Today's Practical AI Lesson: PowerPoint Edition — Let Me Count the Ways

I found seven (!!!) different ways to create PowerPoint presentations using Copilot. Yes seven, and yes they all created different outputs.

Two live inside PowerPoint itself. Five can be found/created inside Copilot on the Web. The outputs ranged from unusable to what I will officially rate as “not bad.” The best results inside the PowerPoint app itself came from using “New Slide with Copilot” button in the toolbar (pictured below). The worst output across all seven options came from clicking the Copilot icon on the toolbar in PowerPoint and asking for a full presentation in the chat window sidebar, weird, right?

The very best results came from a new PowerPoint agent currently in beta. If you have early access, go to the web version of Copilot, click Frontier (left side , and look for PowerPoint Presentation. You need the paid version of Copilot and may need to speak to your O365 administrator to turn this on. This Powerpoint agent asked clarifying questions, planned the structure, and only then generated slides. Same prompt. Same underlying AI. Completely different outcomes.

This is why giving teams Copilot licenses does not automatically improve processes. Interface choices matter. Planning matters. Training matters.

If you want to go deeper into how to actually use Copilot in real workflows, join me on February 27th for my all-day Copilot program with Fisher College of Business Executive Education program where we dive into this and more!!

#ArtificialIntelligence #MicrosoftCopilot #Copilot #AITraining #AIInBusiness #OSU HappyAIPath

#GenerativeAI #AIProductivity #DigitalTransformation

#ExecutiveEducation #BusinessAnalytics #FutureOfWork

Brands Are Building ChatGPT Apps — And I Told You They Would

Today’s practical post: an “I told you so” moment.

Two months ago, I wrote that brands should start building apps for ChatGPT. I thought it would take longer to matter — but on that point, I was wrong.

In just a few weeks, major companies have launched ChatGPT apps that let consumers interact directly with their products and services through AI. This isn’t theory anymore — it’s happening:

• Target — ChatGPT app live. Discuss design preferences and see results.
• Zillow — find homes through AI.
• Instacart — plan groceries by conversation.
• Uber — book rides via ChatGPT.
• StubHub — discover events directly inside chat.

What brand do you think should build a ChatGPT app next? The shift is happening faster than most expected, and it’s reshaping how people interact with brands.

According to new research from PYMNTS.com, based on a survey of ~2,100 consumers:

• Over 60% of consumers used a dedicated AI platform in the past year — AI is mainstream.
• More than one-third of Gen Z and “Power Users” now start their personal tasks in AI, not search.
• 42% of those users rely on traditional search engines less often.

This isn’t a gimmick. Forget “SEO for AI.”

Integration into AI — with customizable, frictionless, conversational transaction enablement (phew, what a phrase 😄) — will be the expected starting point for consumer engagement in less than a year.

People are talking to AI and expect brands to talk back.

Follow HappyAIPath for more practical AI insights on how it’s reshaping the way companies work — in real time.

P.S. All dashes were made of my own free will 🤣