments need ExcelApi 1.10+; notes need 1.18+ (skipped when unavailable).
• Internet: Required for initial setup and frontend loading
• Disk Space: Approximately 500 MB for App Manager and backend components

If users report PowerPoint is “too old,” check File → Account → About PowerPoint against the floors above before debugging App Manager.

Download AlphaSense App Manager (production release)

For enterprise allowlisting, http://localhost, update-policy, and installer requirements, see the IT admin guide for your deployment path. The centralized deployment guide includes a consolidated IT readiness checklist.

Important for restricted networks: allowlisting must apply to the desktop applications that run AlphaSense, not only to a user's browser. App Manager, the Office WebView taskpane, updater/component installer, and local helper processes must be able to resolve and reach the required AlphaSense endpoints. A browser-only allowlist can still leave deployment blocked, for example when App Manager cannot fetch https://plugins.alpha-sense.org/app-manager/channels/stable/components/manifest.json and logs getaddrinfo ENOTFOUND plugins.alpha-sense.org.