Pete the Pigeon — Outlook add-in support
What it does
Open a constituent’s email in Outlook, click Draft with Pete, and Pete writes a reply grounded in Ohio Statehouse records — bills, votes, sponsors, committees, campaign finance — with links back to the official state pages so the reader can verify it. The draft opens as an ordinary Outlook reply. You edit it and you send it; the add-in never sends anything and never changes your mailbox.
Install for an organization (recommended)
A Microsoft 365 administrator can deploy the add-in to any set of users. No Microsoft review or store listing is involved.
- Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center.
- Go to Settings → Integrated apps → Add-ins.
- Choose Deploy Add-in, then Upload custom apps.
- Choose provide a link to the manifest file and paste:
https://statehouseai.com/outlook/manifest.xml - Assign it to Everyone, to specific users or groups, or to Just me.
- Select Deploy.
The ribbon button usually appears within the hour and at most within a day. That delay is on Microsoft’s side and is normal. Restarting Outlook hurries it along.
Install for yourself
Pete runs in Outlook on the web (outlook.com, or your office’s Outlook in the browser) and in the new Outlook on Windows and Mac. For a picture-by-picture walkthrough see the two-minute install page. The steps in a nutshell:
- On the install page, click Copy your link. Nothing to download.
- In any browser go to aka.ms/olksideload. Outlook on the web opens and, after a few seconds, the Add-Ins for Outlook dialog appears.
- Select My add-ins, scroll to Custom Addins, choose Add a custom add-in → Add from URL, paste your link, and accept the prompts. (Prefer a file? The install page has one too.)
- Open any email and Pete is on the ribbon, or under More apps.
How to use it
- Open the email you want to answer and click Pete the Pigeon on the ribbon. Pete reads it and shows a message summary and a sender card.
- Click Draft reply and wait a few seconds. Outlook opens a reply containing Pete’s draft. Read it, edit it, send it.
- Already in a reply window? Click Pete there and he writes the draft into it.
- Sort inbox by urgency tags your unread mail Urgent or Important as ordinary Outlook categories and lists it. A Draft button on each row saves a reply to your Drafts folder.
- Ask Pete is the chat circle at the bottom of the pane, for a quick question about a bill, a vote, or the money. He knows the email you have open.
- Click the pin at the top of the pane once and Pete stays open, following whichever email you select.
Limits
Pete is here to assist you up to 3 times a day for free, with your quota resetting at midnight, Ohio time. Drafts and Ask Pete questions share that count, across the connector and the add-in. Past it the pane shows an upgrade message. Sharing Pete with a colleague earns extra free drafts. Pete Pro comes with a higher daily allowance and covers Pete’s chat as well.
Troubleshooting
The button isn’t on my ribbon
After an admin deploys the add-in it can take up to a day to show up. Restart Outlook, or check Get Add-ins → Admin-managed. In Outlook on the web the button may sit under the … (more actions) menu on the open message.
“Couldn’t read the email body”
Outlook could not hand the message text to the add-in. Close the task pane, click fully into the message so it is the open item (not a preview), and try again. Encrypted or rights-protected messages cannot be read by any add-in.
“You’ve used your free drafts for today”
You have hit the 3-per-day free limit. It resets at midnight, Ohio time. Share Pete with a colleague for more, or go Pro to keep drafting.
Pete closes when I click another email
Click the pin at the top of Pete’s pane. He stays open after that, following your selection, until you close him.
Where it runs
Outlook on the web (outlook.com, or your office’s Outlook in the browser) and the new Outlook on Windows and Mac.
Still stuck?
Email hello@petethepigeon.com with your Outlook version and what the task pane said. A human answers.
Privacy and data
Nothing leaves your mailbox until you click Draft reply. When
you do, the open message’s subject, body and sender address plus your own
mailbox address are sent over HTTPS to Fugio Consulting, LLC’s server and
then to Anthropic’s Claude API, which writes the draft. The add-in does
not store your email, holds read-only access to the open message
(ReadItem), and cannot read your other mail or send anything. Full
detail is in the Privacy Policy.
Contact
Fugio Consulting, LLC — hello@petethepigeon.com. See also our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.