Claude for
PowerPoint.
Your starter kit.

How to install Claude for PowerPoint

Install the official add-in from the Claude for Microsoft 365 listing. Open PowerPoint, activate Claude, and sign in. Anthropic supports PowerPoint on the web and specified Microsoft 365 versions on Windows and Mac. Check the current version requirements before installing; your organization may manage add-in access.

Open a working copy of the practice deck. Start with the fictional data so you can learn the workflow and verify the result before using your own approved business files. The free kit does not include a Claude subscription.

Start with the deck, the evidence, and a decision

Download the starter ZIP and extract it. Open START-HERE.html in your browser, then open a copy of northstar-client-review.pptx in PowerPoint. The kit includes the original source workbook and CSV, so each slide has something to be checked against.

Northstar Studio is fictional. Its June 2026 internal portfolio review covers five clients and $54,700 in net completed sales. Your audience is a business owner and client-service lead. Their job is to understand the result, resolve a $1,500 attribution gap, and agree on the next actions. This is an internal review across clients; an external client presentation needs a different information boundary.

1. Open the deck and ask Claude to inspect it before making changes.
2. Supply the approved facts from the start-here guide. If the workbook is available in your setup, identify the relevant sheets. Ask Claude to confirm what it can actually access.
3. Approve the proposed storyline, then edit a working copy.
4. Compare the result with the slide-by-slide answer key and inspect it in PowerPoint.

Your first Claude for PowerPoint prompt

Use this prompt with the practice deck open and the approved source facts supplied. It is a useful first step before asking for a redesign:

Read the open Northstar Studio deck and the approved practice facts I have supplied. Do not edit yet. This is a fictional internal client-portfolio review for June 2026 in USD. Map the six slides to their job in the story. Check the $54,700 net total, $55,500 paid sales, −$800 refund, client mix, owner totals, and exception treatment. Cite slide numbers and available source references. Identify unsupported claims and unresolved action fields. Confirm which files you can access; do not claim to read an unavailable workbook. Return an audit and proposed changes for my review.

The full kit turns this into five assignments, each with a specific result and acceptance checks. You can copy them from the local start-here guide.

Five assignments that build the skill

Work through these in order. The point is to learn how to direct a presentation task and judge the result.

• Audit the evidence: map the slides to their sources and flag gaps before editing.
• Improve the storyline: give each slide one clear takeaway, preserving the facts and existing style.
• Edit the native chart: inspect all five client values, improve the labels, and retain editable data.
• Simplify the exceptions slide: make it easier to read while preserving every affected row and its treatment.
• Prepare the final review: check the whole deck, draft speaker notes, and leave unapproved action owners and dates open.

The six-slide example, explained

The PPTX contains editable text, a native client chart, tables, and slide-level source notes. It is an authored teaching reference, not an observed Claude output or a performance benchmark.

• 1. June 2026 client review: establish the period, purpose, and fictional context.
• 2. Net completed sales: $55,500 paid less an $800 refund equals $54,700. Twenty source rows become 19 unique transactions, of which 17 count.
• 3. Client mix: Willow Health $17,800; Northline Outfitters $11,800; Atlas Labs $10,700; Finch Finance $9,900; Harbor Retail $4,500.
• 4. Ownership: Owen $19,400; Lena $17,200; Maya $16,600; Unassigned $1,500. The valid unassigned sale remains included.
• 5. Exceptions: four types affect five rows. Exclude S020’s duplicate copy; include S013’s negative refund; exclude S017/S018’s cancelled and pending records; include S016 and flag its missing owner.
• 6. July follow-through: propose the attribution check, review of $10,500 in excluded activity, and approval of the reconciliation. Owners and dates remain to be agreed.

How to check an AI-generated presentation

A convincing headline still needs evidence. Both the client chart and owner table must total $54,700. Willow Health represents 32.5% of this month’s net total; that does not establish growth, profitability, or the reason for its result.

Net completed sales is an operational measure in this exercise. It is not profit, cash flow, or recognized accounting revenue. Keep the definition with the figure.

• Check totals and inclusion rules. The refund is already negative; the missing-owner sale still counts.
• Trace numbers and claims to the workbook or supplied facts. No prior period, targets, costs, forecasts, or client quotes are provided.
• Select the native chart and inspect its data. Check that text, charts, and tables remain editable.
• Inspect every slide at presentation size for clipped text, small labels, and crowded tables.
• Keep proposed actions separate from agreed commitments. Do not invent owners or deadlines.

Moving from Excel to PowerPoint: catch stale numbers

The sample deck’s chart contains embedded data. It is not live-linked to the separate workbook. Editing the XLSX alone will not update the PPTX.

Try the change test in separate copies: increase S019, a $3,300 Lena / Willow Health sale, to $3,400. The new net total is $54,800, Willow becomes $17,900, Lena becomes $17,300, and Willow’s share rounds to 32.7%. Ask Claude to update every affected headline, table, chart, and note. Counts and exception treatments should not change.

The answer key includes the complete check. Restore the original data afterward. Cross-app capabilities depend on your setup; always ask which sources Claude used and review the resulting files.

Use the same process for your own presentation

Start with the decision, then supply the evidence. Fill in the reusable brief with your audience, source versions, period, metric definitions, template, and desired output. The brief builder below helps you turn those inputs into a copyable assignment.

Ask for a proposed outline before editing. Keep the original files, work in a copy, and require source notes for material claims. Replace the sample story with one your actual evidence supports. For a client-facing deck, include only information approved for that audience.

If your starting point is a spreadsheet, the Claude for Excel starter kit walks through the checked report that feeds this example.

For a guided first assignment across business files, try How to Use Claude Cowork + Free Starter Kit: a client kickoff, weekly report, and meeting action plan with source files and answer keys.