Basic tasks using a screen reader with Copilot in PowerPoint

Applies To
PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 for Mac PowerPoint for Mac

This article is for people who use a screen reader program such as Windows Narrator, JAWS, or NVDA with Windows tools or features and Microsoft 365 products. This article is part of the Accessibility help & learning content set where you can find more accessibility information on our apps. For general help, visit Microsoft Support.

Copilot in PowerPoint works as a chat-based assistant. You can type prompts in the Copilot pane to create presentations, add slides, insert content, or summarize your presentation. This article guides you through basic tasks using Copilot in PowerPoint with your keyboard and a screen reader.

Note

In this topic

The Copilot pane is the main place to interact with Copilot. You can type prompts, review responses, and continue the conversation.

To navigate Copilot in PowerPoint, open PowerPoint and create a new presentation or open an existing one.

  1. Press Alt+H, FX to open the Copilot pane. The Copilot pane opens with suggested prompts and a Chat messages list, if available. Focus moves to the prompt edit box.

  2. Type your prompt, and press Enter to send it to Copilot.

  3. To navigate and interact with the pane: 

    • Press the Tab key once to move to the list of suggested prompts. Use the Up and Down arrow keys to browse the list. 
    •  Press Enter to select a prompt, type your query, and then press Enter to send it.

  4. To read and interact with responses: 

    • Press the Tab key until you hear “Chat messages list,” and then press Enter. 
    • Use the Up and Down arrow keys to navigate messages, and then press Enter to open a message.
    • Press the Tab or Shift+Tab to navigate through the interactive elements within the message.
    • Press Esc to navigate out of the message and back to the list.

Note

  • To access more input options, press Tab until you hear “Open input menu button,” then press Enter. You can attach a file, view prompt suggestions, add an image, or use Ask an Agent to get help and improve Copilot's responses.
  • Copilot may respond with suggestions, an outline, or follow-up questions. Continue typing in the prompt box to refine your request.

You can use the Copilot menu on a slide for quick actions without opening the full Copilot pane.

To open and navigate the Copilot menu: 

  1. Open PowerPoint and create a new presentation or open an existing one.

  2. Press F6 to move the focus to the slide, and then press the Tab key to navigate through all items on the slide.

  3. Press the Tab key until you hear “Copilot button,” and then press Enter.

  4. Use the Up or Down arrow key to move through the available options, such as:

    • Create a new presentation
    • Create a new presentation with file
    • Add a slide
    • Add a topic
    • Summarize this presentation
    • What is the key takeaway from this slide?

  5. When you hear the option you want, press Enter to select it.

  6. Complete the prompt, and then press Enter. Copilot generates a response based on your prompt.

  7. Follow the on-screen instructions to create your presentation.

Create a presentation from a Word document

Copilot in PowerPoint can help you to create a presentation from an existing Word document. Provide Copilot in PowerPoint with the link to your Word document, and it will generate a presentation for you.

  1. In PowerPoint, press the Tab key until you hear “Create with Copilot,” and then press Enter. 

  2. Type / to open the file menu, then start typing the name of the file.

  3. Use the Down arrow key to browse suggestions, and press Enter to select a file.

    Tip

    To copy the document link, open the Word document, go to the Share tray, and copy the URL from there.

  4. Follow the same steps as in Create a new presentation with Copilot in PowerPoint to review topics and generate slides.

    Note

    Copilot may generate an outline or ask for confirmation before creating the presentation.

Insert a new slide using Copilot prompt

  1. Navigate to the slide where you want to add a new slide.
  2. Press Alt+H, FX to open the Copilot pane. Focus moves to the prompt edit box.
  3. In the edit box, type a prompt like “Add a slide about accessibility features,” and then press Enter.
    Copilot will generate the slide based on your prompt.

Insert a picture using Copilot prompt

  1. Navigate to the slide where you want to insert the picture.

  2. Press Alt+H, FX to open the Copilot pane.

  3. In the edit field, type a prompt like “Add an image to the current slide,” and press Enter. The selected image is inserted into the slide.

    Tip

    If Copilot suggests multiple images, press Shift+Tab to move to the Chat messages list, use the Up arrow key to find the message with the images, and press Enter to open it. Then, use the Tab key to select the image you want, and press Enter to insert it. You can also specify the image in your prompt. For example, “Add an image of a book.”

Summarize the presentation using Copilot prompt

  1. Open the presentation you want to summarize. Press Alt+H, FX to open the Copilot pane. Focus moves to the prompt edit box.
  2. In the edit field, type “Summarize this presentation,” and press Enter. 
  3. Press Shift+Tab to go to the Chat messages list, then press the Up arrow key to navigate to the summary message and press Enter. 
  4. Press the Tab key until you hear “Copy button,” and then press Enter to copy the summary.

See also

Use keyboard shortcuts to create PowerPoint presentations

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate PowerPoint

Basic tasks to create a presentation in PowerPoint with a screen reader

Add a slide or image to your presentation with Copilot in PowerPoint

Screen reader support for PowerPoint

Technical support for customers with disabilities

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