What's Changing

Google Slides becomes Microsoft PowerPoint. Slides, layouts, themes, transitions, and presenter view all carry across — and PowerPoint has more of each. The big new things on PowerPoint for the web in 2026 are Designer (now branded as part of Copilot — drop content on a slide, get layout suggestions automatically), Create from a prompt (Copilot builds you a whole deck from a brief), Designer Editor (inline image editing — background removal, object erase — straight on the canvas), the dedicated Record tab (presentation recorder with Cameo to embed your camera into the slide), and Speaker Coach for rehearsal feedback on pacing, filler words, and pitch.

Try it above — the interactive simulation mirrors the real PowerPoint desktop. Click slide thumbnails on the left to switch slides, click any title or bullet to edit, change themes from the Design tab, set per-slide transitions from Transitions, and start a slide show from the Slide Show tab or the green Slide Show button in the status bar. Press Esc inside the slide show to exit.

What Stays the Same

• Browser-based editing — open and edit decks at office.com without installing anything
• Real-time collaboration — colored cursors, auto-save
• Slide thumbnails on the left — drag to reorder, just like Slides
• Speaker notes — the notes pane below the slide canvas
• Transitions and animations — same concepts, much more selection
• Sharing — link-based with view/edit/specific-people scopes
• Export to PDF / video — File > Export

Migration Heads-Up

• Google Slides files (.gslides) are converted to PowerPoint format (.pptx) during migration. Most decks convert cleanly, but custom fonts may swap to a fallback, and animations sometimes shift slightly. Open important decks after migration and click through them.
• Linked Google Sheets data in Slides charts converts to a static snapshot. To keep live data, paste-link from Excel into PowerPoint after migration.
• Custom themes from Google Slides become PowerPoint templates but the visual mapping isn't perfect — your brand templates may need a refresh in PowerPoint format.

The PowerPoint Layout

• Title bar — file name, AutoSave indicator, presence avatars, Comments button, Catch up, Copilot button, Share button
• Ribbon — tabs: File, Home, Insert, Draw, Design, Transitions, Animations, Slide Show, Record, Review, View. The Simplified Ribbon (single row) is the default; toggle to Classic Ribbon (multi-row) in the upper-right
• Slide thumbnail rail on the left — drag to reorder, right-click for Reset slide, Duplicate, Hide, New slide
• Slide canvas in the center — your current slide
• Notes pane at the bottom — speaker notes
• Right-side task panes — Designer / Copilot / Comments / Animation Pane / Format pane (one open at a time)

Designer — Make Slides Look Good Fast

PowerPoint's Designer (now branded as Copilot) suggests layouts based on whatever you put on a slide:

1. Drop a title and a few bullet points on a blank slide
2. The Designer pane opens automatically on the right with several layout options
3. Click any option to apply it
4. Add an image or icon — Designer regenerates suggestions including the new content

For Blue Ant Media's brand, your IT/Marketing team can configure Organizational Asset Library so Designer pulls from approved logos and images. Until that's set up, Designer uses generic stock images.

Copilot in PowerPoint — Three Big Capabilities

1. Create a new deck from a prompt

• File > New > prompt: "Create a 10-slide presentation on Q3 streaming performance for executives"
• Optional: add up to 5 reference files (PDF, Word, Excel, existing PPTX) — Copilot uses them as content
• The result is a starting deck — edit, rearrange, refine

1. Add a slide from a prompt or file

• On any slide, click + New Slide > From a prompt or From a file
• Faster than building from scratch when you need to add a section to an existing deck

1. In-canvas Copilot actions

• Select text or an object → Copilot icon appears
• Inline actions: Auto-rewrite, Condense, Make professional, Visualize as table

Mac Users: PowerPoint for the web works in Safari/Chrome on Mac. Copilot is available the same way. The desktop PowerPoint for Mac also has Copilot when installed.

Animations and Transitions

Both are now fully available in PowerPoint for the web (closed the gap with desktop in 2025-2026).

Transitions — how one slide moves to the next:

• Click the Transitions tab
• Pick from the gallery: Fade, Push, Wipe, Morph (smart transition that animates between similar elements), and many more
• Set duration and apply to one or all slides

Animations — how elements appear/move on a slide:

• Select an element on the slide
• Animations tab > pick an effect (Fade, Fly In, Wipe, Emphasis effects, etc.)
• Open the Animation Pane to reorder, retime, and chain animations
• For complex sequences (like building a timeline), the Animation Pane is essential

Designer Editor — Inline Image Editing

New in March 2026. Right-click any image on a slide:

• Edit picture > Designer Editor opens an overlay with:
• Remove background — one-click background removal
• Erase object — paint over an object to remove it
• AI text effects — apply stylized text directly on the image
• Resolution upscale — clean up low-res photos

This replaces the round-trip to Photoshop / Pixelmator for most quick edits.

Co-Authoring

Same as Google Slides:

• Colored cursors with the editor's name
• Avatars in the title bar
• Auto-save runs continuously
• Comments + @mentions create tasks for the assignee

The Catch up button summarizes what changed since you last opened the deck — useful for long-running decks with many editors.

Slide Show — Presenting

PowerPoint for the web has two presentation modes:

• Slide Show (F5 or Slide Show tab > From Beginning) — full-screen presentation in your browser
• Present in Teams — starts a Teams meeting from inside the deck. Your slides become the shared content, your camera goes in a thumbnail. One click instead of "share screen → pick PowerPoint window."

While presenting:

• Live captions — Subtitles tab in the toolbar. Pick caption language + on-screen position. Captions can also translate in real time (e.g., speak in English, captions appear in French for the audience)
• Speaker notes — the presenter view (web supports a simplified version) shows your notes alongside the current slide
• Slide thumbnails — jump to any slide

Sharing

Same dialog as Word/Excel:

• Anyone with link / People in your org / Specific people
• Can edit / Can view / Can review (suggesting-only mode)
• Optional expiration + password

For client decks, "Anyone with link, view-only, expires in 30 days, password protected" is the safest combo.

Google Slides to PowerPoint — Quick Reference

Tips

• Build with Designer in mind — drop content on a blank slide first, let Designer suggest the layout. Faster than dragging text boxes around.
• Use Morph for animated effects — duplicate a slide, move/resize an element on the second slide, set the transition to Morph. PowerPoint animates the change automatically.
• Live captions during practice runs — even if you won't use them in the real presentation, captions catch verbal stumbles you can edit out of speaker notes.
• Animation Pane > guesswork — for any slide with more than 2 animations, use the Animation Pane to control timing precisely instead of clicking gallery effects.
• Keep one deck per project, not per meeting — re-arrange and hide slides instead of duplicating files. Hidden slides don't appear in the show but stay there for reference.

Quick Reference Downloads

• PowerPoint for the Web Quick Reference Card (coming soon)

Need Help?

If something is not working or you cannot find what you need:

1. Check the Quick Start guide on this site
2. Browse other modules — especially Office on the Web for the broader picture
3. Contact your regional IT support team (the Contact page lists the right email for your office)

See the Contact page for the AI assistant and security incident reporting.