AlphaSense PWA Deployment Guide

This guide is for the IT / endpoint-management team at your organization. It explains how to deploy the AlphaSense progressive web app (PWA) to your users centrally - so it installs silently and can be pinned to the taskbar.

This article contains:

• Why Central Deployment Matters
• Prerequisites
• Google Chrome
  • Option A - Google Admin console (Chrome Enterprise)
  • Option B - Windows Group Policy / Registry
  • Option C - Intune / MDM (Chrome ADMX ingestion)
• Microsoft Edge
  • Option A - Intune / MDM
  • Option B - Windows Group Policy / Registry
• Advanced Policy Payload - Chrome and Edge
• Verification

Why Central Deployment Matters

When a user installs the AlphaSense PWA manually on a managed device, the browser treats it as not locally installed: no proper per-app desktop shortcut is created, the taskbar entry can fall back to the browser's own logo instead of the AlphaSense icon, and the app often can't be reliably pinned. Central (force) install fixes all three - it creates real OS-level shortcuts with the correct branding and gives you a measurable, managed rollout.

App origin to deploy: https://research.alpha-sense.com/

Prerequisites

• https://research.alpha-sense.com must be reachable from user machines, including through any corporate proxy or TLS-inspection appliance.
• Allow the app origin and its icon assets ( /android-chrome-192x192.png, /android-chrome-512x512.png) through web/content filtering so the browser can fetch the manifest and icons at install time. If these are blocked, the app installs with a generic browser icon.
• Users must be able to reach the AlphaSense sign-in flow; the app requires authentication after launch.
• Confirm which browser(s) your users run - this guide covers both Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. The two use separate policy trees; deploying to one does not affect the other.

Google Chrome

Option A - Google Admin console (Chrome Enterprise)

1. Sign in to the Google Admin console → Devices → Chrome → Apps & extensions → Users & browsers.
2. Select the org unit (OU) or group that should receive the app.
3. Click the + (Add) button → Add by URL.
4. Enter URL: https://research.alpha-sense.com/ 
5. Select option → Open as a progressive web app (PWA) only
6. Under Installation policy, choose Force install (or Force install + pin where offered).
7. Set the launch type / open-as to Window (opens as a standalone app rather than a browser tab).
8. Save. The app deploys at the next policy refresh (users can force it via chrome://policy → Reload policies).

Option B - Windows Group Policy / Registry

Policy: WebAppInstallForceList

Registry path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome\WebAppInstallForceList

Value (single string entry named 1 ):

{
"url": "https://research.alpha-sense.com/",
"default_launch_container": "window",
"create_desktop_shortcut": true,
"fallback_app_name": "AlphaSense"
}

Via GPO, import the Chrome ADMX templates and configure: Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Google → Google Chrome → Configure list of force-installed Web Apps.

Field reference:

Option C - Intune / MDM (Chrome ADMX ingestion)

1. In Microsoft Intune: Devices → Configuration → Create → New Policy → Windows 10 and later → Templates → Custom (or use the ingested Chrome ADMX).
2. Target the WebAppInstallForceList policy.
3. Supply the same JSON value shown in Option B.
4. Assign to the appropriate device/user group.

Microsoft Edge

Edge reads its own policy tree - Chrome policies do not apply. Repeat deployment here for any users on Edge.

Option A - Intune / MDM

1. Devices → Configuration → Create → New Policy → Windows 10 and later → Settings catalog.
2. Search for Microsoft Edge → WebAppInstallForceList ("Configure list of force-installed Web Apps").
3. Add the JSON entry (see below).
4. Assign to the target group.

Option B - Windows Group Policy / Registry

Policy: WebAppInstallForceList (Edge)

Registry path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge\WebAppInstallForceList

Value (single string entry named 1 ):

{
  "url": "https://research.alpha-sense.com/",
  "default_launch_container": "window",
  "create_desktop_shortcut": true,
  "fallback_app_name": "AlphaSense"
}

Via GPO: import the Edge ADMX templates → Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Microsoft Edge → Configure list of force-installed Web Apps.

Edge caveats to watch: Force-installed PWAs can occasionally de-register after an Edge browser update (re-applying policy or relaunching resolves it), and can behave unexpectedly under FSLogix / roaming profiles - Microsoft recommends excluding the Edge app-data folder from roaming in those environments.

Advanced Policy Payload - Chrome and Edge

For IT teams that are already comfortable with browser policy tuning, the same setting can be managed as a structured force-install policy payload for both Chrome and Edge. Treat the url as the canonical app origin, keep default_launch_container set to window for the desktop-app experience, and use create_desktop_shortcut to ensure Windows creates an app-specific shortcut that can be pinned reliably. 

Apply it under the appropriate browser policy tree: Google Chrome policies for Chrome deployments and Microsoft Edge policies for Edge deployments.

{
  "WebAppInstallForceList": [
   {
     "url": "https://research.alpha-sense.com/*",
     "default_launch_container": "window",
     "create_desktop_shortcut": true
   }
  ]
}

Verification

After policy refresh, on a sample machine:

1. Chrome: open chrome://policy (Edge: edge://policy ) → Reload policies → confirm WebAppInstallForceList shows Status: OK with your value.
2. Confirm the AlphaSense app appears in chrome://apps / edge://apps. 
3. Confirm a desktop shortcut exists with the AlphaSense icon (not the browser logo) and that it can be pinned to the taskbar.
4. Launch it - it should open in its own window and load https://research.alpha-sense.com/.