This is the practical setup guide for installing email tracking on Outlook and Gmail in 2026. The piece assumes you are evaluating Outsolvi, but the structural advice (which Outlook surfaces to install on, how to verify tracking is firing, what to test on first sends) applies to any tracker. The detailed comparison of which trackers are actually worth installing lives on the [comparison index](/compare).
Outlook: which version are you on
Microsoft ships three Outlook surfaces in 2026, and they take different add-ins.
Outlook Desktop (classic Win32, the version most enterprise teams still use). Takes Office.js add-ins via the Microsoft 365 admin centre or per-user from the AppSource store. The Outsolvi add-in installs in under 2 minutes from Microsoft AppSource and works in both online and cached Exchange modes.
Outlook on the Web (web app at outlook.office.com). Same Office.js add-in framework as Desktop. The Outsolvi add-in installed from AppSource appears in both surfaces automatically once your Microsoft 365 admin authorises it.
New Outlook (the rewritten client Microsoft has been rolling out since 2023, scheduled to replace classic Desktop on Windows by 2027). Uses a different runtime than classic Desktop, and not every Office.js add-in works there. The Outsolvi add-in is built for New Outlook from the ground up and works at feature parity with classic Desktop and Web.
If your team is mixed across all three surfaces, the right test is to install on one rep per surface and verify tracking fires the same way on each.
Gmail: Chrome extension or Google Workspace add-in
Gmail tracking surfaces are simpler. The dominant pattern is a Chrome extension that installs from the Chrome Web Store, runs inside the Gmail UI, and injects tracking pixels into outgoing messages. The Outsolvi Gmail extension is the same pattern.
For organisations that disallow third-party Chrome extensions, the Google Workspace add-in (installed from the Workspace Marketplace by an admin) is an alternative path. Slightly more limited surface than the Chrome extension (cannot inject custom UI into the compose pane the same way), but works under stricter IT policies.
Step-by-step: Outsolvi on Outlook Desktop
The whole flow is roughly 2 to 3 minutes.
- Open Outlook Desktop. Click Home, then Get Add-ins (the icon may appear under the More ribbon button on some versions).
- The Office Store dialog opens. Search "Outsolvi."
- Click Add on the Outsolvi result. The add-in installs to your mailbox via the Microsoft 365 service, so it appears across Desktop, Web, and New Outlook automatically.
- Click the Outsolvi pane icon that appears in the ribbon. Sign in with your business email.
- Tracking starts on the next message you send. Verify by sending a test email to your own personal address and checking that the open registers in the Outsolvi pane.
If you do not see the Get Add-ins button, your Microsoft 365 admin has disabled per-user add-in installs. Ask them to authorise the Outsolvi add-in centrally, which deploys it to every mailbox in the tenant.
Step-by-step: Outsolvi on Gmail
Slightly faster than Outlook because Chrome handles the install.
- Open the Chrome Web Store. Search "Outsolvi."
- Click Add to Chrome on the Outsolvi result.
- Reload your Gmail tab. The Outsolvi sidebar appears on the right.
- Click the Outsolvi sidebar. Sign in with your business email.
- Tracking starts on the next message you send.
For organisations on Chrome Enterprise where IT manages extension policies, an admin can deploy the Outsolvi extension force-installed via Google Admin so every domain user has it without per-user action.
Step-by-step: Outsolvi on New Outlook (Windows)
New Outlook is functionally similar to Outlook on the Web, so the install path is the same.
- Open New Outlook. Click the three-dot menu in the top right.
- Select Get Add-ins.
- Search "Outsolvi," click Add on the result.
- The Outsolvi pane appears in the right rail. Sign in with your business email.
- Tracking starts on the next message you send.
If your tenant policy locks add-in installs, the same admin-deployed path works for New Outlook as for classic Desktop.
Verifying tracking is actually firing
Three quick tests after install confirm tracking is working.
Test 1: open-event registration. Send a tracked message to your own personal email address (the one you check on your phone). Open the email on your phone. Check the Outsolvi pane on your work inbox within 60 seconds. The open should register with a Tier 1 or 2 confidence score (high-confidence human) since you are reading on a real device.
Test 2: click-event registration. Include a link in the test email. Click it from your personal inbox. The click event should register in the Outsolvi pane within 60 seconds.
Test 3: bot-filter behaviour. Forward the test email to a colleague's work email that you know is behind a corporate scanner (Mimecast, Proofpoint, Microsoft Defender). The scanner pre-fetch should fire shortly after delivery, and Outsolvi should grade it Tier 4 or 5 (machine), not Tier 1 or 2 (human). If the scanner pre-fetch shows up as a Tier 1 open, the filtering is misconfigured.
Common setup problems
Outlook add-in does not appear in the ribbon after install. Usually a caching issue. Close Outlook fully (check Task Manager that no Outlook process is running), reopen, and the add-in appears. On classic Desktop with cached Exchange mode, the first add-in load can take 30 to 60 seconds.
Gmail extension shows "permission denied." Usually a Google Workspace admin policy blocking third-party Chrome extensions. The fix is either getting the admin to allow-list Outsolvi or installing via the Workspace add-in path instead of the Chrome extension.
Tracking pixel does not render in some emails. Outsolvi only tracks emails sent through the inbox surface where the add-in is installed. Emails sent from another client (a different Outlook profile, a mobile mail app, the Microsoft 365 mobile app) are not tracked. Install on every surface a rep sends from, or pick one canonical send surface.
Open events do not register on mobile reads. Some mobile mail apps (including Apple Mail with MPP enabled) pre-fetch images server-side, so the tracking pixel fires from Apple's relay rather than the recipient's device. Outsolvi grades these as Tier 4 with low confidence. This is expected behaviour; it is the underlying open-rate problem that the [open-rate accuracy piece](/blog/email-open-rate-accuracy) covers in detail.
What to test in the first two weeks
The first two weeks of any tracker install are the calibration period. Three things to watch.
Open count compared to your previous tracker. If you are switching from Mailtrack, Mixmax, Yesware, or any tracker without confidence scoring, expect Outsolvi's open count to look lower by 20 to 40 percent on Apple-heavy lists. That gap is the noise leaving the data, not real engagement disappearing. Reply rate is the cleaner side-by-side signal.
Hot-lead alert firing. Set a confidence threshold (start at 80) and a recency window (start at 1 hour, 2 opens). Watch which prospects trip the alert. The first week is calibration; by week two the alerts should be material follow-up triggers.
Reply sentiment grading on incoming replies. Send tracking, then check the sentiment grade Outsolvi applies to incoming replies. Compare against your own read of each reply. The grading should match your read on 80 to 90 percent of replies; the edge cases are usually ambiguous wording where your context matters.
When to roll out to the team
After two weeks of self-use and one rep per Outlook surface tested, a full team rollout is straightforward. If the team is mixed Outlook plus Gmail, the unified Outsolvi dashboard shows engagement from both clients in one feed, with no per-rep dashboard switching.
The 14-day Outsolvi free trial is enough to cover the calibration period without committing budget. The detailed comparison of Outsolvi against the main tracking tools (Yesware, Mailtrack, Mixmax, Streak, and others) lives on the [comparison pages](/compare).