--- title: "Create Useful Documents and Presentations with AI" description: "Go beyond a chat draft: make editable documents, spreadsheets and slides from approved sources, then check layout, evidence and final files." author: Power of AI date: 2026-09-06 url: https://powerofai.ca/workflows/documents-and-presentations --- # Create documents and presentations with AI that survive the handoff Go beyond a chat draft: make editable documents, spreadsheets and slides from approved sources, then check layout, evidence and final files. Ask for the deliverable, then open it. A slide outline is useful, but it is not a presentation. A table in a chat is useful, but it is not always the spreadsheet you need. Tell the assistant what file a person should receive and what that person needs to do with it. ## Begin with the decision and the reader For a one-page briefing, name the reader, the decision and what they already know. For a presentation, name the setting: a live talk, a document sent by email or a workshop people will interact with. A live slide can be sparse because a speaker supplies context; a deck read alone must carry more of the explanation. Specify the desired file type and editability. A PDF can preserve a layout, while an editable document lets a colleague revise it. A chart pasted as an image may be appropriate for a final report but unsuitable if somebody needs to change the underlying values. ## Create an outline tied to evidence Provide approved source material and identify the facts that must remain exact. Ask for a short structure before a long artifact when the story is unsettled. Each section should earn its place by answering a reader’s question. For a proposal, that might be problem, options, recommendation, cost assumptions and next step. Keep claims traceable as the format changes. A shortened slide caption can accidentally turn a qualified observation into a certainty. Have the assistant check that figures, dates and caveats survived the move from source to outline to final artifact. ### A request you can adapt Create an editable [document or presentation] for [audience] to support [decision]. Use only these approved sources: [files]. Preserve exact figures and dates. Put the recommendation early, separate assumptions from sourced facts, and keep source locations available. Produce the actual file, inspect the rendered pages or slides, and flag any unresolved content or layout issue. ## Inspect the file as the recipient will see it Open the exported artifact. Look for clipped text, awkward page breaks, tiny labels, unreadable tables and missing fonts. Check a title, a dense page and the final page. For a deck, inspect every slide at the intended display size. An artifact can be structurally valid and visually unusable. Ask for targeted revisions with a location and reason: “Slide four’s chart is too small for a room; split the comparison into two slides and retain the same scale.” “The table breaks across pages; keep the header visible.” Specific feedback is more useful than asking for a more polished design. ## Package the editable source and the final version Give the final file an unambiguous name and include any supporting data needed to update it. If the assistant used a template, document which parts should change next time. Keep the source record available when the artifact is intended to support a decision. The provider’s file tools and available formats vary by environment. The official file guide explains supported creation and preview workflows. If your current assistant can only produce text, ask for content structured for the target application and be explicit that the final file has not yet been created. ## Take this into your next task A finished artifact needs correct content, usable layout and enough editable context for the next person to continue. [Build a project brief](/showcase#brief-builder). ## Sources and editorial notes Reviewed September 6, 2026. Product capabilities depend on the app, plan, region and workspace settings. Workflows and prompts are authored teaching material, not recorded model results or measured time-saving claims. - [OpenAI: working with files](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/artifacts-viewer) ## Keep going - [How AI File Access Works: Uploads and Local Folders](/workflows/ai-file-access) - [AI for Spreadsheets: From Export to Checked Report](/workflows/spreadsheets-and-data) - [Continue the guide](/writing)