Setup

Install AES in Outlook

About a minute, start to finish. If Outlook blocks part of it — which it does on some accounts — the fallbacks are further down this page.

Step 1 — get the add-in

AES comes as a single small file called a manifest. Outlook can take it either as a link or as a downloaded file. Copy the link first; if Outlook will not accept a link, use the file instead.

Add-in link

Prefer a file? Download AES-manifest.xml and keep it somewhere you can find again, such as your Downloads folder.

Step 2 — install it

Outlook looks different depending on which version you use. Find the one that matches yours.

New Outlook for Windows, and Outlook on the web

  1. Open Outlook and select More apps (the … icon on the left side bar), then Add apps.
  2. Select Manage your apps at the top of the panel, then Upload custom app.
  3. Choose Upload from URL, paste the add-in link, and select OK. If that choice is greyed out, choose Upload from file and pick the downloaded manifest instead — see the section below.
  4. Review the permissions and select Install.
  5. Open any email, then select Apps → AES → Open AES to launch the sidebar.

Classic Outlook for Windows and Outlook for Mac

  1. On the Home ribbon, select Get Add-ins (in some versions, All Apps).
  2. Select My add-ins in the left panel.
  3. Scroll to Custom Addins at the bottom, then select Add a custom add-in → Add from URL.
  4. Paste the add-in link and select OK, then Install. If Add from URL is greyed out, use Add from File instead — see the section below.
  5. Open any email and select Open AES on the ribbon.

Outlook will warn you that this add-in is not from the Microsoft store. That is expected. AES is distributed directly rather than through Microsoft Marketplace, so the store listing does not exist yet. The add-in itself is served over HTTPS from automaticemailscheduler.com and signs you in with Microsoft's own consent screen.

If "Add from URL" is greyed out

This is common, and it is not a problem with AES. Microsoft has been turning off link installs for some accounts — personal outlook.com and hotmail.com mailboxes in particular. You will see Add from URL in the menu, but it will not be clickable, while Add from File right below it still works.

Install from the file instead. It is the exact same add-in:

  1. Download AES-manifest.xml. Your browser saves it to your Downloads folder.
  2. In Outlook, go back to Add a custom add-in and choose Add from File… (or Upload from file in new Outlook).
  3. Pick the file you just downloaded, then select Install on the warning screen.

Everything after that is identical, including automatic updates — the file only tells Outlook where AES lives, so you still never have to reinstall for ordinary updates.

If you cannot add custom add-ins at all

On some mailboxes the Custom Addins section, or the Upload custom app button, is missing entirely — not greyed out, just absent. That means the mailbox itself is not allowed to install add-ins outside the Microsoft store, and no amount of clicking will change it from inside Outlook. There are three ways forward:

Being honest about why: AES is not in the Microsoft store yet, because listing there requires a registered company account. Until then, some Microsoft-imposed installation restrictions apply that would not exist for a store listing. Nothing about the add-in itself is limited — only how it gets installed.

Signing in

  1. In the AES sidebar, select Sign in.
  2. Sign in with the same Microsoft account as your mailbox.
  3. Accept the permission prompt. AES needs it to read your drafts and to send campaign email from your own address.

Your account starts on the free plan — 50 clients, 3 groups, 2 campaigns, and unlimited templates. Nothing to pay and no credit card to enter.

Watch the setup

A short walkthrough of building a roster, saving a template, and scheduling your first campaign.

Rolling AES out to a whole team

If your organization has a Microsoft 365 administrator, they can deploy AES once for everyone instead of each person installing it individually:

  1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center as a Global Administrator.
  2. Go to Settings → Integrated apps, then select Upload custom apps.
  3. Choose Office Add-in and Provide link to manifest file, then paste the add-in link.
  4. Assign it to the users or groups who should have it, and select Deploy.

AES then appears automatically in those mailboxes, usually within a few hours.

Do I have to reinstall when AES is updated?

No. The add-in loads from automaticemailscheduler.com every time you open it, so improvements and fixes reach you the next time the sidebar opens. Reinstalling is only necessary in the rare case that the add-in link itself changes — and we would email you first.

Trouble installing?