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Can Copilot Create a PowerPoint Presentation?

Copilot sits at the far-right of PowerPoint’s ribbon and opens a side-pane for all AI prompts.
Click “Create a presentation,” type a brief, and it auto-builds a slide deck with images and speaker notes that you can undo or edit instantly.
Natural-language commands let you rewrite, reorganize, or re-brand slides on the fly, though you’ll still need to fact-check and add complex charts yourself.


Copilot now lives at the far-right end of PowerPoint’s ribbon (desktop/mac) or in the slim command bar above the slide canvas (web). The multicoloured “sparkle loops” icon opens a side-pane where all Copilot interactions happen—prompts at the bottom, AI results above.


If the icon is missing, update Office to Version 2403 or later via File ▶ Account ▶ Update Options and confirm your Microsoft 365 Copilot or Copilot Pro subscription (about €22 / US $20 per month after a one-month free trial).


Drafting a deck from scratch

  1. Create or open a blank presentation.

  2. Click the Copilot icon and choose Create a presentation – the first card in the pane.

  3. Type a natural-language brief such as “10-slide pitch on green hydrogen for non-engineers” and hit Enter (or the blue send arrow).

  4. Copilot spins for a few seconds, then inserts a title slide, divider slides, on-brand imagery chosen by Designer, and speaker notes under every slide.


Everything Copilot does is reversible: press Ctrl + Z / Cmd + Z or the Undo arrow to roll back the whole generation.


Turning an existing document into slides

If you already have a project brief or report:

Open the Copilot pane again, but this time pick Create presentation from file. A file-picker shows your recent Word docs, PDFs, and text files in OneDrive or SharePoint; choose one and let Copilot pull the headings, imagery, and key points onto slides.


Starting from a branded template? Copilot keeps that template’s colours, layouts, and fonts so the AI draft already respects your corporate look.


Polishing with natural-language commands

Once the draft is on-screen you can chat with Copilot like an editor:

  • “Rewrite this slide in plain language” – highlights your current slide and offers Shorter / Friendlier / More-detailed rewrites.

  • “Organise this presentation into logical sections” – Copilot inserts section headers and groups the existing slides beneath them.

  • “Add a visual timeline to slide 4” – drops in a SmartArt timeline that matches the theme.

  • “Regenerate design using our template” – useful after you paste a logo into View ▶ Slide Master; Copilot reapplies design across every slide automatically.


All edits appear instantly in the main canvas, and yes, Undo still works.


What Copilot still can’t do

  • Offline work: Copilot is cloud-backed; the pane stays grey if PowerPoint can’t reach Microsoft’s servers.

  • Complex data charts: it drops placeholder images rather than live Excel charts—import finished charts afterwards.

  • Truth & nuance: the draft is only a starting point; always fact-check and rewrite where needed.


Getting access and staying updated

  • Licensing – Copilot is bundled in many Microsoft 365 business/enterprise plans and in the consumer Copilot Pro add-on (≈ €22 / $20).

  • Software build – desktop apps need Version 2403 (March 2025 Current Channel) or newer; the web and mobile clients update automatically.


Prompting tips that save time

  1. Be concrete: include audience, tone, length, and any must-have visuals.

  2. Iterate out loud: short follow-ups like “shorten slide 6 notes to 40 words” work better than rewriting by hand.

  3. Use Designer after Copilot: the AI’s layouts are good; Designer’s suggestions often make them great.

  4. Brand first: start in your company template so colours and fonts propagate automatically.


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