AI can help create presentations faster and help you get your message across to your audience better. Tools like ChatGPT help you find the right words and organize thoughts. AI image generators can save you from searching for the right stock photo and give your presentation the extra pop that it needs to stand out.
ChatGPT can be used with Microsoft PowerPoint to summarize text, organize thoughts and write bullet points. When used in conjunction with generative AI for images, users can create bright vibrant PowerPoint slides with ease.
We’ll look at both ways to manipulate and generate better text combined with AI image generation tools that can help people brainstorm new ideas and create quick unique graphics. We’ll also highlight some of the alternative tools that combine text and image generation for better presentations.
First, Lets look at some of the exciting ways that business users can take advantage of ChatGPT for PowerPoint Presentations.
We will use a fictional ice cream shop named Cool as Ice for our examples.
Table of Contents
Let ChatGPT Suggest a PowerPoint Presentation Outline
Not sure where to start on a PowerPoint presentation?
Let ChatGPT create one for you.
Try a prompt like: Create a fun outline for 10 Power Point slides related to the history of ice cream shops and why an audience should invest in one called Cool as Ice.
We used ChatGPT Plus which takes advantage of OpenAI’s most recent AI model, GPT-4.
When you include modifiers in your prompts like “fun” the data created is impressively creative and will give you some witty ideas that you may not have otherwise thought of. While you may not want to have “fun” presentations for business you can also ask it to create outlines in different tones that are suited for your audience.
We especially like the title, “Scoop Into The Past”
So, let’s take a scoop and have ChatGPT organize the history of ice cream into bullet points for us.
Using ChatGPT to Organize and group content
ChatGPT is well versed in a range of historical topics. For times that ChatGPT does not have the historical knowledge or information is newer than it’s training dataset which goes up through September of 2021, users can copy and paste large blocks of text directly into the prompt input.
Try a prompt like: Summarize this into short bullet points for a presentation in chronological order
Paste the text in, and ChatGPT will turn blocks of text into bullet points that can quickly be inserted into a presentation.
For the example below, we used a prompt to summarize the history of ice cream parlors.
The more exact you can make a prompt, the better it will be. Make sure to ask ChatGPT to summarize in brief bullet points. Otherwise, the answers will be too long and not suited for adding into a PowerPoint Presentation.
For large sets of data and full document summarization, ChatGPT offers a tool called Code Interpreter that’s available with ChatGPT Plus, their paid subscription. The feature is currently in beta, but allows people to upload large documents or pdf files directly into the software.
You can manipulate the documents and have it summarize them for you.
In our testing, we found that it works best with self contained documents. It was not great at piecing documents together in the context of other information available to the general public.
Ask ChatGPT to Re-write Bullet Points
We recommend making the content generated by ChatGPT your own, by using the content it creates as a first draft. It gives your slides a personal touch and it can take longer to have it auto-generate the exact text you need through prompt engineering than it takes to re-write it yourself.
However, a great use for ChatGPT is asking it to re-write a sentence.
Try asking ChatGPT to re-write a sentence to be shorter and provide 25 different versions.
By having the AI chat bot generate many different iterations at once, you can pick and choose the ones that you like best.
This trick helps you get past writers block, and helps you fit a complex idea on one line of a PowerPoint slide.
ChatGPT Can Provide Background Information for PowerPoint Presentations
Keeping ChatGPT open while you’re writing is a big productivity booster.
You can use ChatGPT for general background information for research. It’s much faster than searching Google for the answers that you need.
Users need to be aware that the information from ChatGPT may not be accurate and you should validate your sources before presenting something that has more serious implications than our fictional ice cream shop.
We weren’t surprised to see Vanilla and Chocolate as the #1 and #2 most popular ice cream flavors.
Not sure we would have guessed Mint Chocolate Chip would come in all the way at #4 but who are we to argue with advanced Artificial Intelligence?
Use Generative AI for PowerPoint Images
ChatGPT and Generative AI Images go together like peanut butter and jelly.
If you’re unfamiliar with using AI to create images there are a number of high quality services that will create images for you based on text prompts.
AI image generation works like ChatGPT but instead of text output, the services will output high quality images.
The example below was created using the prompt:
A delicious bright looking dripping mint chocolate chip ice cream cone centered on a white background.
By defining a white background, it ensures that it will be easy for us to embed into a Power Point presentation. If we needed to, we could use follow-up prompts to ask the AI to remove shadows, zoom out etc.
This specific image was generated using Midjourney.com which creates very high quality images, but the user interface can be difficult to navigate. Midjourney allows some free generations, and then requires a monthly fee.
Bing Image Creator also creates beautiful images, and is completely free to use.
Do note that not all image generation services allow for commercial use of the content created. It’s currently an ambiguous area of the law as AI is so new and it’s unclear which if any copyright laws are applicaable.
To help avoid any potential future trouble, we put together a guide highlighting some of the best AI image generators that allow for commercial use.
Use Generative AI for Slide Layout Ideas
Another use case for creating presentations with AI is having it recommend slide layouts.
PowerPoint has had the same templates for years, and they can get you really far. If you want something that’s truly new and creative, AI can suggest full PowerPoint slides for you.
You can use follow-up prompts to isolate parts of the image or remove text.
Many experts that study how to design better presentations will often recommend that people start by viewing what others have done, finding designs that you like and using them as a starting point. AI can speed up the process even faster.
The image above was also generated using Midjourney.com
ChatGPT Plugins for PowerPoint
In our research we did not find many plugins that work directly inside of PowerPoint.
One of the few plugins that we came across is called Shufflrr. It adds a ChatGPT integrated button into the ribbon of Power BI that lets you insert AI generated text into your PowerPoint slides.
Having ChatGPT inside of PowerPoint is convenient but we’re not sure if it’s worth the effort when it’s pretty easy to copy and paste directly from ChatGPT.
There is also a great alternative to 3rd party plugins coming soon.
AI is coming to PowerPoint with Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft announced Microsoft 365 Copilot in PowerPoint in March of 2023.
They provided the example video below of what the new AI powered experience will look like, but have not announced an official release date.
We’re looking forward to having the ability to use AI directly in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. Hopefully this solution will be released to the general public in the very near future!
AI Powered Alternatives to PowerPoint
If you are not tied to the Microsoft ecosystem, there are a number of different solutions available on the market today that will allow users to create presentations with AI generated images and text without having to use separate products like ChatGPT or Midjourney.com
One of our favorite products is called Tome
They take the idea of generating presentations with a prompt to the next level by creating a full slide deck of text and images. You can quickly update the images or text by asking it to regenerate portions of it and the
Google has also announced that AI is going to be built into their Google Workplace suite of products under the Duet Brand name.
While Google was late to the party of generative AI, they have been investing heavily in catching up to ChatGPT.
Google’s AI powered text chat bot is called Bard and the technology behind it will be available in the entire Google suite which includes Google Slides.
Conclusion
Where there are currently limited options for directly integrating ChatGPT with PowerPoint, Microsoft is hard at work bringing generative AI to the Microsoft Office platform.
Microsoft recently announced a limited beta for Copilot for Excel and has also previewed what AI generated text will look like in Microsoft Word.
We imagine that an AI update is coming to PowerPoint in the very near future even if there is no official release date as of writing.
In the meantime, people can create amazing presentations with ChatGPT and PowerPoint, then turbo-charge the creative juices by using an AI image generation service like Midjouney or Bing Image Creator to bring their words and text to life.
Beyond the creative, don’t forget to ask ChatGPT for tips on body posture, public speaking, and how to give the best presentation possible!