The AI panel in the deck editor changes your deck from a plain request, and you watch every change land on the slides. Use it to draft a deck, rework a run of slides, or have the deck checked over. Each change it makes is one undo step, exactly like one of your own edits.
Open the AI panel
Click Slides in the sidebar and open a deck you can edit.
Click the folded rail on the right of the canvas to open the AI panel beside Properties. Click the panel header to fold it back.
Drag the seam beside the panel to resize it. The panel starts at 26% of the canvas area and runs from 20% to 45%.
The panel is folded on your first visit, and your choice is remembered after that, in this browser and for every deck. See The deck editor for the panels around it.
If the thread cannot open, the panel shows the reason the server gives, or The AI for this presentation could not be opened. when there is none. Reopen the deck and try again. For other messages, see Slides troubleshooting.
Ask for a change
Type what you want in the message box and send it. For example: Add a three-slide summary of Q3 with a KPI grid and a chart.
Watch the slides change. You can keep editing the deck while the AI works.
Press Ctrl+Z to undo a change you do not want, and Ctrl+Shift+Z to redo it.
The conversation belongs to the deck: close the editor, come back, and the same thread is waiting in the panel.
What the AI can do
Slides. Add, update, reorder and delete slides. A slide is composed from a layout plus content, never from boxes you position: the AI names a layout and hands over the words and the numbers, and the layout engine places everything. See Slide layouts.
Elements. Add, update, move and delete elements: text, shapes, pictures, vector graphics, charts, tables and media.
Frames. Move, resize or rotate an element when something concrete needs fixing.
The deck itself. Rename it, resize it, and set slide transitions and deck properties.
Reads and checks. The AI reads the deck's outline, one slide, a range of slides, the whole deck, and a vector graphic's markup, and it can check the deck for problems.
Web search. Messages you send from the panel can search the web.
The AI works on the deck you have open in the editor. With no deck open there, it says so instead of guessing which deck you mean.
The AI edits the deck only. It never saves on its own: its edits count as unsaved changes, and your autosave setting decides when they are written. See Saving and version history.
What the AI reports back
Every operation answers in one human sentence, and the answer appears in the thread. For example:
Added 1 slide(s) at position 2 of 2.
Updated 2 slide(s) in one step.
Deleted 2 element(s) from 2 slide(s).
A request that changes nothing is reported, never passed off as success:
No change: the deck already held every value asked for.
The deck was already in that order.
Those slides already carried that transition.
An operation that rebuilds several slides at once, such as reworking a run of them in one pass, is still one undo step.
Check a deck
Ask the AI to check the deck and it reports the problems worst first. Each finding names the element it is about and the fix:
Overlapping elements: "Move or shrink one of the two elements so they no longer share pixels, or rebuild the slide from a layout and let the engine place them."
Copy that is too tall for its box: "Shorten the copy, or split it across two slides. Do not shrink the frame."
The check covers overlapping elements, elements off the slide or outside its safe area, text and table overflow, low contrast, empty placeholders and slides with no title. A clean deck reports clean, for example that the slides passed every geometry and contrast check. If there are too many problems to list, it reports the worst of them first; fix those and ask for another check.
Refusals to expect
The AI refuses cleanly rather than half-applying a request, and says why:
A count a layout does not accept. A KPI grid given five figures builds nothing for that slide, and the reply explains why: "The kpiGrid layout composes 2, 3, 4, 6 figures and was given 5. Pick one of those counts or use a different layout."
A layout change with no content. Changing a slide's layout means re-composing it, so the AI rebuilds the slide from the content you give it; a bare layout swap is refused.
Deleting every slide. A deck always keeps at least one slide. Leave one out of the list, or ask the AI to replace a slide's content instead.
An incomplete reorder. A reorder must name every slide exactly once; otherwise nothing moves, and the reply suggests moving a few slides instead.
An id that does not exist. When a slide or element id cannot be found, the reply names the deck's real slide and element ids.
Limits
The AI cannot pull numbers from your data. It has no tool to run queries; to put live figures on a slide, bind the element to a query. See Fill slides from your data.
It cannot create or change a live query binding, and it cannot write data into a chart or table that a query fills. It can restyle those elements.
It cannot switch the deck off following the app theme: the deck stays on the app theme and the AI styles with theme colours. Freezing the palette for a deck is your move, in the deck's theme settings. See Design a deck.
Each deck has one AI thread. Everyone who can edit the deck and holds the permission opens the same thread, and each message shows who wrote it.
Note
The AI can change only what you could change yourself. It cannot act on a deck you cannot edit.
Work with a deck a Mind built
In a chat with a Mind that builds presentations, ask for a deck. The chat shows the deck as a preview artifact.
Use Previous slide, Next slide and Present fullscreen to review it, and the download buttons to save a copy.
Click Go to Slides to open the deck in the editor. The deck is created in your My Presentations workspace.
You find these artifacts again under Artifacts, which covers the download buttons in full.
Questions, answered
Why don't I see the AI panel?
You need the Use Slides AI permission and edit rights on the deck. Viewers never see the AI panel, and neither do people without the permission.
Can I undo a slide the AI changed?
Yes. Each operation the AI performs is one undo step, so press Ctrl+Z. To go back further, restore an earlier version. See Saving and version history.
Do my colleagues see my AI conversation?
Yes, if they can edit the deck and hold Use Slides AI. Everyone who meets both conditions opens the same thread for the deck, and each message shows its author.
Can the AI look things up on the web?
Yes. Messages you send from the panel can search the web.
Can the AI pull numbers from my Lake or Warehouse?
No. The AI edits the deck and has no tool to run queries. For figures, bind the element to a live query. See Fill slides from your data.
Can I keep editing while the AI works?
Yes. Your edits and the AI's edits go to the same deck, and both land in the same undo history. If you stop the AI while it is working, nothing from that run is applied.
Why won't the AI change my deck?
If the deck has a newer version on the server, the AI refuses to edit until you refresh the deck. Refresh it, then ask again. See Saving and version history.
What does the AI check on my deck?
Overlapping elements, elements off the slide or outside its safe area, text and table overflow, low contrast, empty placeholders and missing titles. Each finding names the element and the fix, and a clean deck reports clean. Fix what it names and ask it to check again.
Why did the AI say "No change"?
Because the deck already held everything you asked for, for example the slides were already in that order, or they already carried the transition you asked about. It reports that instead of pretending to work.
Can the AI delete all of my slides?
No. A deck always keeps at least one slide, so a request to delete every slide is refused. Leave one slide out, or ask the AI to replace a slide's content instead.
Can the AI change the deck's theme or colours?
It cannot switch the deck off following the app theme: the deck stays on the app theme, and the AI styles with theme colours. Freezing the palette is your call, in the deck's theme settings. See Design a deck.