Gamma and other AI presentation tools

An introduction to Gamma, how to use it, and alternative tools

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What is Gamma?

Gamma creates presentations that veer away from the more traditional slide formats that we are used to from PowerPoint and Google Slides. Instead, the Gamma app allows users to create a variety of other outputs like docs and webpages. The Gamma app gives users the flexibility to work outside the confines of traditional presentations, allowing them to package information in new ways.

Gamma’s AI creates materials that target professional users. Gamma’s focus on professional users is reflected in business-oriented templates such as “Company Fact Sheet,” “Sales Presentation,” and “Deal Review.” Gamma also includes Q&As within presentations, custom branding, and analytics to track presentation views.

How to use Gamma

Step 1: Log In

Start the process by logging in or creating a new account. The Gamma app is free to try.

Gamma App Screenshot

Step 2: Open the AI generator

To open the generative AI feature, click “New with AI” on this screen.

Step 3: Select what kind of AI support you want

Gamma allows you to create material or presentations with two distinct approaches:

  1. Guided: Here you provide a short prompt, and the AI generates an outline and draft of a presentation. This option is bet if you don’t have much more than an idea of what you want in your mind.
  2. Text to Deck: This option turns long-form text into a presentation. This option will create more ready-to-use decks than option 1, but also requires upfront work writing the text.

Step 4: Select what type of output you want

In this case we have chosen ‘Guided’ in the step above, and we will pick “Presentation” in this step.

Step 5: Write your prompt and start editing the presentation

In this step you just need to provide Gamma with a prompt. The best prompts [provide context around the topic, audience, and tone of the presentation. Gamma will now generate the presentation live in front of you.

Alternatives to Gamma

Gamma is a good option for AI-generated presentations, particularly if you’re looking for an alternative to traditional presentations. However, there are also plenty of other options to try:

  1. Plus AI – an AI-based presentation maker for Google Slides
  2. Tome – an alternative to Gamma for a new type of presentation
  3. Slidesgo – a Gamma alternative focused on templates
  4. Simplified.com – a Gamma alternative for more than presentations
  5. Canva Magic Design – a colorful design-first Gamma alternative

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1. Plus AI – a Gamma alternative for Google Slides

Gamma is a standalone product, which means you will have to switch presentation tools and move your coworkers to a new product to start using Gamma. If you’re already a Google Slides user and would rather use generative AI within your existing tools and presentations, then Plus AI is an excellent alternative to Gamma.

Plus AI is built to "co-write" slides with you rather than leave you with a template to fend for yourself. Simply put, Plus AI helps you create and edit your presentations using generative AI directly within Google slides. With Plus AI you can use AI to:

  • Generate a full presentation in minutes.
  • Add single slides to your presentations.
  • Re-write the text on your slides.
  • Remix content on slides into new formats in seconds.

2. Tome – an alternative to Gamma for a new type of presentation

Tome is the most closely related alternative to Gamma, and the experience and outputs are somewhat similar. Tome’s approach has proven to be very popular, as the tool reached 1 million users 134 days after launch, the fastest ever for a productivity tool.

Similar to Gamma, Tome allows users to build presentations based on a text prompt. The output comes out as a presentation organized by a table of contents, including text, introduction slides, and AI-generated images to go along with the slides. Tome’s aesthetics immediately stand out as very different than you might expect from a PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation; for example, presentations default to a black background, white text, and images that fit with this style.

3. Slidesgo - a Gamma alternative focused on templates

Slidesgo is known mainly as an extensive slide template gallery for Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint. In fact, Slidesgo is part of a broader set of resources for slides, such as Freepik (vectors, images), Flaticon (icons), and Videvo (videos and motion graphics). The latest addition to Slidesgo is an AI presentation maker, which goes beyond standardized presentations and generates slides using generative AI. 

Like other tools, Slidesgo builds a draft slide deck in minutes based on a written prompt that you provide. One of Slidego’s major differentiating features is the connection with Wepik, another sister project. Wepik allows you to edit the slides easily after they have been generated by the AI. You also get access to icons and pictures from Freepik and Flaticon.

5. Simplified.com – an alternative to Gamma for more than presentations

Like Gamma, Simplified goes beyond presentations and provides a suite of tools, including copywriting, video editing, and graphic design.

The app has several features that differentiate it from Gamma and other generative AI tools, including the ability to turn presentations into videos. This allows you to create presentation-style video content quickly and easily. Simplified focuses on creating presentation templates, which users can use to flesh out their content.

5. Canva Magic Design – a Gamma alternative focused on colorful aesthetics

Canva is a design-first tool, and this spills into their AI slide generator. Canva’s AI-generated slides have a strong emphasis on colorful, yet clean aesthetics, which is unsurprising for a tool generated by Canva. As opposed to Gamma, Canva is more similar to the traditional presentation format that we know from Google Slides and PowerPoint.

Canva provides a hand-held experience when creating presentations. Since Canva is a design-first tool, this experience focuses on aesthetic changes. It includes auto-adjusting design elements and suggestions for colors, styles, fonts, images, and layouts.

How to choose the perfect AI presentation tool

Want to learn more about AI slide tools? Check out our overview of the best AI tools on the market for detailed recommendations and examples of what you can expect from the various AI tools.

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