WorkFlow Done: AI-Powered Google Slides for Students

Introduction: Why Presentations Are Stealing Your Time (and GPA)

Let’s be honest: building slides is usually the worst part of any class project. It’s not the research, it’s not the talking — it’s the formatting. You start with a blank Google Slides file, stare at it for 20 minutes, then spend hours copying bullet points, resizing text boxes, dragging images that don’t line up, and trying to make every slide “look professional.” Meanwhile, the deadline is coming and you still haven’t practiced your delivery. This isn’t just annoying. It actively hurts performance. Students report staying up late fixing slides instead of rehearsing or refining content, which means they’re less confident and more likely to freeze during Q&A. Research in education tech shows that AI can reduce prep time, lower anxiety, and improve clarity by generating structured starting points that students can then improve, personalize, and defend.

Now imagine this instead: you click one button inside Google Slides called “🤖 AI Slides,” type your topic (“Impact of Renewable Energy Policy in Europe”), choose how many slides you want, pick your audience (“education,” “technical,” “business,” etc.), and in about a minute a full presentation appears. Title slide, outline, content slides, clean bullet points, structured talking points, even speaker notes for you to read during the presentation. That is exactly what our automation script does. You don’t need to code it, we already wrote it for you. You install it once, you paste in your AI key (Claude or OpenAI), and from that moment on you basically have an AI presentation assistant living inside Google Slides. Oh — and we’ve now added a built-in free image API so slides don’t look naked. You don’t have to hunt down stock images or worry about copyright for basic visuals, because we’ve handled automated image generation and placement too.

What This Tool Actually Is (Not Hype, Real Workflow)

This is a fully working Google Apps Script that connects Google Slides to AI models like Claude (Anthropic) or GPT (OpenAI). When you trigger it from the custom “🤖 AI Slides” menu, it sends a structured request to AI to generate a slide deck based on your topic, and then programmatically creates (or updates) the slides for you. That means: it writes slide titles, inserts bullet points, and even fills out speaker notes you can use to present with confidence. You’re not copy/pasting from ChatGPT or Claude into Slides like a caveman. You’re generating slides directly in Slides. Under the hood, we use Google Apps Script to call UrlFetchApp and talk to Claude or OpenAI’s API endpoints, then we parse the structured JSON-style response and actually build each slide with layouts, text boxes, and speaker notes. This is similar to how companies automate internal reporting decks and marketing decks to save design time, with some reports showing up to 70% time saved when teams let AI draft slide content first.

And here’s what makes this version different from a lot of “AI slide generators” online:

• You’re not uploading your class/research info to some random mystery website.

• Everything runs in your own Google Drive, under your account.

• You can edit and customize everything the second it’s generated.

• You can add more AI-powered slides later instead of regenerating the whole deck.

• You get automatic visuals from a built-in free image provider (we default to Picsum, which doesn’t even require an API key).
  That last bullet is huge. A lot of AI slide tools either ignore visuals or charge extra to “unlock stock photos.” Our script requests an image for each slide, finds a relevant or high-quality image via the configured image provider, and inserts it on the right side of the slide so it doesn’t overlap your content. You get an actual slide that looks like a slide — not a wall of text.

Core Features You Get Out of the Box

The script adds a custom menu called 🤖 AI Slides that appears directly in Google Slides once the script is installed and authorized. From that menu, you get three main actions that students use constantly:

• Generate New Presentation: You enter a topic, choose how many slides you want (3 to 20), and select who the audience is (business, academic, technical, creative, etc.). The script calls AI, gets structured content in JSON form (title, bullet points, speaker notes, image description), and then builds a brand new presentation with that content.

• Add AI Slide to Current: You’re mid-project and realize you’re missing one slide, like “Limitations of this study” or “Future opportunities.” You open the tool, describe what you want (“Create a slide summarizing ethical concerns about AI in healthcare”), and it appends a new, formatted slide with bullets and notes. No panic, no redesign.

• Enhance Current Slide: You select an existing slide in your deck, and the script reads its content and asks AI to improve clarity, detail, and professionalism. You then get better wording and deeper talking points you can apply manually. This is perfect when the professor writes “expand this” in comments, and you’re like “expand it with what exactly?”

But one of the coolest features is the automatic visual support with a free image API. The script includes an addImageToSlide() function that grabs images from a provider you set in the config. By default we use Picsum, which provides high-quality placeholder photography without requiring any account or API key. That means that when AI says “this slide is about clean energy adoption,” the script will automatically drop in a relevant-style image (or a professional-looking filler image) on the right-hand side of the slide. It even positions the image so it doesn’t crush your bullet points. If you prefer more topic-specific images later, you can switch providers to Pexels or Pixabay and plug in your own API keys for keyword-based search. This gives you:

• Faster, more professional-looking slides with visuals already in place.

• Zero scrambling for “copyright free image renewable energy hd background” at 2 a.m.
  This matters, because visuals improve audience attention, memory, and perceived credibility in live presentations.

How It Works Technically (But in Normal Human Language)

The workflow is shockingly direct. When you click “Generate New Presentation,” the script runs generatePresentation(). That function does three things in a row:

• It builds a smart prompt and sends it to AI using either callClaudeAPI() or callOpenAI(). This includes instructions like: “Create a 10-slide presentation for a technical audience. For each slide, give me: title, 3-5 bullet points, an image description, and speaker notes. Return it as JSON.”

• It takes the AI’s response and tries to parse it as JSON. If that works, perfect — your slides are structured data now. If not, it uses a fallback parser so you still get usable slides instead of an error.

• It programmatically creates a new Google Slides file, removes the default blank slide, and then runs createSlide() for each slide. That function inserts the title text box, the bullet point text box, speaker notes if available, and (this is the fun part) it calls addImageToSlide() to grab and place an image from your configured image source.

Because Google Apps Script can access Slides, Drive, and external APIs, it’s basically acting like your robot assistant. It’s creating slides, formatting text, and placing images exactly where they should go on every slide — with consistent font, spacing, and layout. Consistency is one of those small “instructor psychology hacks.” Even when content quality is similar, clean visual structure tends to read as “professional,” which can influence grading in subjective categories like clarity, delivery support, and visual quality. Multiple presentation design firms openly say that consistency, hierarchy, and whitespace are as important as raw content when it comes to perceived professionalism.

And because this is all running inside your Google account, privacy is much better than using random slide generator websites. You’re not pasting your assignment draft, thesis notes, or group project strategy into someone else’s SaaS. You’re making the request directly from Apps Script, receiving the answer, and building slides locally. That’s a big deal in 2025, as schools and workplaces are becoming more sensitive about what info ends up on third-party services. Keeping control of your deck means you can safely use AI as a “drafting assistant,” not as a content farm you don’t control.

Installation Guide: From Zero to “AI Slides” Menu in ~15 Minutes

The good news is that you don’t have to write any code. We’re going to provide the code as a downloadable bundle at the end: one main .gs script file plus two HTML dialog files (GenerateDialog.html and AddSlideDialog.html). You just copy/paste them into Apps Script. After that, the menu shows up in Google Slides and you’re in business. Below is the full install flow so your readers (students, classmates, even professors) can do it themselves without getting stuck.

• Step 1: Open Google Slides.

  • Go to https://slides.google.com

  • Click “Blank” to create a new presentation.

  • (Optional) Rename it to something like “AI Slides Generator.”

• Step 2: Open the Script Editor.

  • In Slides, click Extensions → Apps Script.

  • A new tab opens with the Apps Script editor.

  • Delete any starter code in Code.gs.

In paragraph two of setup, you paste in the main script we provide. At the very top you’ll see a CONFIG object. This is where you set:

• Which AI provider you want to use ('claude' or 'openai').

• Your API key for Claude (Anthropic) or OpenAI.

• Your image provider. By default we already set IMAGE_PROVIDER: 'picsum', which means you get auto-inserted images for free, with no extra setup. You can also plug in a Pexels or Pixabay key if you want topic-specific stock photos. After you paste, save the script. Then, in the left sidebar of Apps Script, click the “+” icon and add the two HTML files from the download (GenerateDialog.html and AddSlideDialog.html). Paste each file’s content, save again. Finally, click “Services” in the left panel, add the Google Slides API service, and you’re almost done.

• Step 3: Authorize.

  • From the dropdown at the top of Apps Script, choose testAPIConnection().

  • Click Run.

  • Google will pop up a permissions warning (“This app isn’t verified”).

  • Click Advanced → Continue.

  • Approve permissions so the script can edit your Slides and call external APIs.

• Step 4: Refresh Your Slides.

  • Go back to your Slides tab.

  • Refresh the page.

  • You should now see a new top-level menu in the toolbar: 🤖 AI Slides.

• Step 5: Test It.

  • Click 🤖 AI Slides → Generate New Presentation.

  • Enter a topic like “The Psychology of Social Media Addiction in Teenagers.”

  • Choose a slide count (try 8).

  • Pick an audience level (Education for class or Business if it’s for a pitch).

  • Click Generate.

If everything’s configured correctly, a brand-new Google Slides deck will be created with all your slides, bullet points, notes, and images already placed. From that point forward, this is now just “how you build slides.”

Why This Is Not “Cheating” (Academic Integrity and Smart Usage)

Here’s the blunt version: cheating is turning in work you don’t understand. Using a tool that saves you formatting time is not cheating. Our script does not magically pass your class. You still choose the topic, you still review the ideas, you still edit the content, and you’re going to be the one standing in front of the room answering questions. In fact, using AI like this can actually make you better prepared, because you’re spending more time rehearsing and less time drawing rounded rectangles in Google Slides at 3 a.m. A lot of universities are starting to reframe AI as an assistive technology — like spell-check or grammar suggestions — as long as the student (1) understands the material, (2) personalizes the output, and (3) cites real sources instead of inventing facts.

What you should not do is blindly accept every sentence the AI writes. You should:

• Fact-check any numbers, claims, or statistics the AI puts on a slide.

• Add citations to real sources, not “AI said so.”

• Inject class-specific material — references from lectures, assigned readings, or lab results — so the deck clearly reflects your actual course.

• Rewrite slide titles and speaker notes so they sound like you, not like a corporate press release.
  Follow those steps and you’re using AI exactly the way professionals do: as a first-draft generator. Marketing teams, startup founders, and analysts already do this to prepare investor decks, sales decks, and internal updates. You’re doing the same thing for school. Which, honestly, is preparation for real work.

How the Free Image API Gives You “Instantly Polished” Slides

Let’s talk about visuals, because this is where most student decks fall apart. You’ve probably seen this: great argument, solid data, but the slide is just black text on white background. No image, no diagram, nothing to anchor attention. That kills engagement. Our script fixes that by including an addImageToSlide() function that runs for each generated slide. It looks at the “imageDescription” suggested by AI for that slide and then tries to grab a good-looking image. By default, it uses a free provider called Picsum. Picsum doesn’t require any API key at all — which means you get instant images with zero setup, zero logins, and zero licensing panic for generic backgrounds and aesthetic visuals. The script then inserts the image on the right side of the slide, with a defined width and height, so it never crushes the bullet points. You basically get “designed” slides, automatically.

This is important, because visuals help with:

• Retention: audiences remember concepts better if they see a mental anchor.

• Professionalism: consistent layout with text on the left and visuals on the right looks like a real pitch deck.

• Confidence: when your slides look legit, you feel legit in front of the class.
  If you want even more control, the script also supports Pexels and Pixabay. You just drop your own API key into the CONFIG object, switch the IMAGE_PROVIDER to 'pexels' or 'pixabay', and now the script will search those services using your slide’s topic (“renewable energy adoption,” “cloud computing benefits,” “human brain stress response,” etc.). The result: context-aware stock photos pulled in automatically during generation. That’s exactly the kind of polish you see in professional decks that people actually pay designers for — and now it’s just… built in.

Cost Breakdown: Why This Beats Templates, Fiverr, and Panic Coffee

Here’s the breakdown nobody gives you in class: doing presentations the old way is expensive, even if you don’t notice it at first. You spend hours of your own time, and you probably end up buying coffee, energy drinks, or even paying for premium templates. You might even consider paying someone in your group to “just make the slides.” That’s real cost. With our setup, the script itself is free, Google Slides is free, and Apps Script is free. The only thing that costs money is the AI usage — and that is tiny. Claude (Anthropic) and OpenAI both offer API access where you pay per generation, typically just a couple of cents for a ~10-slide deck with bullet points and speaker notes. In practice, that means an entire semester of decks might cost less than $1 total.

If we compare this to traditional options, it’s not even close. A professional presentation designer can charge $50–$200 for a single polished deck. Paid template marketplaces charge $5–$50 for one theme (and you still have to fill in all the content yourself). Even online “AI slide makers” often lock important features — like editable output or stock images — behind a subscription. Meanwhile, once you’ve installed our script, you can:

• Generate unlimited first-draft decks with titles, bullets, and speaker notes.

• Add new slides on demand as your project evolves.

• Auto-insert free images using our built-in image provider with no extra keys.

• Refresh weak slides with the Enhance feature so your argument sounds smarter.
  That’s not “nice to have.” That’s a permanent upgrade to how you do any class that requires slides. It means less last-minute chaos and more “I actually understand what I’m about to present.”

Pro Tips to Make AI Slides Look Like Your Slides

Here’s where you level up. The AI will generate very clean, structured, sometimes formal content. That’s great, but you shouldn’t present sounding like a stiff corporate press release unless you’re literally in a business pitch class. Step one: rewrite slide titles so they match your voice. If AI gives you, “Psychological Impacts of Social Platforms on Adolescents,” but you would actually say “How Social Media Messes With Teen Brains,” change it. Your slide titles are where your personality shows. Step two: inject class-specific references. Mention the professor’s favorite model, a case study discussed in Week 3, data from your own lab work, or a quote pulled from assigned reading. The moment your slides reference internal class material, your presentation stops looking “AI-generated” and starts looking “original and prepared.” Professors love that, because it proves you engaged with their teaching instead of recycling something generic from the internet.

Step three: rehearse using the speaker notes. The script automatically drops speaker notes into each slide (for example: “Explain why this stat matters in real life,” “Give an example from local policy,” etc.). Read those out loud. Then rewrite them in your tone. That process does two things at once: (1) you internalize the logic of your own presentation, and (2) you make sure you can speak naturally instead of reading stiff paragraphs off the screen. You’ll walk into class sounding like you know what you’re talking about — because by that point, you actually will. This is the part a lot of students skip, and it’s the difference between “sounds like they’re reading AI text” and “sounds confident.” In presentation training, that kind of rehearsal with structured speaker notes is tied to better delivery scores and stronger perceived authority.

Final Takeaway: You’re Not Just Saving Time — You’re Building an Edge

The old way was: spend 6–10 hours making slides, panic-edit until 2 a.m., then stumble through the talk. The new way is: generate a high-quality, logically structured draft in under 2 minutes, spend 30–60 minutes customizing, cite real sources, drop in your class insights, and rehearse speaker notes so you sound sharp. That workflow isn’t lazy. That workflow is professional. It’s literally what marketing teams, startup founders, and research groups do: AI for the draft, human for the final judgment. You’re not outsourcing thinking. You’re outsourcing the boring part — layout, first-pass bullets, boilerplate intros, slide consistency, and even visuals via a built-in free image API that makes the deck look polished without you manually hunting down photos.

Here’s what happens when you start using this script for real:

• You stop wasting hours formatting slides and start practicing delivery.

• You walk into presentations looking prepared instead of panicked.

• You sound more confident because you’ve actually had time to review and understand.

• You get cleaner visuals automatically, so your slides look “expensive” even if you built them at 1 a.m. in sweatpants.
  And because we’re giving you the full script, including the Google Apps Script code and both HTML dialog windows, you can install it yourself, keep ownership of your data, and run it on your own account. After this article, you’ll be able to grab the download, paste it in, and have “🤖 AI Slides” living inside Google Slides forever — like a secret academic superpower.

Subtopics You Can Turn Into More Articles

• Claude vs OpenAI for student presentations: Which model gives better academic structure vs pitch-deck energy

• How to write the perfect topic prompt so the AI gives you strong slides the first time

• Academic honesty in 2025: How to present AI-assisted work without violating policy

• How our script’s free image API auto-designs slides (and how to swap in Pexels or Pixabay with your own API key)

• How to turn AI-generated Slides into an internship or scholarship pitch deck

• Accessibility benefits: how AI slide generation helps students with ADHD, dyslexia, and ESL challenges

• How to use the “Enhance Current Slide” feature to upgrade weak group project sections without drama

• Turning your AI-generated deck into a YouTube explainer or TikTok study summary

• How professors can use the exact same script to speed up lecture prep

• Live defense prep: using speaker notes to rehearse thesis and capstone presentations

References (AP Style with URL)

Anthropic. “Anthropic API Documentation.” Anthropic Developer Docs, 2025. Available at https://docs.anthropic.com
Google. “Apps Script Overview.” Google for Developers, 2025. Available at https://developers.google.com/apps-script
Google. “Google Slides API.” Google for Developers, 2025. Available at https://developers.google.com/slides
PitchWorx. “How AI Is Transforming Presentation Design.” PitchWorx, Sept. 2024. Available at https://pitchworx.com/how-ai-is-transforming-presentation-design/
PoweredTemplate. “Case Study: How AI-Powered Presentations Save 70% of Time.” PoweredTemplate Blog, Aug. 2024. Available at https://blog.poweredtemplate.com/case-study-how-ai-powered-presentations-save-70-of-time/
SlideGenius. “What Are the Benefits of Using an AI-Generated Slide Presentation?” SlideGenius, 2024. Available at https://www.slidegenius.com/cm-faq-question/what-are-the-benefits-of-using-an-ai-generated-slide-presentation?utm_source=chatgpt.com
University of Illinois College of Education. “AI in Schools: Pros and Cons.” University of Illinois, Oct. 24, 2024. Available at https://education.illinois.edu/about/news-events/news/article/2024/10/24/ai-in-schools–pros-and-cons
OpenAI. “API Platform Documentation.” OpenAI Developer Docs, 2025. Available at https://platform.openai.com/docs
ScienceDirect. “Using Artificial Intelligence in Academic Writing and Research.” Elsevier/ScienceDirect, 2024. Available at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666990024000120