Introduction
When you’re asked to think about presentations most people immediately think of PowerPoint.
It is one of Microsoft’s most used applications and now has the integrated support of a powerful AI-assistant, Copilot.
PowerPoint lets you create professional-looking and visually engaging presentations, from scratch or a template. Presentations can include any mix of words, images, art, videos and animations – and be shared with ease.
CoPilot can make presentation creation easier and faster but you still need to know how to use PowerPoint if you want to design slide decks that stick in the memory.
It’s when you bring Copilot and your Microsoft 365 essentials together that the magic happens, as this article and others in my Empowering Productivity series explore.
How Can You Use Copilot in Microsoft PowerPoint for Better Presentations and Productivity?
Copilot is an AI-powered assistant integrated into all Microsoft 365 applications. In PowerPoint, it can help you create presentations that hit the mark – with minimum fuss.
Knowing the essentials of Microsoft PowerPoint gives you an advantage. It will make it easier for you to enjoy the benefits Copilot can deliver the busy Assistant.
Here is a snapshot of what you can ask Copilot to help you with in PowerPoint.
Create Presentations Faster
You could just start creating a presentation from scratch on your own but with Copilot it just makes it easier and quicker.
Copilot can work with a blank canvas or a template, and produce a workable draft in two distinct ways. Prompt it to create a presentation from a file (such as a Word doc or PDF) or prompt it to produce something about a given topic or theme.
Quick Tip: If you use Styles in Word to organise the document you want Copilot to work with in PowerPoint, it makes it easier for Copilot to understand how to break it up into slides for a presentation.
Copilot can also create individual slides from a file. Handy if additional information needs to be woven into a presentation or you wish to make a shorter presentation longer.
Copilot gives you a presentation ‘draft’ or starting point. You can review and revise the placeholder text, change images, and pull it into final shape for the big day.
Rewriting, Editing and Proofreading
Even the most visually stunning presentation can be spoiled by poor writing or lack of clarity.
Responsibility for clear communication and accuracy ultimately rests with you but you can ask Copilot to assist. Highlight selected text and the AI will auto-rewrite for you (checking for grammar, spelling and clarity).
Copilot can also ‘condense’ the text (summarising but keeping the original tone), make the language sound more ‘professional’ or visualise copy as a list, in bullets.
Adding Smart Images
Strong and relevant images help make presentations memorable. You could hunt for the right images yourself, or ask Copilot to assist. Copilot can suggest stock images for your presentation or create an AI-generated image.
Organising Your Presentation
A good presentation requires a clear and strong structure. You can prompt Copilot to organise slides into sections and it will automatically add section heading slides.
It’s a really neat function. Don’t like what Copilot has done with the structure? You don’t have to keep it. Reject it and ask it to try again (or take on the rest of the task yourself from here).
Summarising a Presentation
As a professional Assistant, you may be called upon to take an existing presentation and shorten it – to create a snappier version for a different meeting, purpose or audience.
No problem. Ask Copilot to assist. Prompt it to give you a bulleted summary of the presentation and to highlight key points for you.
Translate a Presentation into a Different Language
For some Assistants and other professionals using Microsoft 365, this feature of Copilot could be invaluable, especially if your clients or your organisation operate internationally.
Copilot can take a copy of an original presentation and translate it into one of more than 40 different languages (HINT: on Windows or Mac you’ll need to save the new copy, on the web version of 365 it automatically saves a copy).
In terms of languages covered, these include French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Arabic and more.
Whilst translation is a useful function of Copilot, you will need to take care with the accuracy of translation. You (and not the AI tool) are responsible for the outcome. Keeping your slide text wording as simple as possible will help ensure higher accuracy.
Copilot: A Smart Presentation Assistant which Requires Essential Microsoft PowerPoint Skills
The more I play with Copilot, the more I love it. The AI-assistance it provides saves me so much time and it makes putting information together so much easier.
To prove the point, I’ve even made a YouTube video about using Copilot to create a presentation in PowerPoint.
In the video, I walk you through the process of using Copilot to create a presentation. Working in MS 365 enterprise, it covers setting up prompts, generating slides and applying a design. Do take a look.
However, for all its brilliance, Copilot cannot do everything for you (and you do have to think about how much energy it uses, especially if the environment is important to you).
Knowing how to plan, research and structure a compelling presentation using good design principles and best practices remains an essential skill. If you’re flaky on that it’s going to be harder to know how to ‘prompt’ Copilot to do what you want it to do successfully.
Knowing how to craft a presentation with an engaging narrative, using the right blend of pace and flow, is a skill in human storytelling.
Knowing how to make a presentation look good, supporting the narrative without overwhelming it, is also important. Copilot is the assistant and you are the master in charge.
Be the Best Pilot of Microsoft 365 You Can Be
The power of AI is at your keyboard or touch screen, when you need it. The better you understand each application in Microsoft 365, the more powerful Copilot can be for you.
AI is your Copilot. You are the pilot. And a good pilot keeps their training up to date.
Read my other articles in this series to see how you can use Copilot in Word , Copilot in Excel , Copilot in SharePoint, Copilot in Outlook and Copilot in OneNote .
You can use all of these applications and Copilot inside Microsoft Teams as well.
To keep up to date with the essentials of Microsoft 365 there are numerous resources and ways to go. For example, I share my knowledge and experience with Assistants and organisations through my weekly newsletter, guide manuals, online courses, private coaching sessions and tailored workshops.
Like Copilot, I’m here to help (in a more human way) with all things MS 365. 😃
Until the next time.
Cohort 2 is here!
After the amazing success of our very first Microsoft 365 Fundamentals with AI and Copilot course, I’m so excited to open the doors again.
The feedback from Cohort 1 was incredible—people loved how practical and hands-on the sessions were, and many said they felt more confident and productive straight away.
If you missed out last time, now’s your chance to join us, learn how to make Copilot work for you, and be part of a friendly, supportive group that’s all about getting results.
This course will teach you how to leverage AI tools like Copilot to enhance productivity and efficiency in your daily tasks.
Don’t miss out—sign up today and stay ahead of the curve!
Visit the Course Page Now!