PowerPoint Explainer: Copilot’s in-slide clarifications for dense slides

Microsoft’s PowerPoint is getting a practical, Copilot-powered addition named Explainer that promises to make dense, jargon-filled slides instantly readable without leaving the app — a contextual “explain this” tool that runs in the Copilot side pane and is now rolling out to Copilot-licensed Microsoft 365 users.

Background / Overview​

PowerPoint has been evolving well beyond slide layout and animation into a richer authoring platform where AI helps with drafting, design and data grounding. Copilot’s integration with PowerPoint has already introduced features such as Narrative Builder, prompt-to-deck creation, brand-aware templates, and on-demand visual generation. Explainer extends that work by focusing on comprehension — turning confusing on-slide text, acronyms and technical terms into short, slide-specific explanations delivered in-place.
The rollout targets both Windows and macOS clients and follows a pattern Microsoft has used elsewhere: provide an “Explain” affordance in a right-click or context menu and surface the answer in Copilot’s sidebar so the slide canvas remains unchanged. Similar right-click explain flows have appeared across Microsoft’s tools, underscoring a consistent UX choice for contextual assistance.

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What Explainer does — practical walkthrough​

Explainer is intentionally simple to use and deliberately scoped to slide-level context rather than full-deck summarization.

• Open any PowerPoint slide (Windows or Mac).
• Right-click on a slide element — a text box, table, figure, or a selection of text — and choose the Explain or Explain this option (the menu item may appear as “Explain this” depending on language and build).
• Copilot analyzes the selected content and returns a concise, contextual explanation in the Copilot side pane, keeping the main slide clean and enabling you to stay in flow.

Key design choices make the feature suitable for real presentations:

• Explanations are contextual: they’re generated from the slide’s content and the immediate context instead of generic dictionary definitions.
• The UI preserves the slide canvas — explanations live in the side pane so presenters don’t accidentally alter the slide while seeking clarity.
• Quick feedback controls (thumbs-up / thumbs-down) let users signal whether an explanation was helpful — an explicit telemetry loop for model improvement.

These simple interactions map well to common presentation workflows: a presenter prepping for Q&A, a teammate reviewing a technical deck, or an audience reading verbose slides during a meeting.

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Availability and system requirements (verified and cross-checked)​

Microsoft and independent coverage list the same availability model: Explainer requires an active Microsoft 365 Copilot license and specific application build thresholds on desktop clients. Two independent outlets reported the rollout and the build cutoffs, and Microsoft’s official Office release notes confirm the Windows build family that contains the necessary client updates.

• Windows: PowerPoint available with Version 2510 or later; Microsoft’s release notes show Build 19328.20072 as a Version 2510 build — this aligns with reporting that Explainer requires Version 2510 (Build 19328.20072) or later on Windows.
• Mac: reporting lists Version 16.103 (Build 25110343) as the cutoff for macOS clients; Mac builds for PowerPoint in the 16.103 release family are documented across Microsoft Q&A and distribution channels, though precise build stamps can vary slightly by channel (App Store vs. enterprise updater). This Mac build number is consistent with the 16.103 distribution window reported by outlets, but users should verify the exact build string in their PowerPoint > About dialog if Mac packaging uses different sub-builds in your environment. Flag: Mac build strings may differ by distribution channel and date; confirm locally if you rely on a specific patch number.

Remember: Copilot features are often rolled out in stages. Even with the right client version and a Copilot license, tenant-level gating or staged regional rollouts can delay visibility. Administrators should check Microsoft 365 admin center messages for change notifications and the Office release notes for their channel.

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Why this matters — practical benefits for presenters and reviewers​

Explainer targets an everyday friction point: slides that are dense with acronyms, domain-specific jargon, or compressed data that demand external lookups.

• Faster comprehension: Instead of opening a browser tab, users get a contextual, slide-specific definition or paraphrase directly inside PowerPoint, reducing context switching and cognitive load.
• On-the-fly prep: Presenters can use Explainer while rehearsing to ensure they can explain complex items succinctly during live delivery.
• Better accessibility: Explainer can help non-expert audiences, translations and global teams digest specialized terms quickly before asking clarifying questions.
• Training and onboarding: L&D teams can add Explainer to training decks so new hires can see quick clarifications while self-studying slides.

These are pragmatic gains: time saved for the presenter and a smoother information flow for audiences who otherwise pause the meeting to Google definitions.

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Strengths: what Microsoft got right​

• In-context assistance — By operating on selected text or objects and returning results in the side pane, Explainer preserves the authoring space and stays focused on the slide content rather than offering generic summaries.
• Rapid access — The right-click path (or selection-based activation) makes the feature discoverable and low-friction for users who already rely on contextual menus in PowerPoint.
• Integration with Copilot’s grounding model — Explainer is designed to produce answers grounded in the slide’s context rather than pulling generic web definitions, lowering the risk of irrelevant responses. This design echoes Copilot’s broader emphasis on grounding and file-aware outputs.
• Feedback loop — Built-in thumbs-up/thumbs-down and the Help > Feedback channel let Microsoft collect direct signal to refine the underlying models over time. Independent reporting notes Microsoft asking for user feedback as part of the rollout.

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Risks, limits and governance considerations​

While useful, Explainer brings the usual caveats of in-app generative AI. Productive use depends on awareness and governance.

• Hallucinations and factual errors — Even when grounded, generative outputs can misstate facts or omit nuance. Explanations that paraphrase technical claims should be validated by a subject-matter expert before being treated as authoritative. Organizations must treat Copilot outputs as assistive, not final.
• Data privacy and leakage — Copilot’s processing happens in Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure; any content sent for analysis is subject to tenant policies and Microsoft’s processing rules. Sensitive IP, regulated data, or personally identifiable information should be labelled and controlled. Microsoft Purview controls and sensitivity labels can block certain connected experiences from sending content for analysis — admins should use those tools as needed.
• License gating and cost — Explainer requires Microsoft 365 Copilot licensing, which is a premium add-on for many organizations. Teams must weigh subscription costs against productivity gains and may want a pilot before enterprise-wide adoption.
• Rollout variability — Features tied to Copilot and Agent Mode are often staged: web-first, then desktop; preview channels first, production later. Expect user experience differences between the web, Current Channel, and Insiders builds. IT should plan communications and training accordingly.

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How Explainer fits into the bigger Copilot story​

Explainer is not an isolated experiment — it’s consistent with Microsoft’s broader strategy to embed Copilot capabilities throughout Office and Windows. Recent Copilot updates expanded PowerPoint’s capabilities in areas such as:

• Narrative Builder and multi-file grounding (create whole decks from multiple source documents).
• Magic Pencil and iterative slide refinements.
• On-demand visuals through Designer and integrated image models.
• Agent Mode and Office Agents for multi-step workflows.

Explainer completes that authoring loop by addressing comprehension rather than creation: if Copilot can help you create content quickly, Explainer helps human readers understand that content faster. Together, these features move PowerPoint toward an AI-assisted authoring and consumption platform where the AI helps both the author and the audience.

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Admin checklist: rollout, compliance, and readiness​

For IT teams preparing a Copilot-enabled rollout that includes Explainer, the following steps prioritize safety and practical adoption:

• Inventory entitlements:
• Confirm which users or groups have Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses.
• Map Copilot entitlements to job roles; restrict where necessary.
• Review sensitivity and DLP policies:
• Use Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels to prevent sensitive documents from being analyzed by Copilot if required.
• Audit where organizational assets (SharePoint or OneDrive) can be read by Copilot agents.
• Update client baseline:
• Ensure Windows clients are on Version 2510+ (Build 19328.20072 or later) and Mac clients on the 16.103 family; verify your distribution channel’s exact build numbers. Note: build stamps may vary by channel.
• Pilot and measure:
• Run a 30–60 day pilot in one team (sales enablement, product marketing, or training).
• Measure time-to-draft, edit iterations, and error rates in final decks.
• Train users:
• Provide simple guidance: “Use Explainer to check jargon; always validate numbers and claims before external distribution.”
• Publish short scrollable cheat sheets showing how to trigger Explainer and how to provide feedback on outputs.
• Monitor Telemetry:
• Track usage patterns and common failure modes (e.g., where Explainer produces low-utility responses) and feed this back into governance and training content.

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Tips for end users — get the best Explainer outputs​

• Be specific: select the minimal text that needs explanation rather than the entire slide. Smaller, targeted selections usually yield cleaner, more focused explanations.
• Ground the deck: when possible, attach or reference source files (a specification or short brief) in Copilot flows for better grounding — Explainer works best when the surrounding deck is coherent.
• Validate numbers: for any slide that contains figures or contractual language, cross-check with primary sources before publishing or sending externally.
• Use feedback controls: thumbs-up/thumbs-down helps the model improve for your tenant and signals quality issues to Microsoft.
• Preserve a human review step: treat Explainer as an assistant for comprehension, not a substitute for a subject-matter review.

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What we don’t know yet — open questions and unverifiable claims​

• Exact Mac build parity: multiple outlets report Version 16.103 (Build 25110343) as the required Mac baseline. Microsoft’s public Office for Mac release channels list the 16.103 version family; however, macOS packaging and sub-build stamps can vary between the App Store and enterprise update channels. Users should confirm the build string in PowerPoint > About on their machines. This is a cautionary verification step rather than a contradiction of the reporting.
• Tenant-level rollout timing: Microsoft typically stages Copilot features. Even with the right client build and a Copilot license, organizational rollout schedules, regional rollouts, and feature gates may delay availability for some users. Admins should expect phased visibility and monitor their Microsoft 365 admin center messages.
• Under-the-hood model routing: Microsoft sometimes routes workloads across model families (including third-party models) depending on task and tenant settings. The precise model used to generate Explainer outputs in your tenant is not publicly visible and may evolve over time. Treat model provenance as a governance consideration.

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Final take — practical verdict for WindowsForum readers​

Explainer is a practical, focused improvement that addresses a common, low-glamour pain point: comprehension of dense slide content. It’s not transformative in the “AI writes your deck for you” sense, but it is highly usable and immediately helpful for everyday presenters, reviewers, and learners. The tight integration — right-click to explain, answer in Copilot’s side pane — is exactly the kind of small UX decision that determines whether an AI feature becomes part of normal workflows or ends up ignored.
The hard work for IT and organizations remains the same: set governance, train people to validate outputs, and pilot the tool in repeatable workflows where gains are measurable. For individual users the takeaway is straightforward: if you have Microsoft 365 Copilot and keep PowerPoint updated to the Version 2510 / 16.103 family, Explainer is worth trying — but treat it as an assistive clarifier, not a substitute for domain expertise.

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Explainer tightens the loop between authoring and comprehension, and by doing so it nudges PowerPoint closer to being both a creation tool and an intelligent reading aid — a useful, pragmatic step in Copilot’s steady march through Microsoft 365.

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Source: Windows Report PowerPoint Gets Copilot-Powered Explainer to Break Down Complex Slides