How to enable Copilot in PowerPoint (Easy guide with screenshots)

If you’re reading this page, you’re one of many frustrated users struggling with what should be a basic task: enabling Copilot in PowerPoint. 

Believe it or not, enabling PowerPoint is a common issue that stems from a confusing design that makes it hard to purchase its very own AI companion. We’ve been there too, and it took us a bit of time to navigate Microsoft’s many account, profile, and sales pages to finally come up with a quick way of launching Copilot in PowerPoint and other Microsoft 365 apps. 

To make your life easier, we’ll walk you through the crucial steps of subscribing to the right Copilot plan, after which the companion icon should appear on your PowerPoint ribbon. We’ll also explain how to make a presentation quickly with Copilot, and show you an AI alternative that could be a better fit for creating more professional slide decks. 

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How to subscribe to Copilot Pro from your Microsoft 365 account

Before you can use Copilot in PowerPoint (or any other Microsoft app), you’ll need a Copilot Pro subscription — the regular Copilot does not work in PowerPoint. The process can get a bit convoluted, so we’ll explain it in detail below.

1. Sign in to your Microsoft 365 account, and click on the circle with your initials in the top right corner. In the menu that opens, click on “My Microsoft account”. 

2. Find and subscribe to Copilot Pro in your Microsoft account. Hopefully, you’ll see a large icon with a button that says “Try Copilot Pro” or “Get Copilot Pro.” If you do, click on it and subscribe to the service. 

Can’t see Copilot Pro in your Microsoft 365 account? Here’s what you do

Sometimes, you won’t see any buttons or icons labeled “Copilot Pro” in your Microsoft 365 account, even though the regular (free) Copilot may show up. In this case, don’t waste your time sifting through the Microsoft account in hopes of finding the elusive AI tool. Instead, simply type “Copilot Pro” in Google search and click on the “Copilot Pro Plan & Pricing” result. 

You should finally see a window that invites you to try Microsoft’s premium AI assistant, so go ahead and click “Start your free trial,” then subscribe to the service.  

Once you see the screen below, Copilot Pro should become available in your PowerPoint app. 

How to enable Copilot Pro in the web-based PowerPoint app

1. Restart PowerPoint. After signing up for Copilot Pro, it’s best to restart Microsoft 365. Once you’ve signed out and back in, go ahead and open the PowerPoint app:

2. Look for Copilot on the ribbon. The Copilot icon should show up on the right hand side on both the Single Line Ribbon: 

And on the Classic Ribbon:

You’ve now enabled Copilot on your PowerPoint app! Go ahead and launch it by clicking on the Copilot button. 

How to enable Copilot on the PowerPoint desktop app

Once you’ve subscribed, the Copilot icon should show up on the desktop PowerPoint app as well. Simply restart the program, then look for Copilot on the ribbon: 

Now you can click on the Copilot icon and start using the assistant to make PowerPoint presentations. 

Using Copilot to create PowerPoint presentations

With Copilot Pro, you can auto-generate PowerPoint presentations using AI. 

Here’s how: 

1.  Launch Copilot in PowerPoint by clicking on the corresponding icon in the ribbon. 

2. Choose “Create a presentation about” in the Copilot interface. Then, enter a prompt describing the presentation in the Copilot chat window:

3. Review the slide deck. Your presentation should show up in a few minutes. At this point, you can review the slide content and imagery for accuracy and relevance — this is an important step you shouldn’t skip. The deck may look sleek at a glance, but the content may be a bit simplistic and repetitive, and the images may be less relevant than you’d want them to be (or absent altogether):

Best PowerPoint AI slide maker alternative to Copilot 

Copilot is a decent starting point tool for making AI presentations. However, if you feel like the Copilot slides don't meet the bar of professionalism you need for a work or school presentation, try out Plus AI.

Plus AI is an add-on for PowerPoint and Google Slides that creates professionally-designed slide decks in minutes. Below, we’ll input use the same prompt in Plus that we used with Copilot above. And here is the slide deck Plus AI created:

In addition to providing a prompt to Plus AI, you can also use Plus AI to create a slide deck based on an uploaded document. This option (which Copilot lacks) allows you to create more information-rich presentations in which the AI maker creates slide content based on the data you specify. 

You can read more about the best AI presentation makers (and see more examples) in our detailed reviews.

FAQs on using Copilot in PowerPoint

Why can’t I see the Copilot icon in PowerPoint? 

Here are three possible reasons you don’t see the Copilot icon in PowerPoint: 

• You don’t have a Pro subscription: The free version of Copilot comes with Microsoft 365. However, to get the AI assistant working in PowerPoint (or other apps in the Microsoft ecosystem) you’ll need to upgrade to the paid Pro version. 
• You haven’t restarted PowerPoint after subscribing: Once you’ve subscribed to Copilot Pro, you need to restart PowerPoint; otherwise, the AI assistant may not show up on the slide maker’s ribbon. 
• Your desktop PowerPoint app is out of date: Copilot may fail to show up if your PowerPoint app hasn’t updated. Make sure your settings allow automatic updates to avoid this scenario. 

How to get access to Microsoft Copilot? 

You can get access to both the free Copilot and the paid Copilot Pro version through your Microsoft 365 account. Log into Microsoft 365, click on your initials in the top right corner, then follow the “My Microsoft account” link in the menu that appears. Copilot should show up on the page that opens. 

If you already have the Pro subscription, you can also access Copilot from the top ribbon of PowerPoint, Excel, and other apps in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. 

Is Copilot free with Microsoft 365? 

There is a free version of Copilot that included with a Microsoft 365 subscription. This free AI assistant functions as a chatbot that can answer basic queries and create images. 

However, the free Copilot does not work in apps such as PowerPoint. If you want an AI companion to help you make PowerPoint presentations, you’ll need to subscribe to Copilot Pro, which costs $30/month for business use. 

Alternatively, you can opt for a more comprehensive AI-powered slide maker, like Plus AI. Plus AI’s feature-packed Pro plan enables you to auto-generate entire presentation-ready slide decks in just minutes and costs only $20 per month. 

Enabling Copilot in PowerPoint: Final Thoughts

Once you get over the initial hurdles of subscribing for Copilot Pro, adding Microsoft’s AI companion to PowerPoint is a breeze. If you want to learn more about making presentations using AI — and checking out some worthy alternatives to Copilot — check out Plus AI’s resource library.