Who can use this: Any team member
Available on: Gong Engage
Ideal for: Sales rep, Tech admin
Use this article when Gong Extension in Outlook is showing send warnings, the add-in is not staying signed in, or the side panel is not updating correctly.
"Gong Extension is taking longer than expected" or "Could not send this message"
Microsoft Outlook enforces a five-second time limit for add-in processing at send time. If Gong Extension takes longer than this (due to network conditions, VPN routing, or local security policies), Outlook shows one of these messages.
When you see this message:
Click Send anyway to send the email immediately. The email sends, but tracking may not be applied.
If the message falls to Drafts instead of sending, open the draft and send it again.
Note:
If you click Send anyway, the email goes out but Gong may not have had time to attach tracking. Check the email in your Engage Messages page to confirm tracking status. If timeouts are happening frequently, check with your IT team about VPN or network policy settings that may be adding latency at send time.
Add-in keeps signing out
If Gong Extension asks you to sign in repeatedly, an Outlook environment policy or WebView2 configuration is likely clearing session state.
Make sure you are signed in to Outlook with the same account you use for Gong.
Check whether your company has policies that clear add-in session data. If so, contact your IT team: this is an environment configuration issue, not a Gong issue.
If the issue only started recently, check whether a Windows or Outlook update was applied. Some updates reset WebView2 settings that affect add-in persistence. [VERIFY: confirm WebView2 is relevant here]
Side panel shows no contact or stale context
If the side panel does not show contact information, or shows information that looks outdated:
Close and reopen the side panel by clicking the Gong icon and selecting Open side panel again.
If context is stale, wait a few minutes and reopen. Gong syncs contact data periodically.
Confirm the contact exists in Gong and is linked to the correct email address.
Classic Outlook is not supported
Gong Extension requires New Outlook. If you are on Classic Outlook, the add-in does not work. Contact your IT team about upgrading to New Outlook before installing Gong Extension.
When to involve IT or Microsoft
Some Outlook issues are caused by company-level environment policies rather than the Gong add-in itself. Involve your IT team when:
Send timeouts happen consistently despite good network conditions.
The add-in signs out repeatedly after IT has already investigated.
The side panel fails to load on any email across multiple team members.
Involve Microsoft when:
The issue reproduces without the Gong add-in installed.
Other Outlook add-ins are experiencing similar behavior.
Frequently asked questions
What does clicking Send anyway mean for tracking?
When you click Send anyway, the email is sent immediately without waiting for Gong to finish processing. Gong may not have had time to attach the tracking pixel or modified link URLs before the email went out. Check the email in your Engage Messages page to confirm whether tracking was applied. If tracking is missing, the email was sent before Gong could attach it.
Why does the add-in keep signing me out?
Repeated sign-outs are almost always caused by an Outlook environment policy or WebView2 setting that clears add-in session data. This is controlled by your IT team, not by Gong. Share this article with your IT team and ask them to review session persistence settings for Outlook add-ins.
Is Classic Outlook supported?
No. Gong Extension requires New Outlook. Classic Outlook is not supported. If your company is on Classic Outlook, contact your IT team about switching to New Outlook.
The side panel shows no contact even after reopening. What should I check?
Confirm the contact exists in Gong and is linked to the email address in the thread. If they are in Gong but the panel is still empty, it may be a sync delay: wait a few minutes and reopen. If the panel is consistently empty for all emails, the add-in may not be fully activated. Try signing out and signing back in to Gong from the add-in.
What information should I collect before escalating to support?
Collect: your Outlook version and whether you are on New or Classic Outlook; your Windows version; whether the issue happens for all team members or just some; the exact error message or behavior you are seeing; and whether any recent Outlook or Windows updates were applied before the issue started.