This is the second in our series exploring useful HTML experiences you can create with Copilot beyond SharePoint Lists, Libraries and dashboards.
In the first guide, we showed how to turn an Excel workbook into a live HTML dashboard. This time, we’re looking at presentations: how to take a finished PowerPoint deck and turn it into one interactive HTML file with two different ways to use it:
Presenter mode and Interactive mode.
The result is a presentation when you are there and a learning experience when you are not.
Copilot can turn a completed PowerPoint presentation into a standalone HTML application containing:
You do not need to convert every slide into an image yourself, create a website or write the HTML and JavaScript.
Finish the presentation, export it as a PDF, attach it to Copilot and use a detailed prompt to define how Presenter and Interactive modes should work.
Although the source starts as a PowerPoint presentation, the version given to Copilot should be a PDF.
This helps preserve the final appearance of each slide, including:
In Presenter mode, Copilot can render each PDF page as an image and embed it directly in the HTML using Base64 encoding.
This is important because asking Copilot to recreate the presentation as HTML elements can lead to formatting changes. Text may reflow, objects may move and slides may no longer look like the originals.
By embedding each completed slide as an image, Presenter mode can stay much closer to the original deck.
Interactive mode can then analyse the content separately and create recaps and questions without changing the slides themselves.
Check these three lists before carrying on.
| You will need | This works particularly well for | Before continuing, check that |
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Copilot will use the material in the PDF to generate the Interactive mode. A clear presentation structure will help it identify where one module ends and another begins.
Open your completed presentation in PowerPoint.
Depending on the version you are using, select:
File > Export > Download as PDF
or:
File > Save As > PDF
Save the PDF somewhere you can easily find it.
Open the exported PDF before proceeding and check that:
You do not need to convert each page into an image. The prompt will instruct Copilot to do this when creating the HTML file.
Using a new conversation reduces the chance that earlier messages or unrelated instructions influence the result.
Attach the PDF you exported from PowerPoint. Wait until the file appears in the conversation before entering the prompt.
If the presentation contains confidential, personal or commercially sensitive information, make sure you have permission to process and share it through your organisation’s approved Copilot environment.
Before pasting the complete prompt, replace the following placeholders:
For example:
These details give Copilot useful context about the purpose of the presentation. However, the prompt should also make it clear that generated recaps and questions must remain grounded in the attached PDF.
Step 4: Use the complete prompt
Image 1 - Example f what the prompt should look like
The final instruction is particularly important. Without it, Copilot may explain how to create the application or return a block of HTML code instead of producing a downloadable file.
Once Copilot has finished, download the .html file and save it locally.
The output should be one file, not an HTML file accompanied by separate folders for images, scripts or styling.
Open the file in Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome.
You should see a clear option to switch between:
Test both options before sharing the file.
If something is wrong, avoid asking Copilot to start the entire application again. Identify the exact problem and tell it what must remain unchanged.
Use this follow-up prompt:
Update the HTML file you created.
Make the following corrections:
• [SPECIFIC CORRECTION]
• [SPECIFIC CORRECTION]
• [SPECIFIC CORRECTION]
Do not change any part of the application that is not listed above.
Preserve both Presenter mode and Interactive mode.
Return the complete revised downloadable standalone HTML file, with all assets still embedded using Base64.
Do not return a code extract, instructions or pseudocode.
Be aware that browser security settings and the way a local HTML file is opened may affect whether local progress can be retained. Test the finished file in the browser your audience is expected to use.
Complete a final review before sending the HTML file to colleagues, customers or learners.
| Presenter mode checklist | Interactive mode checklist | Final file checklist |
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A PowerPoint presentation usually depends on the presenter to provide the context, control the sequence and explain why each point matters.
A dual-mode HTML presentation gives the same material two jobs.
Presenter mode preserves the original deck for delivering the session live. Interactive mode gives the audience a structured way to revisit the material, check their understanding and move through it without the presenter.
You need to explain what must remain faithful to the original, what users should be able to do afterwards and how the final file should behave.
The result is more than PowerPoint in a browser. It is a presentation when you are there and a learning experience when you are not.
If you’re exploring how Copilot, agents and interactive experiences could improve training, communication or business processes, get in touch using the form below.
We’ll be sharing more step-by-step guides showing how to use Copilot to turn familiar business content into useful HTML experiences.