AI for Slide Decks: An Honest Look at Gamma, ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini

The question I get asked constantly: "Which AI should I use to build slide decks?"

The honest answer: it depends on where you're starting from and what you actually need the end product to look like. After testing Gamma, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Gemini, I can tell you they are not interchangeable. Each one has a different strength — and a different frustration.

Gamma: When You Need Something That Looks Good Fast

Gamma is the most impressive out of the gate. Type a topic, give it a few details, and in about two minutes you have a full slide deck with layouts, visuals, and formatted content. It looks professional immediately.

The catch: you get what Gamma decides. If the structure or messaging isn't quite right, you're editing someone else's vision rather than refining your own. For a quick conference presentation or an internal briefing where polish matters more than precision, it's hard to beat. For training content that needs to be exactly right, plan to spend time fixing it.

Best for: Fast turnaround, polished look, when content flexibility is acceptable.

ChatGPT: Full Control, Zero Design

ChatGPT will create a downloadable PowerPoint file. I'll be direct: it's plain white background, black text, no design whatsoever. But here's why that's sometimes exactly what you want — you wrote every word. The structure is yours. The content is precisely what you asked for.

Use ChatGPT to build your content and structure, then apply your own department template in PowerPoint. It's two steps instead of one, but the result is more accurate and fully customizable.

Best for: When accuracy matters more than aesthetics, or when you already have a template to drop content into.

Microsoft Copilot: The Seamless Option (If Your Agency Has It)

If your agency has Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses, this is the path of least resistance. Copilot lives inside PowerPoint, so you're not switching between apps or copy-pasting between platforms. You can draft content in Word first, then import it as an outline into PowerPoint — which gives you more control than asking Copilot to generate slides from scratch.

The results are more variable than the other tools, and it works best when you're refining existing content rather than starting cold. The Create from AI feature does produce a solid deck with speaker notes you can edit — and there are also options to generate individual slides or apply different slide designs.

Best for: Agencies already using Microsoft 365, updating or reformatting existing decks, keeping everything within your organization's security boundary.

Gemini: The One to Watch (Especially if You Use NotebookLM)

Gemini's Canvas feature can build a slide deck, and what makes it genuinely interesting is the connection to NotebookLM. If you've already gathered your sources and content in NotebookLM, Gemini can draw from that material when building your deck. The Canvas output can be exported and edited in Google Slides or PowerPoint.

This is a significant improvement over the slide decks created natively in NotebookLM, which cannot be edited after generation. For anyone already using NotebookLM to organize training research, this workflow has a lot of potential.

Best for: When you've already done your research in NotebookLM and want to convert it into an editable presentation without starting over.

The Bottom Line

There's no single winner. The right tool is the one that matches where you're starting and what you need at the end:

• Need something polished in two minutes? Gamma.

• Need precise content you control completely? ChatGPT, then your own template.

• Already in the Microsoft ecosystem? Copilot.

• Working from NotebookLM research? Gemini Canvas.

Want to Try These Tools With a Guide?

Odin Training Solutions offers private virtual workshops for training teams — hands-on sessions where we work through AI tools using your department's actual projects. You leave with practical skills and working materials, not just theory.

90-minute AI Accelerator: $1,000 CDN / $750 USD | 4-hour Interactive Workshop: $2,500 CDN / $2,000 USD

Contact kerry.avery@shaw.ca to set something up for your team.