Any educators out there who do not need to create slide presentations? I doubt it! Historically, I have delivered presentations which were content focussed over visually appealing (or unfortunately accessible!). Times have changed, and generative AI is one of these changes.
Can generative AI help us get the right structure, help us write clear content, help find visuals and ensure everything looks polished? Or is the time-saving promise of AI-powered presentation tools far fetched? For me, the answer is in between! I will explain why below by demonstrating four AI-powered presentation tools, Canva AI, SlideSpeak AI, Gamma and Copilot AI, using the same or similar prompt. I had each tool create a presentation, but the results varied in design, detail and usability. Here are my thoughts on what you can expect from each, along with screen recordings that show the steps to create a presentation and what the PowerPoint Accessibility Checker brought up for each.
Canva AI – Quick, Polished and Downloadable
If you need a visually appealing presentation in the shortest amount of time, Canva AI is an excellent option. It generates a well-designed slide deck almost instantly with layouts that look professional and images that are usually relatable.
Pros:
✔️ Fast and polished, great for when time is tight
✔️ Automatically includes visuals
✔️ Downloadable as a PowerPoint file
Cons:
❌ Content needs a lot of work (although, all examples will need your input)
❌ Accessibility is not guaranteed. Titles may be missing, images do not have alt text, text boxes may be shapes rather than editable text and the reading order may not work well with immersive readers
SlideSpeak AI – Structured, Varied & Revamps Old Decks
If your main challenge is generating detailed content, SlideSpeak AI is worth exploring. It creates a structured and content-rich presentation with reasonable visuals. It also offers a revamp feature, meaning you can add an existing slide and SlideSpeak will refresh it while keeping the exact wording.
The free version does not allow PowerPoint downloads, but with the paid version, you can export your work in PowerPoint format.
Pros:
✔️ Generates detailed slides with structured content
✔️ Option to revamp existing slides without changing wording
✔️ Offers different design styles
Cons:
❌ Requires a paid version to download as a PowerPoint file
❌ Accessibility is not guaranteed. Titles may be missing, images do not have alt text, text boxes may be shapes rather than editable text and the reading order may not work well with immersive readers
Gamma – Fast, Visually Engaging but AI-Generated Look
If your focus is speed and initial visual impact, Gamma delivers. It creates an engaging presentation almost instantly with a sleek, modern design and structured content. However, the AI-generated visuals can sometimes be a little too obvious, making them less relatable or professional depending on the audience.
Pros:
✔️ Very quick generation with an initial wow factor
✔️ Reasonably structured content
✔️ Downloadable as a PowerPoint file
Cons:
❌ AI-generated visuals can sometimes look unnatural or generic
❌ Accessibility is not guaranteed. Titles may be missing, images do not have alt text, text boxes may be shapes rather than editable text and the reading order may not work well with immersive readers
Copilot AI – Content and Accessibility First, Design Later
If your biggest challenge is structuring your content, Copilot AI provides a solid starting point. It focuses on generating slide content rather than visuals, meaning the slides themselves are quite plain at first. However, the Design feature allows you to enhance them later.
Pros:
✔️ Creates a structured outline with key points
✔️ Gives flexibility to add design elements with the ‘Design’ feature in PowerPoint
✔️ Accessibility
Cons:
❌ No visuals included initially, extra steps needed for design
Final Thoughts: Would an AI Presentation Generator Tool Help You?
Each of these tools offers value in getting you set up much quicker than before. The ability to generate visually designed slides with consistency has improved dramatically. However, none of these tools are a magic wand – they do not do it all and they do not replace you or your judgement!
It is easy to think of AI as something that will do the job for you – and indeed I believe a lot of the criticism over AI is around this ‘replacement’ concept, but AI does not take away your role as an educator. AI can help speed up different aspects of presentation creation, but you still need to decide on your content, your structure and your delivery process.
So, ask yourself:
- Do you struggle most with getting started? All can help with this, but if you are used to PowerPoint – Copilot AI is a great place to start.
- Is structuring your ideas a challenge? SlideSpeak AI might be the right fit!
- Do you need something fast with a professional look? Gamma or Canva AI are options.
- Is speed and visual impact your priority? Gamma might be the one to go for!
In all cases, I recommend using PowerPoints ‘Accessibility Checker’ because most AI-generated slides I have tested (thus far) do not ensure proper structure for screen readers, alternative text for images or text readability. Hence, accessibility changes will be required on all these examples except the Copilot option (bonus here for CoPilot – but the trade off is that you will need to add your own visuals using the CoPilot process). Having said that, the accessibility feature in PowerPoint makes it easy to apply accessibility changes to which ever option you chose.
AI can certainly help, but as always, your skills, the purpose of your presentation, and your input is what makes a presentation truly effective. Which tool works best for you depends on where you need, or would like, the most support.
