Best AI for presentations and documents: slides, reports, proposals and PDFs
Office work is full of slides, reports, letters, proposals and long PDFs. AI can draft them, design them and summarise them, so you spend your time on the thinking and checking.
The best tools by job
| Job | Best tools | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Slides from an outline | Gamma, Copilot in PowerPoint, Gemini in Google Slides, Canva | Gamma makes good-looking decks fast; Copilot/Gemini work inside the apps you already use |
| Designed decks for pitches | Canva, Beautiful.ai, Gamma | Templates with consistent design |
| Write reports and proposals | Chat assistants (Claude, ChatGPT), Copilot in Word, Gemini in Docs | Draft from your notes; you add facts and numbers |
| Summarise long PDFs | Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, NotebookLM, Acrobat AI Assistant | Ask for page references so you can check |
| Fill forms and templates | Copilot / Gemini in documents | Always check the final document |
| Translate documents | DeepL, Google Translate, chat assistants | Have a fluent person check official documents |
Workflow: a presentation in 30 minutes
- Outline first with a chat assistant:
Create an outline for a 10-slide presentation to a SACCO board about adopting mobile banking.
Audience: board members, not technical. Goal: approve a pilot. For each slide: title, 3 bullet points, speaker note.- Check and edit the outline: add your real numbers, examples and recommendation.
- Turn it into slides with Gamma, Copilot in PowerPoint or Gemini in Slides (paste your outline).
- Fix the design: one idea per slide, few words, big readable text, your logo and colours.
- Rehearse with the speaker notes; ask AI for likely questions from the audience.
What 8 tough questions might a SACCO board ask about this proposal? Suggest short answers. [paste outline]Workflow: a proposal or report
- Paste your notes, data and the client's requirements.
- Ask for a structure (executive summary, problem, solution, timeline, budget, risks).
- Draft section by section; check every number and claim.
- Ask for a one-page executive summary last.
- Format in Word or Google Docs with headings, tables and page numbers.
Summarising long documents
Summarise this tender document. List: deadline, eligibility requirements, documents needed,
evaluation criteria and anything unusual. Give page numbers for each point. [attach PDF]Then open the pages it mentions and confirm. Never submit a tender based only on an AI summary.
Think about it: Your boss asks for a 15-slide deck on last quarter's sales by tomorrow. AI produces beautiful slides in 2 minutes, but some numbers look odd. What do you do?Show answer
Check every number against the real sales data (spreadsheet or system) and fix them; AI may have invented or miscalculated figures. Keep the design, cut slides that don't add value, add your own analysis and recommendation, and rehearse. Accuracy matters more than looks.
Summary
- Gamma, Copilot in PowerPoint, Gemini in Slides and Canva turn outlines into decks.
- Chat assistants and Copilot/Gemini in Word and Docs draft reports and proposals.
- Summarise PDFs with page references, then check the pages.
- Protect confidential documents; check every number.
Check yourself
What should you create first before making slides with AI? (one word)
Show answer
outline
When AI summarises a long PDF, what should you ask it to include so you can check? (two words: page ___)
Show answer
page numbers
Should you submit a tender based only on an AI summary? (yes or no)
Show answer
no