Can AI make your presentations for you?

  • Can AI make your presentations for you?

    Can AI make your presentations for you?

    AI is getting smarter everyday. But, can AI really create our presentations for us? Here is my experience with the several AI Presentation Developers, compared to Microsoft’s Designer and CoPilot, plus ChatGBT. In all cases, I used the free version or free trial.

    Using AI Presentation Developers to make your presentations

    I discovered  80 AI presentation tools and several “top ten” lists using AI search (ChatGBT, CoPilot, and Google). From these lists, I tested five tools that I heard my clients talking about.

    Each tool had a different user interface, list of features, and pricing plan. It was challenging to make a direct comparison and my testing method evolved. So, while this isn’t a scientific comparison, I have some clear findings and suggestions for you.

    1. Beautiful (beautiful.ai) – This platform boasted of visual slides and AI-powered images. They offered a free 14-day trial but require a credit card for the $12/month entry level plan that kicks in when the trial is over. I quickly created a nice-looking presentation from a simple prompt. Although the slides were filled with small text, they would make a lovely handout. The tool also allows importing an existing PPT, but this was slow and needed lots of editing. I also tried creating a presentation from a blog article. I was neither happy with the content nor the slide structure suggestions, so everything would require editing. In summary, Beautiful.ai did make beautiful slides, but it took time and effort to create those slides.
    2. Tome (tome.app) – I liked the approach with Tome as it generated an outline, before creating slides. I tried creating a presentation from the same blog, and this time, it worked! The structure, content, and even the pictures matched the content. They offered a free version with 500 AI credits. I used more than half of these credits to create my first presentation with just 5 slides. I also tried creating a presentation from the prompt: “Create a presentation on lawn mower safety.” It created an outline for my approval, then each slide had a few options. I found it easy to change the pictures and create new pictures. Oops, the free trial ran out before I could finish my second presentation or try more complicated presentations. Tome costs $16/month, but you can use their templates and manual editing for free.
    3. Gamma (gamma.app) – Like Tome, I found this AI presentation generator easy-to-use. It also created an outline for approval then generated slides with images. First, I asked it to generate a presentation on persuasion (an area where I have extensive knowledge). While the slides had a beautiful layout, I was disappointed with the content and there were no references. Like Beautiful.ai, the Gamma slide design was lovely and used full sentences like a brochure. You could easily change the text with an AI prompt or direct typing. I tried a second test, requesting a presentation on US versus Europe business culture. As this is also an area I know well, I thought the content was superficial. However, the slides looked nice, and the outline provided a starting point that I could have edited. I could quickly navigate between the slides and outline, make changes, or add slides. The presentation could be exported to PowerPoint or as a PDF. What’s more, I still have AI credits to play with using the free version! The free version was limited by AI credit and to just 10 slides/month, which contributed to the superficial content. For just $8/month, you receive 20 slides and unlimited AI.
    4. Canva (canva.com) – This tool was packed with templates, designs, and capabilities. The focus was clearly on the designs and pictures. The templates were available for presentations, websites, blogs and much more. There was a free version, but I wanted to assess the AI presentation development features, so I opted for the free 30-day trial. (The normal price is 12€/month). This system was by far the most complicated of those tested, but there was a helpful chat bot helped me find the AI prompt window. First, I asked for a presentation on persuasion and received 2 options with just 7 slides each. The content and design were not impressive. So, I tried a simpler topic – Lawn mower safety. As I’m not an expert on lawn mowers, I was impressed. There wasn’t much content, but the design and the automatically generated pictures looked surprisingly good. I also tried to generate AI images on Canva. I quickly created the image at the top of this blog. I’m looking forward to playing with this one a bit more over the next 29 days!
    5. Prezi (prezi.com) – Prezi’s AI presentation prompt window is the first thing you see at the top of their website. I requested a presentation on the various types of persuasive communication with references and pictures. Prezi uses a different technique to build a presentation. They take the audience on a journey. It starts with an overview, a “big picture” slide. Then it zooms-in to each section, creating a new slide. While the zoom feature is classic Prezi and interesting, I also felt the content was better than others. Although, the pictures didn’t have a consistent theme and there weren’t any references. The Prezi “big picture” approach could be interesting for presenting a business roadmap or training materials for a complicated process. Prezi AI starts at $19/month.

    Overall, these tools have the potential to generate beautiful slides. The colours, fonts, and pictures are truly eye-catching. While the designs looked good, the AI generated content and structures were less impressive. Further, there were no witty openings, analogies, or stories. Several prompts and manual editing would be needed to create a slide deck worth using. Although, once your brand style was established in the tool, it would all go faster. If you want to give an AI Presentation Developer a try, I suggest Gamma. It’s easy to use and has enough credits to give you a good feel for its capabilities.

    Using Microsoft AI for presentation development

    While the above comparison was an eye-opening exercise, I’m not yet ready to say goodbye to PowerPoint (PPT). And, neither are most companies that have a corporate template with this tool. Of course, Microsoft offers their own presentation development AI within PowerPoint — Designer and Copilot. These are found on the right side of the PowerPoint ribbon on the “Home” tab.

    Microsoft PowerPoint Home tab. See Designer and Copilot on the far right.

    • MS Designer – This AI feature is built into PowerPoint. It offers design suggestions as you create a presentation. Yet, it often doesn’t appear when using a corporate template. You can find it if you open a new blank presentation. You must be connected to WIFI. MS Designer can automatically find pictures and generate attractive slide structures, icons, and timelines. Then, you can paste the new slides or elements into your corporate template. When pasting, choose “Use Destination Theme” and PPT will automatically adjust the colours to match your corporate template. (I cover this in my courses, and I will go into this in more detail in a future blog.)
    • MS Copilot – This is the latest Microsoft AI tool. And, it’s appearing everywhere on Microsoft products, including in PowerPoint. Now, you can create a presentation from scratch using Copilot AI directly in PowerPoint. I asked Copilot for a US vs Europe business culture presentation with references and pictures. I received lots of content, 27 slides! Although the slides weren’t as pretty as those from some of the other systems, and they didn’t include references, I was impressed with the result. These slides were generated directly within PowerPoint, so they could be easily edited and pasted into my corporate template. There were a few formatting issues, but overall, it worked well. And there was no added cost! (I’ll include more on Copilot and PPT in a future blog!)

    These tools can really boost your slide development. MS Designer can help you make your slides better looking. MS Copilot can generate an entire presentation for you. However, both still require manual intervention.

    What about using ChatGPT AI to develop your presentations?

    ChatGBT (chatgpt.com) – I really like ChatGBT for research and editing, but what about for making presentations? Once again, I ran two tests: 1) a presentation on persuasion and 2) a presentation on US versus Europe business culture. In both cases, I was impressed with the content. The breadth of “thinking” was much better than the AI presentation developers. And it was the only system evaluated that included the requested references. Unfortunately, it did not actually generate any slides, so a separate presentation developer is still needed.

    Summary

    The AI Presentation Developers successfully developed slides from a prompt. These could help you create a fancy presentation for an event, a unique image, or a particular slide. But this extra creativity comes at a price. While they have a free trial or free features, they eventually require a monthly fee (although quite modest). They also require time to learn the platform and make your edits.

    Designer and Copilot are easy and practical alternatives, particularly with those using a PPT corporate template. While the designs are a step below the AI Presentation Developers, they offer a step up from standard PPT content. Why not try them?

    ChatGBT provided the detailed content, an interesting structure, and references. While AI takes information from others, this at least provided references to check sources.

    In summary, we can use these tools to research information and to design engaging slides. But this is not enough. Great presentations still need humans to use the tools and present the slides. Remember, the slides are the backdrop and you are the speaker! 😊

     

    Media, presentation and public speaking trainerKimberly VanLandingham is a presentation trainer and the owner of European Market Link Sarl, including Presentation Training Switzerland. Specialising in international and technical leaders and teams, she helps teams and leaders manage control their nerves and speak with confidence, clarity and charisma. Kimberly has over 20 years experience at the DuPont company, degrees in engineering and communications, and over 10 years experience helping clients boost their public speaking skills.

     

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