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AlphaSense for PowerPoint - End User Guide: Centralized Setup

Kristin Mize
Updated

This guide is for users whose IT department has deployed AlphaSense for PowerPoint to their organization through Microsoft 365. Your IT team has already made the add-in available -- you just need to set up the companion app that powers the AI features.

What Your IT Team Already Did

Your organization's IT admin deployed the AlphaSense add-in through Microsoft 365 Admin Center. This means:

  • AlphaSense is assigned to your Microsoft 365 account.
  • It will appear automatically in PowerPoint once Office syncs the deployment.
  • You do not need to manually register or sideload anything with Office.

What You Still Need

AlphaSense uses a local companion app called AlphaSense App Manager to run the AI backend services on your computer. This is what processes your slides, analyzes documents, and powers the chat features.

Your IT team may have already pushed App Manager to your machine. If not, you will need to download it yourself.

Setup

Step 1: Get AlphaSense App Manager

If your IT team already installed it, skip to Step 3. You can check by looking for "AlphaSense App Manager" in your system tray (the small icons near the clock) or in your Start menu.

If you need to install it yourself, download it here:

Step 2: Choose Managed Deployment

During installation, you will see a page titled "Add-in deployment mode" with two options:

  • Local registration
  • Managed by IT through Microsoft 365 Admin Center

Select "Managed by IT through Microsoft 365 Admin Center" and click Next.

This tells App Manager that your IT team handles the Office add-in registration. App Manager will only manage the local AI backend services -- it will not create its own Office registration since your organization already deployed the add-in.

You will see a confirmation dialog:

You selected 'Managed by IT through Microsoft 365 Admin Center'. App Manager will not create local Office add-in registration on this computer. Do you want to continue with installation?

Click Yes to proceed.

Step 3: App Manager Starts

After installation, App Manager starts automatically and appears in your system tray. It will:

  • Start the local AI backend services.
  • Detect that the add-in is managed by your organization.
  • Show "Managed by IT" in its status displays.

App Manager must be running whenever you use AlphaSense in Office.

Tip: Closing the App Manager window (clicking X) just minimizes it to the system tray -- it keeps running. To fully quit, right-click the tray icon and choose Quit.

Step 4: Open PowerPoint

Open PowerPoint.

  • AlphaSense should appear as an AlphaSense tab in the ribbon. If you do not see it, go to Home > Add-ins to activate it.
  • Click AlphaSense Chat in the ribbon to open the taskpane.

Step 5: Sign In

The first time you open the AlphaSense taskpane, sign in with your AlphaSense account. After signing in, you are ready to go.

What You Will See in App Manager

Because your IT team manages the add-in deployment, some things in App Manager look different compared to the individual setup:

Diagnostics Page

  • Frontend status may show "Managed by IT" instead of just "Ready."
  • Add-in Registration shows "Managed by IT" with a note that PowerPoint is managed through Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
  • The Open PowerPoint button says "Open PowerPoint" instead of "Open PowerPoint Add-in."

Guides Page

  • The Install / Repair (Recovery) button shows "Managed by IT" and is disabled. This is expected -- your IT team controls the add-in registration, so local repair is not needed.
  • The first-time instructions mention confirming that registration shows "Installed" or "Managed by IT."

Updates Page

  • If your IT team controls component updates, the update button may show "Managed by IT" and be disabled.
  • Otherwise, you can update backend components normally through App Manager.

"Waiting for IT" Status

If you see "Waiting for IT" in the Diagnostics or Guides pages, it means:

  • App Manager is configured for centralized deployment.
  • But Office has not yet synced the add-in deployment to your machine.

This can happen when:

  • Your IT admin recently assigned the add-in and Office has not cached it yet.
  • You have not opened Office since the deployment was made.
  • Your machine has been offline.

What to do:

  • Make sure you are connected to the internet.
  • Open and close PowerPoint to trigger an Office sync.
  • If the add-in still does not appear, try signing out of your Microsoft account in PowerPoint and signing back in. This can force Office to re-sync deployed add-ins.
  • Wait a few minutes and check again -- M365 deployments can take time to propagate.
  • If it persists, contact your IT admin to confirm the add-in has been assigned to your account.

Troubleshooting

AlphaSense does not appear in Office

  • Check that App Manager is running (system tray).
  • Close all Office windows completely and reopen. Office may need to sync the M365 deployment.
  • Open App Manager > Diagnostics. If it shows "Waiting for IT," the deployment has not synced yet (see above).
  • Contact your IT admin to confirm the add-in is assigned to your Microsoft 365 account.

The taskpane is blank or shows "Complete your setup"

This means the taskpane cannot reach the local AI services:

  • Make sure App Manager is running.
  • Click Retry connection in the taskpane.
  • If App Manager is not installed, click Download App Manager to get the installer.

The taskpane loads but shows an error after signing in

  • Open App Manager > Diagnostics and check that the Helper shows a green status.
  • Click Restart Helpers to restart the backend services.
  • Close and reopen the Office application.

App Manager shows "Managed by IT" but the add-in is not in Office

The M365 deployment may not have synced yet. Follow the steps in the "Waiting for IT" section above. If the issue persists after 24 hours, contact your IT admin.

Using AlphaSense

Once set up, AlphaSense works the same way regardless of how it was deployed:

  • Click the AlphaSense tab in the ribbon, then click AlphaSense Chat to open the taskpane on the right side.
  • Use the chat to create and edit slides, search for research, insert images, and more.

Note: The AlphaSense Excel add-in is not yet generally available. When it launches, it will provide AI-assisted modeling, data analysis, and visualization.

Switching to Individual Setup

If you leave your organization or want to switch to managing the add-in yourself:

  • Reinstall App Manager and select "Local registration" during installation.
  • App Manager will create a local Office registration so the add-in works independently of any M365 deployment.

 

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