Getting Started with Octigen
Welcome to Octigen, an AI-powered platform that transforms your content into professional PowerPoint presentations.
What is Octigen?
Octigen is an intelligent slide deck generation system that combines:
- Your PowerPoint templates as the design foundation,
- Your data to populate charts and tables with real figures,
- AI assistants to help create, structure, and refine content,
- Flexible workflows for both guided and free-form presentation creation.
The Octigen Model
Separation of Concerns:
- Templates = Visual design and layout
- Workflows = Structure and content approach
- Slide Decks = Specific presentations with unique content
This separation allows:
- Reusable templates across presentation types
- Consistent branding without sacrificing flexibility
- Standard structures for recurring needs
- Creative freedom when needed
Content First, Design Later
Traditional approach:
- Open PowerPoint.
- Choose slides.
- Type content while worrying about layout.
- Fiddle with formatting.
- Repeat for every presentation.
Octigen's approach:
- Create content without worrying about slides.
- Let AI organize into slides.
- Let AI handle formatting.
- Refine the result.
- Download and present.
Benefit: Focus on message, not mechanics
AI as Collaborator
Think of AI as a junior colleague:
- You provide: Strategy, key messages, data, priorities
- AI provides: Structure, phrasing, organization, formatting
- You review: Accuracy, appropriateness, quality
- You refine: Adjust, polish, perfect
Not "AI does everything" or "I do everything" - it's collaborative.
How It Works
The Octigen workflow consists of three main components:
1. Templates
Templates are your PowerPoint design files that serve as the foundation for all generated presentations. Think of them as smart blueprints that the AI uses to create new slide decks.
What makes a template "smart"?
- Slides are categorized by their purpose (title slides, data slides, content slides, etc.)
- Shapes (text boxes, images, tables) are named and classified
- The AI knows which elements to update and which to leave untouched
2. Workflows
Workflows are pre-configured presentation blueprints that guide the AI in creating specific types of presentations. They define:
- The overall tone and style,
- Which slide categories to use and in what order,
- Specific instructions for each section.
Examples of Workflows:
- Quarterly Business Review
- Product Launch Presentation
- Investment Pitch Deck
- Monthly Performance Report
You can set up and manage existing and new workflows under each template.
3. Slide Decks (Slide Decks)
Slide Decks are the actual presentations you create. The creation process flows through distinct phases:
- Build - Create your content (text, data, research)
- Structure - AI organizes content into slides
- Populate - AI fills in the actual slide content
- Refine - Make adjustments and improvements
- Commit - Generate the final PowerPoint file
Your First Presentation
Here's a quick overview of creating your first slide deck:
- Upload a Template - Start by uploading a PowerPoint template.
- Configure the Template - Categorize slides and name shapes (with AI assistance).
- Explore Example Workflows - Visit your Organization page to restore pre-built workflow examples and learn how they work.
- Create a Workflow (Optional) - Define a reusable presentation structure. Alternatively, you can use a "Freeform" workflow where you leave all structuring choices to the AI.
- Generate or Upload Content - Work with the Content Assistant to create your presentation content, or upload what you already have.
- Structure & Populate - Let AI organize and populate your slides.
- Download - Get your final PowerPoint presentation.
AI Assistants
Throughout the process, specialized AI assistants help you:
- Template Assistant - Improves template organization and naming.
- Content Assistant - Helps create engaging presentation content.
- Structure Analysis Bot - Organizes content into slide structure.
- Slide Population Bot - Fills slides with appropriate content.
- Refinement Assistant - Makes adjustments to generated slides.
Next Steps
Explore the documentation to learn more:
- Understanding Templates - Learn how templates work.
- Working with Workflows - Create reusable presentation structures.
- Data Integration - Connect your own data to slides.
- Creating Presentations - Step-by-step guide to generating slides.
- AI Assistants Guide - Master the AI tools.