Add OutlookDog to Outlook
Train your dog. Once it's in, you can teach it where a sender's mail belongs — in your own words — and it files the rest for you. Rules can only categorize: OutlookDog never sends, forwards, or deletes mail, even if a rule or an email asks it to.
OutlookDog runs on Outlook Classic (Windows), New Outlook, and Outlook on the web. It works with any Microsoft-hosted mailbox — a work/school Microsoft 365 account or a free personal account (outlook.com, hotmail, live — for those, see Option 3). Mailboxes hosted elsewhere (Gmail, Yahoo, IMAP) can't run Outlook add-ins. The add-in's manifest lives at:
https://outlookdog.com/manifest.xml
What you'll be asked to approve
Installing grants the add-in Outlook's standard mailbox permission — used only to create OutlookDog's colored category labels. Later, your first AI action asks for a one-time Microsoft sign-in (basic profile — no mail access), and mailbox consent is asked only if you use the Categorize icon at the top of the pane to sort your whole inbox. That one grant covers applying category labels, the read-only pass over your recent inbox, reading recent senders when you teach a rule, applying a rule to mail you already have (a counted offer you accept), and a once-a-session look for a starter rule worth suggesting. OutlookDog never sends, forwards, deletes, or moves mail. Details on Security.
Option 1 — The 2-minute deploy (recommended)
If you run your own Microsoft 365 — and most small businesses do — you're the admin
Go to admin.microsoft.com →
Settings → Integrated apps → Upload custom apps → app type
Office Add-in → Provide link to manifest file → paste
https://outlookdog.com/manifest.xml → assign it to yourself (or your whole team) →
Finish.
If the link option is greyed out in your tenant, download manifest.xml and use Upload manifest file instead. Allow a little while to appear (Microsoft says up to a few hours; usually faster). It then shows up in all your Outlook clients — open a message → Apps → OutlookDog.
Option 2 — Developer sideload (Windows, for testing only)
Classic Outlook for Windows
Save the manifest locally, then register it as a developer add-in (Command Prompt):
reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\WEF\Developer" /v OutlookDog /t REG_SZ /d "C:\path\to\manifest.xml" /f
Fully close and reopen Outlook, open a message, and look for OutlookDog on the Home ribbon (or under Apps). Requires a licensed desktop Office (Microsoft 365 Business Standard or similar) on a Microsoft 365 mailbox.
Option 3 — Personal accounts (outlook.com, hotmail, live): AppSource
One-click install is almost here
OutlookDog fully supports free personal Microsoft accounts — but honestly, the two options above require a Microsoft 365 (work) setup, so if a personal account is all you have, there's no self-serve install today. The one-click install for everyone arrives with our Microsoft AppSource listing, which is in Microsoft's certification review right now.
Want a ping the moment it's live? Email us with the subject "Notify me" — that's all it takes.
Trouble getting it to show up? Email support@outlookdog.com and we'll help.