Generate PowerPoint presentations and Word documents with Opal

Optimizely Opal creates fully formatted PowerPoint presentations (.pptx) and Word documents (.docx) directly in Opal Chat. Describe the file you want, and Opal returns a ready-to-download file. To match your brand, optionally provide a template or a skill with your brand information. Opal applies your colors, fonts, and design rules to every file it creates.

How it works

Opal generates .pptx and .docx files from your prompt. To match your brand, optionally provide a branding source, such as a template file or a skill with your brand information. Without a branding source, Opal selects a design palette and layout based on your content and topic.

Branding options

Apply your organization's branding in one of three ways. Choose the option that fits your workflow, or combine approaches.

To get the best of both, combine a brand skill with a template. The template's visual identity takes precedence. The brand skill fills in anything the template does not define, such as chart colors or custom fonts.

Use a template file

Attach a template when you want Opal to match an existing branded deck or document exactly. Upload the file to your chat message, then describe the content you want. When you attach a template, Opal does the following:

• Analyzes the template's layouts, backgrounds, colors, fonts, shapes, and logos.
• Selects the subset of slides or sections that match your content. Opal does not reuse every slide.
• Replaces only the text and content placeholders, leaving the visual design untouched.

Create a brand skill

A brand skill is an Opal skill that contains your organization's brand guidelines. Create it once, and Opal applies it to every generation request. You do not need to attach a file.

Include the items that apply to your organization:

• Colors – Hex codes for your primary, secondary, accent, background, and text colors.
• Typography – Font names, fallbacks, and sizes for titles, headings, body text, and captions. Attach custom .otf or .ttf font files directly to the skill.
• Logo – Logo placement rules, such as position, size, and light or dark variant. Attach logo image files directly to the skill.
• Slide backgrounds – The color or background image to use per slide type.
• Charts – Series colors, axis colors, and grid styling.
• Rules – Brand requirements and restrictions. For example, Never use drop shadows on body text.

To create the skill, complete the following steps in Opal:

1. Go to Skills.
2. Click Create skill.
3. Select Organization Skills (available to everyone in your organization) or Personal Skills (available only to you).
4. Give the skill a clear name, for example Acme Brand Guidelines.
5. Enter the Shortcut to invoke the skill, such as acme_branding.
6. Keep Keywords or phrases selected as the When to use value.
7. Enter When creating branded PowerPoint or Word files in the When to use field.
8. Enter the heading # Brand Guidelines: YOUR_BRAND_NAME in the Core Skill section.
9. Add your brand guidelines using the items from the previous list. Use plain language. Opal reads and applies the content as instructions.
10. Upload any font files and logo images in the Files section.
11. Toggle Active on.
12. Click Save to create your skill.

See Create an organization skill or Create a personal skill for detailed instructions.

Generate a branded PowerPoint or Word file

Open Opal Chat and describe the file you want.

What Opal needs from you

Example prompts

Effective prompts name the file type, the topic, and the audience:

• Create a 10-slide PowerPoint on our Q3 product roadmap for an executive audience. Use our brand guidelines.
• Generate a Word document that summarizes our onboarding process for new hires. Include an introduction, five steps, and a resources section.
• Build a sales deck from this template. The topic is "Why choose Acme" and it is for a prospect meeting.
• Make a presentation with a title slide, three feature overview slides, and a next-steps slide.

When Opal finishes, the chat displays a card with links to your file. Select View document or View presentation to view the file in Opal. Click Download and select the file type to download as .pptx, .docx, or `.pdf`.

Word file

PowerPoint file

To make changes, describe them in chat. Opal updates or regenerates the file.

Presentation defaults

For .pptx files, Opal applies the following defaults unless a template or brand skill specifies otherwise:

• Aspect ratio – 16:9 (widescreen).
• Layout variety – Title slides, two-column layouts, stat callouts, image and text combinations, and section dividers.
• Visual elements – Every slide includes at least one visual element — an image, chart, icon, or shape.
• Color palette – Comes from your template or brand skill. Without either, Opal selects a palette based on the topic.
• Charts – Bar, line, and pie charts using the active branding source.

Document defaults

For .docx files, Opal applies the following defaults:

• Page size – US Letter (8.5" × 11") with one-inch margins.
• Font – Arial, unless a template or brand skill specifies a different font.
• Headings – Hierarchical heading levels (H1, H2, H3) applied consistently.
• Lists – Bulleted and numbered lists using document list styles.
• Tables – Full-width tables with consistent column widths and cell padding.

FAQ

Do I need a brand skill or template to generate files?

No. Both are optional. Without either, Opal generates the file using a design it selects based on your content and topic. Providing a template or brand skill produces more on-brand output.

Which is better, a template file or a brand skill?

It depends on your workflow. A template file is faster to start with and matches an existing deck or document precisely. A brand skill is better for teams that generate files often, because you create it once and Opal applies it automatically. You can also combine the two.

Can I use custom fonts?

Yes. Attach .otf or .ttf files to your brand skill. Opal installs the fonts and embeds them in the output file. Anyone who opens the file sees the correct fonts.

Can I ask Opal to change the file after it generates it?

Yes. Describe the changes in chat. Opal updates or regenerates the file. Be specific, for example, Change the title slide background to dark blue or Add a slide on pricing after slide 4.

Are there limits on file size or slide count?

Opal does not enforce a specific limit. Very large files or complex designs take longer to generate. For best results, keep requests to 20 slides or fewer.