PDF to presentation with AI: slides from a research paper or report

How to make a presentation from a PDF in scid.ai

1. Upload the file. A PDF of a paper, report or thesis goes into the research library. The text layer is read in full.
2. Select it as a source. Tick the file in the sources panel. Add found papers next to it so the Context slide rests on them.
3. Ask for slides. “Make a 10-slide presentation from this file”. scid.ai shows a plan: the title and content of each slide.
4. Adjust and download. Describe changes in a message, then press “Approve and create”. You get a PPTX with speaker notes and references.

How this differs from a PDF-to-PowerPoint converter

A converter copies PDF pages onto slides one to one: you get images of text that can neither be read from the screen nor edited. The AI in scid.ai reads the document and builds a talk: it extracts the question, method, results and conclusions, writes claim-style titles and moves the details into speaker notes.

Every claim is tied to a passage of the file. If scientific papers sit next to the PDF in your sources, DOI references go onto the slides and into the notes.

Which files work best

• Research papers: slides follow the IMRaD structure, result figures are described in words and you paste them from the PDF into PowerPoint.
• Project reports and policy briefs: report sections become slides, numbers are quoted with the section they come from.
• Theses and dissertations: a defense presentation skeleton from the text, with the aim and objectives carried over verbatim.
• Lectures and course notes: the topic structure for a class with discussion questions in the notes.

Limitations

• Scans without a text layer are not read: the PDF needs recognised text.
• Figures and charts from the PDF are not moved onto slides automatically; you add them in PowerPoint.
• One universal scid.ai design template. Illustrations are AI-generated and off on the free plan.
• Check numbers against the file: every claim says where it came from for that reason.