AI Tools to Level Up Your Presentations

Written By Libby Magliolo

AI tools can take real friction out of building a presentation, but only at certain points in the process. The trick is knowing where they help and where they just get in the way. Here's how I think about it across the 3 stages of creating a deck.

1️⃣ OUTLINING

Organize your information into a compelling narrative

This stage is about gathering information and arranging it into a logical sequence that tells a story rather than just a "data dump" or information dump.

AI tools that can help:

  • ​Gemini & Perplexity - Great AI-powered search tools for external research that synthesize top findings

  • ​ChatGPT - My go-to for organizing information

My quick process: While driving, I use talk-to-text to “word vomit” (technical term) ideas into my phone’s Notes app. Later, I paste that into ChatGPT with a prompt explaining my presentation topic and ask it to organize the information into an outline with suggested slide divisions. I even ask it for help with descriptive slide titles and ask for suggestions for slide visuals.

2️⃣ BUILDING SLIDES

Transform your outline into visual content

The bad news: There’s no magic AI tool that creates a flawless, ready-to-present deck. This step is where I actually use AI tools the least.

Worth exploring:

  • ​Beautiful.AI and Gamma - Good for inspiration and layout ideas (both offer free trials/plans)

These tools work best for simpler, broader topics or intro-level presentations but aren’t ideal for corporate, data-heavy decks with specific brand guidelines.

My time-saving tricks:

  • Keep a deck of “inspiration slides” from past presentations (feel free to steal my favorites!)

  • Borrow ideas from earnings call decks (Shopify and PepsiCo have great examples)

  • Honorable mention: Canva - Great templates with increasingly integrated AI features

3️⃣ PREPARING YOUR DELIVERY

Craft your talk track and anticipate questions

After creating your slides, you need to decide what to say when presenting them. Remember: concise and to-the-point is always the goal.

Recommended structure for your "talk track":

  • One sentence per slide summarizing the key point

  • Two supporting bullet points highlighting essential data or takeaways

AI assistance:

  • Use ChatGPT or Claude to distill your “brain dump” thoughts into core points for each slide

  • Copy these into your PowerPoint speaker notes

Pro tip: Upload your finished presentation to ChatGPT or Claude along with detailed audience descriptions (e.g., “Jane is the Director of Finance who asks detailed budget and timeline questions”). Then ask for the five most likely questions or objections based on your material and audience.

📌 SUMMARY

Think of AI as your “intern” – not replacing what you do, but helping speed up certain tasks. I find it’s often easier to edit AI-generated content than create from scratch, and AI gives me another brain to bounce ideas off of.

I’d love to hear how these suggestions work for you!

Libby Magliolo