Network requirements: allowlisting DraftPilot for your firewall or web proxy

Last updated: 19 July 2026

Who this is for: IT / network administrators rolling out the DraftPilot Word add-in across a managed network.

Summary

The DraftPilot add-in runs inside Microsoft Word and relies on a small number of web domains being reachable. On tightly managed corporate networks, a firewall, web proxy, or SSL-inspection (secure web gateway) product can block one or more of these, which stops the add-in from loading. Allowlisting the domains below resolves it.

Domains to allow

Please allow the following hosts over HTTPS (port 443) through your firewall, web proxy, and any SSL-inspection / secure web gateway, for the machines that run the add-in:

Domain

Purpose

appsforoffice.microsoft.com

Microsoft’s Office.js runtime. Word needs this to start any add-in. If it’s blocked, no Office add-in (including DraftPilot) can initialise.

app.draftpilot.ai

The DraftPilot add-in itself (the task pane you see in Word).

api.draftpilot.ai

The DraftPilot API (reviews, document chat, playbooks, etc.).

Region note: the domains above cover our EU and standard deployments. If your organisation is on a dedicated/US deployment, your account manager will confirm any additional hosts.

Symptoms of a blocked network

If one of these domains is blocked, users typically see one of the following in Word:

  • A “can’t load” / blocked screen where the DraftPilot task pane should be (most often when appsforoffice.microsoft.com is blocked).

  • The add-in opens but is missing the “Review” tab or behaves like a plain web page rather than a Word add-in.

  • The task pane sits on a spinner and never finishes loading.

These are network-level blocks, not a problem with your DraftPilot account or licence.

How to confirm and fix

  1. Ask your IT/network team to allow the three domains above (and disable SSL inspection for them, or allow the DraftPilot/Microsoft certificates).

  2. Have the affected user fully close and reopen Word.

  3. The add-in should now load normally.

Still stuck?

If the add-in still won’t load after allowlisting, contact us at [email protected] and let us know:

  • which domain(s) you’ve allowed,

  • whether SSL inspection is in use, and

  • roughly how many users are affected.

We’re happy to jump on a short call with your IT team to work through it.