AI Chat Assistant

Offgen's AI Chat Assistant lets you control PowerPoint using natural language. Just describe what you want, and the AI executes the actions—it's like having a PowerPoint expert at your command.

What is AI Chat?

The AI Chat Assistant is a conversational interface that:

• Understands natural language commands
• Analyzes your presentation context (selected shapes, slides, etc.)
• Executes actions automatically
• Provides explanations and suggestions
• Learns from your usage patterns

Getting Started

Opening AI Chat

1. Click the Chat icon in the Offgen panel
2. Or use keyboard shortcut (if configured)
3. Chat window opens on the right side

Your First Commands

Try these simple commands to get started:

"Center these shapes"
"Make all text bigger"
"Align the selected shapes in a row"
"Change all blue shapes to red"

The AI understands context—"these shapes" refers to your current selection.

How AI Chat Works

Context Awareness

The AI knows:

• Selected shapes: "These shapes", "the selection"
• Current slide: "This slide", "the current page"
• Presentation state: Colors, sizes, positions
• Recent actions: What you just did

Example:

You: "Select the circles"
AI: *Selects all circular shapes*
You: "Make them red"
AI: *Changes selected circles to red*

Natural Language Processing

The AI understands various ways of saying the same thing:

All mean the same:
- "Center the shapes"
- "Align these to the center"
- "Put these shapes in the middle"
- "Center align selected objects"

Action Execution

When possible, AI executes actions automatically:

You: "Align these shapes in a grid"
AI: *Aligns shapes, distributes them*
Result: Perfect grid layout

AI Models

Choose from multiple AI models based on your needs:

Available Models

GPT-5 Nano (Fastest)

• Speed: ⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡
• Capability: ⭐⭐⭐
• Best for: Simple commands, quick tasks

GPT-5 Mini

• Speed: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
• Capability: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Best for: Most tasks, good balance

GPT-5 (Default)

• Speed: ⚡⚡⚡
• Capability: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Best for: Complex tasks, reasoning

GPT-4.1

• Speed: ⚡⚡
• Capability: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Best for: Advanced reasoning, complex requests

GPT-4.1 Mini

• Speed: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
• Capability: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Best for: Good balance, most users

Auto (Recommended)

• Automatically chooses best model for each task
• Optimizes for speed vs. capability
• Adapts to command complexity

Common Commands

Shape Manipulation

"Move these shapes to the right"
"Resize this to 500x300"
"Rotate the selected shape 45 degrees"
"Flip this horizontally"
"Duplicate these 5 times"

Alignment & Distribution

"Align these in a row"
"Distribute these evenly"
"Center everything on the slide"
"Make a 3x3 grid from these shapes"
"Align left edges"

Styling

"Make all shapes blue"
"Change the font to Arial"
"Add a red border to these"
"Make the text bold"
"Set all headings to 36pt"

Text Editing

"Change this text to 'Hello World'"
"Make all text uppercase"
"Increase font size by 2 points"
"Left-align all text boxes"

Selection

"Select all circles"
"Find all red shapes"
"Select shapes larger than 100px"
"Highlight all text boxes"

Bulk Operations

"Apply blue to all shapes on this slide"
"Resize all images to 200x200"
"Center all headings"
"Add 10px padding to all text boxes"

Advanced Features

File Attachments

Upload images and files to AI chat:

1. Click attachment icon
2. Select file (image, document, etc.)
3. AI analyzes the file
4. Ask questions or request actions

Use Cases:

• "Recreate this layout from the image"
• "Extract colors from this logo"
• "Match the style in this screenshot"
• "What font is used in this image?"

Streaming Responses

AI responses stream in real-time:

• See AI thinking as it types
• Get immediate feedback
• Cancel mid-response if needed

Reasoning Display

For complex tasks, AI shows its reasoning:

AI: "I'll need to:
1. Select all shapes
2. Sort them by position
3. Align them in a row
4. Distribute evenly
Executing..."

This helps you understand what's happening.

Multi-Step Commands

AI can handle complex, multi-step requests:

You: "Create a 3-column layout with headers, align everything, and make it blue"

AI:
1. Creates 3 columns
2. Adds headers
3. Aligns all elements
4. Applies blue color
Done!

AI Chat Workflows

Rapid Prototyping

"Create 5 buttons in a row"
"Add icons above each button"
"Make the middle button larger"
"Color them in rainbow order"

Result: Complete button group in seconds

Style Matching

"Make this look like the shape on slide 1"
AI: *Matches color, size, outline, text formatting*

Bulk Editing

"Find all shapes with 'TODO' in the text and highlight them yellow"
AI: *Searches, selects, and colors automatically*

Layout Creation

"Create a professional 3-column infographic layout"
AI: *Creates structure, aligns, distributes, styles*

Presentation Cleanup

"Align all content consistently across slides"
AI: *Analyzes and fixes alignment on all slides*

Tips for Effective AI Chat

1. Be Specific

Vague:

"Fix this"

Better:

"Align these shapes in a row and make them the same size"

2. Use Context

AI remembers the conversation:

You: "Select all blue shapes"
AI: *Selects blue shapes*
You: "Make them bigger"  ← AI knows "them" = blue shapes

3. Break Down Complex Tasks

For very complex tasks:

"Create a dashboard layout"
Then: "Add headers to each section"
Then: "Align everything"

4. Specify Measurements

Include numbers when important:

"Resize to 300x200 pixels"
"Add 20px spacing between shapes"
"Make font size 24pt"

5. Ask Questions

AI can explain and suggest:

"What's the current color of this shape?"
"How can I align these better?"
"Suggest a layout for these 6 shapes"

AI Chat vs. Manual Actions

Use AI Chat when:

• Task is complex
• You're not sure exact steps
• Want to describe desired outcome
• Need multiple actions combined

Use Manual Actions when:

• Task is simple (one click)
• You know exact action needed
• Want precise control
• Prefer visual interface

Limitations

What AI Can Do

✅ Execute Offgen actions ✅ Combine multiple operations ✅ Understand context and selection ✅ Analyze layouts and suggest improvements ✅ Perform bulk operations ✅ Search and filter shapes

What AI Cannot Do

❌ Create content from scratch (images, complex graphics) ❌ Access external data sources ❌ Modify PowerPoint features outside Offgen's scope ❌ Undo actions from previous sessions ❌ Edit Master Slides (in most cases)

Privacy & Data

What's Sent to AI

• Your command text
• Attached files (if any)
• Current context (selected shapes, slide info)
• Presentation structure (not full content)

What's NOT Sent

• Your entire presentation
• Slides you're not working on
• Personal information (unless you include it in commands)
• Presentation file itself

Data Usage

• Commands processed by OpenAI (or chosen AI provider)
• Subject to provider's privacy policy
• Not stored long-term by Offgen
• Not used for training (with OpenAI's API)

Troubleshooting

AI Doesn't Understand Command

Solution:

• Rephrase more specifically
• Break into smaller steps
• Use simpler language
• Specify exact shapes/objects

AI Does Wrong Action

Solution:

• Undo (Ctrl+Z)
• Rephrase command with more detail
• Try manual action instead
• Report issue to support

AI Response Too Slow

Solution:

• Switch to faster model (GPT-5 Nano or Mini)
• Use Auto mode for adaptive performance
• Check internet connection
• Try simpler command

AI Can't Complete Task

Solution:

• Check if action is possible with Offgen tools
• Break task into smaller steps
• Try manual approach
• Ask AI "How can I do [task]?" for suggestions

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Ctrl+K (or Cmd+K on Mac): Open AI Chat (if configured)
• Esc: Close AI Chat
• Enter: Send message
• Shift+Enter: New line in message

Example Conversations

Example 1: Quick Styling

You: "Make all shapes blue with white text"
AI: Applying blue fill and white text color to all shapes...
Done! Applied to 8 shapes.

You: "Add a border"
AI: Adding border to all shapes...
Done! Added 2pt solid border to 8 shapes.

Example 2: Layout Creation

You: "Create a 2x3 grid of equal-sized squares"
AI: I'll create 6 squares and arrange them in a 2x3 grid.
Creating shapes... Done!
Aligning and distributing... Done!
Result: 2 rows × 3 columns with even spacing.

You: "Color them rainbow"
AI: Applying rainbow colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple)...
Done!

Example 3: Problem Solving

You: "These shapes are misaligned. Fix them."
AI: I see 5 shapes at different positions. I'll:
1. Align them to the top edge
2. Distribute them evenly horizontally
Executing... Done!

You: "Perfect! Make them all the same size too."
AI: Setting all shapes to the size of the first one...
Done! All shapes now 150x100px.

What's Next?