How would you like your presentation software to automatically generate your presentation based on your outline? Look no further than Haiku Deck's Zuru platform.
In this video, I take a closer look at the features of Haiku Deck Zuru. Let's get started.
Haiku Deck Zuru is a browser-based platform and uses artificial intelligence to interpret exiting content to generate a slide deck. It uses intelligent image analysis to match images with potential main words of your content.
At the time of this post Zuru is in trial mode and free to try as well as available to Haiku Deck Pro members. To try for free, you do need to create an account.
Once you create an account you have three options for creating a slide deck,
- Upload an existing presentation
- Create a presentation from a Wikipedia topic.
- Create a presentation from your own outline.
Let's take a look at each option.
Uploading a Presentation File
For the first option. uploading a presentation file, click the Get Started button. You have the option to upload or start from a sample deck.
To upload a file it does need to be in .pptx format. Most major presentation apps like Apple's Keynote and Google Slides have the option to save in this format. Additionally, the slide decks cannot have text-based tables, embedded video or audio, or be more than 50 slides.
I created a basic slide deck included a title slide, two bulleted lists, single concept text slide, and a table as an image. I want to note that one bulleted list has far more text on it than I would normally have. Because this is a common slide design mistake, I did this on purpose to show how the app works with large amounts of text.
You click the Upload button and navigate to the location of your presentation file.
Zuru will then analyze the text of the presentation and offer suggested main points. The AI is fairly literal and doesn't do well with headings that are a play on words. For instance, my original title 'See Spot Run' provided no suggestions from the AI engine. However, the title 'Dogs Need to Run' provided better suggestions.
For each slide, select the word that best represents the content or search for a main point. Zuru will then provide potential images.
Double click the image you want to apply to that slide. Continue until you've gone through the entire deck
You do have the option to upload images if the AI engine isn't providing the images you want. Depending on the size of your slide deck this step should take about 10-15 minutes. Once you are done, you have the option to edit individual slides.
Wikipedia topic
Now on to the Wikipedia topic. Click the Get Started Button. You can select the number of slides to be generated 5, about 30, or about 50.
Type in your topic into the search bar. The content on the Wikipedia article is displayed based on the structure of the article and the number of slides you selected. Edit the outline to select the text you want displayed on your slide. Click the Continue button to select images for each slide.
The AI engine will identify potential key concepts. Select the one you want. The possible background images based on the content of each slide will be displayed. Click the image you want.
Continue this process until you've built your slide deck. Once you are done you have the option to edit individual slides.
Adding an Outline
The third option is adding an outline. After clicking the Get Started button. You add your content from your outline by copying and pasting or typing out.
Scroll down and click the Continue button to select images for each slide. The AI engine will analyze the text of each point on your outline to pull out potential key concepts for a slide.
Like the other options, potential images will be provided. You select the image you want and continue the process until you've built your slide deck. Once done, you will be given a preview of the slide deck. Click the edit button to change an image or wording.
Downloading the Slide Deck
If you want to download the slide deck, you will be prompted for payment information. You can pay a one-time fee or subscribe to Haiku Deck Pro.
So, is this app worth trying?
What I like best about Zuru is the ease of identifying potential images for each slide. Haiku Deck states that most people save 80-90% of their time building slides decks with Zuru. I know personally the most time-consuming aspect of building a slide deck is finding images that match my concepts.
It is still possible to fall into the trap of text heavy slides as the software doesn't edit the text you add. If your style and aesthetic is a background image and minimal text you'll appreciate the tools of Zuru. And a subscription to Haiku Deck Pro gives you full editing options to the deck you generated.
The option to download the slide deck and continue editing in PowerPoint, Keynote, and Google Slides is a bonus. Additionally, they have a generous discount for educators and students.
I give Haiku Deck Zuru an A+ and I look forward to continued enhancements of the app.
