Two ways to approach it

There are two good options for desk workers building presentations with AI, depending on the tools you have.

If you have Microsoft 365 with Copilot, you can generate slides directly inside PowerPoint. If you use ChatGPT or Claude, you can use them to build the full text outline and speaker notes first, then paste that into your slide deck manually. Both approaches work — the Copilot route is faster for layout, the ChatGPT/Claude route gives you more control over content.

Option A: Using Copilot in PowerPoint

Open PowerPoint (desktop app or web). Click Home → Copilot in the ribbon. The Copilot panel opens on the right. Click Create presentation about... and type your brief.

The brief is where most people go wrong. "Create a presentation about the Q3 results" produces a generic structure that won't match what you actually need. Instead, be specific about what each section should cover:

Create a presentation for [audience, e.g. the executive team]. Topic: [specific topic] Purpose: [what decision or action you want the audience to take] Slides to include: - Slide 1: [topic and context — one sentence] - Slide 2: [key finding or update — include: what changed, why it matters] - Slide 3: [supporting data or evidence] - Slide 4: [risks or considerations] - Slide 5: [recommended action or next step] Tone: Direct and professional. Plain English. Max 4 bullet points per slide.

Copilot will generate the full deck with layout and speaker notes. Accept the slides you're happy with. For any slide that missed the mark, click it, open Copilot, and type a specific refinement: "Rewrite this slide — it needs to lead with the recommendation, not the background."

Note: Copilot in PowerPoint will use placeholder text for any specific data it doesn't have. You'll need to replace those placeholders with your actual numbers before the presentation.

Option B: Build the content in ChatGPT or Claude, then transfer

This method gives you tighter control over what each slide says before any formatting happens. Use this prompt:

I'm building a presentation for [audience] on [topic]. Purpose: [what you want the audience to do or understand] Length: [X] slides For each slide, give me: - Slide title (5 words maximum) - 3 bullet points (each under 15 words) - One sentence of speaker notes Structure it as: opening context → key findings → supporting evidence → recommendation → next steps

Once you have the full outline, copy it into your slide deck manually. This takes 10–15 minutes but means you control every word before any design decisions are made.

The things AI always gets wrong in presentations

AI-generated presentations have predictable weaknesses. Watch for these and fix them:

💡 This week's action

The next time you need to build a presentation, spend 5 minutes writing a brief with the slide-by-slide structure before you open PowerPoint. Use either Option A or B above to generate the content. Then spend your editing time on what matters: verifying the facts, sharpening the key message, and cutting anything that dilutes the argument.