Gamma Rebuilds Presentation Platform to Reduce 'AI Smell' in Generated Slides

The company said the release responds to complaints that AI-generated presentations increasingly suffer from repetitive layouts, generic imagery and predictable design choices. Gamma co-founder and chief product officer Jon Noronha said the company has heard more complaints about sameness and what he called "AI smell" since early this year. "They all have a distinctive tell," he said. "There's been more and more discussion by people saying they wish they could make AI-generated content where it's not clear they made it with AI."

According to SiliconANGLE, which first reported the release, Gamma expanded its template library to thousands of options through a combination of human design and AI. The platform combines more than 20 AI models, including models from Anthropic PBC, OpenAI Group PBC and Google LLC, along with several image generators. The company selects models through internal evaluations and user experiments, measuring responses such as whether people edit and share their creations or become paying customers.

Noronha said much of the rebuild reflects improvements in AI models since Gamma gained traction in 2023. Earlier versions restricted users to a limited set of design components, while the new editor gives them greater freedom to create layouts and individual elements. "These agentic models have gotten much more capable," he said. "Because of that, we can give them the full power to write custom code, draw shapes and arrange elements on a canvas. They do a really good job now."

The agent operates in a sandbox where it can generate images, manipulate files, conduct web research and review its own output. Automated checks address problems such as text spilling off slides or images being cropped awkwardly. Users can revise individual elements directly through a freeform editor, and before generating slides they can work with the agent on an outline, refining the argument, the intended audience and the visual approach. AI can also suggest ways to tune a presentation to the audience's interests.

For visuals, Gamma emphasizes illustrations over AI-generated photos. Noronha said illustrations can convey business and educational information effectively while avoiding problems often associated with photorealistic images, such as distorted anatomy, inconsistent lighting and implausible details.

The platform has around 20 connectors for bringing outside information into presentations. Supported sources include Salesforce Inc.'s Slack and transcription services such as Granola, Fireflies and Fathom. Connectors apply users' existing authorizations, and the agent can flag sensitive material for discussion, Noronha said. Gamma also supports importing PowerPoint presentations, PDFs and other existing materials for editing. Noronha said an internal benchmark measuring the visual accuracy of imports has improved from roughly 30% early in development to more than 97%.

Gamma 5 retains brand preferences, custom instructions and workspace templates across projects, which the company said lets teams reuse design choices and company context as they develop new materials. Noronha said some users have reported that Gamma cuts the time needed to create presentations from between eight and 10 hours to about 30 minutes, largely because of reduced formatting.

Founded in 2020, Gamma has recorded about 110 million sign-ups for its free version. Noronha declined to specify active-user or subscriber counts. The company has raised $90 million in venture financing from investors including Andreessen Horowitz LLC and Accel Partners LP. Noronha said the roadmap includes more graphic design and video generation, along with workflows that automatically update sales presentations when new customer information arrives through connected business applications.

Editor's Summary

Gamma Tech Inc. launched Gamma 5, a rebuilt AI presentation platform that pairs a redesigned editor and a sandboxed agent with more than 20 third-party AI models and thousands of templates, targeting complaints that AI-generated slides look alike. The release adds roughly 20 data connectors and PowerPoint and PDF import, and Noronha said some users cut deck-building time from eight to 10 hours to about 30 minutes. Gamma, which has about 110 million free sign-ups and $90 million in venture funding, plans further work on graphic design, video generation and auto-updating sales materials.