Microsoft's AI-powered PowerPoint Copilot Feature Leaked Ahead of Announcement

Microsoft's recent AI event, held yesterday, was highly anticipated and a noteworthy accomplishment. However, prior to the event, details about one of the expected announcements were leaked by a Twitter user with the handle h0x0d. This leak revealed a new PowerPoint feature called 'Copilot,' which is poised to revolutionize the way that users generate presentations. By using AI that is similar to ChatGPT, this feature is capable of autonomously creating presentations based on a Word document provided by the user.

With the Copilot feature, Microsoft is further expanding its portfolio of productivity applications that use AI to streamline work processes. By offering users a smart assistant that can generate high-quality presentations with minimal effort, Microsoft is empowering individuals and businesses to be more efficient and productive in their work.

More about Copilot

As per the leaked details, the Copilot feature is expected to be incorporated as a sidebar in the online version of PowerPoint. Once activated, users can request the AI assistant to generate a presentation based on the contents of a Word document. The feature then promptly creates a complete slide deck that aligns with the subject matter of the document provided.

The Copilot feature could prove to be a game-changer for professionals who are pressed for time, as it enables them to generate presentations without needing to devote significant time and effort to crafting individual slides. By leveraging AI technology to automate this process, Microsoft's Copilot feature could potentially allow users to focus on other aspects of their work while simultaneously increasing their productivity.

The Copilot assistant offers more than just automated presentation generation. Users can also instruct the chatbot to 'add animations to this slide' or 'apply a modern style to the presentation.' This functionality suggests that Copilot may offer additional capabilities, such as controlling PowerPoint features, through a conversational interface.

By enabling users to customize slides with ease and without requiring in-depth knowledge of complex features, Copilot could prove to be an invaluable tool for professionals who require well-designed presentations but lack the expertise or time to create them from scratch.

The new Copilot feature in PowerPoint bears a resemblance to how Google uses AI in Slides to incorporate multimedia elements such as imagery, audio, and video to enhance presentations. It is worth noting that Google announced its own AI-powered enhancements to Gmail, Docs, Slides, and other Google Workspace productivity applications earlier this week, just ahead of Microsoft's AI event.

While Google can claim to have announced these new features first, the company recently experienced a setback with the announcement of its conversational AI model, LaMDA. Therefore, it remains to be seen which of these tech giants will ultimately come out on top in the AI arms race.