# How Slaide works: brief, plan, build, export

Slaide Help · Getting started · Last checked: 2026-10-11 · 6 min read
URL: https://help.slaide.de/how-slaide-works

> Slaide turns a written request into a finished, editable document. You describe what you need, answer a few questions and check a plan. Then Slaide builds the pages one after another, renders each one and checks it for layout problems. Afterwards you edit by clicking or by asking, and export as PowerPoint, Word, PDF or images. Your first document is free (pupils and students plan for free and pay to build).

## What happens between my request and the finished document?

Four things happen in order: you describe the document, Slaide shows a plan, Slaide builds and checks the pages, and you edit and export the result. Terms such as brief, plan and build are explained in the [Slaide glossary](https://help.slaide.de/slaide-glossary).

1. **Describe what you need**. Write or speak your request on the start screen, and attach files if the document should use your material. Slaide writes in the [language of your request](https://help.slaide.de/languages-and-translation).
   - Example request: Create an 8-slide Q3 sales review for our management board: results against plan, our three strongest products, the deals we lost and why, and a Q4 plan with an owner for each action. Factual tone, calm colors.
   ![The Slaide start screen (Library): the heading “What would you like to create?”, below it the request box with an example request, paperclip, Plan first switch, Brand and Generate button, and the four quick starts underneath.](https://help.slaide.de/images/help/library-start-en.webp)
   - Tip: What belongs in a good request: [How to write a good brief](https://help.slaide.de/how-to-write-a-good-brief).
2. **Answer a few questions**. Slaide asks only about points your request leaves open. Pick an option, tick several where more than one fits, or choose **I'll take it from here**.
   ![Slaide editor after the brief: a question card asks what the Q4 plan should show, three of four options are ticked, with Back, Build the plan and I'll take it from here](https://help.slaide.de/images/product/plan-questions-en.webp)
3. **Check the plan**. The plan shows every page, your decisions and what Slaide assumed. Edit a card, choose **Tweak it** to describe a change, or approve with **Let's go**.
   ![Slaide page plan for an 8-slide sales review: the chosen answers at the top, one card per slide with title and content, the assumptions below, a 16:9 format switch and the buttons Tweak it and Let's go](https://help.slaide.de/images/product/plan-pages-en.webp)
4. **Watch the pages being built**. Slaide writes one page after another. Each finished page appears in the page strip, and the assistant panel lists the steps.
   ![Slaide editor while a presentation is being built: five slides are already in the page strip, slide 5 is open, and the assistant panel lists the steps writing page 4, writing page 5 and checking the render of page 3](https://help.slaide.de/images/product/build-live-en.webp)
5. **Edit and export**. Click text on a page to change it, or ask for a change in the chat. Before every AI change Slaide saves the previous state, and the **Versions** tab brings it back. Then choose **Export** at the top right.
   ![The Slaide editor with a pitch deck: the page strip with eight pages on the left, the title slide in the middle, the assistant with its input box on the right; Animate, Present, Share and Export at the top.](https://help.slaide.de/images/help/editor-overview-en.webp)
   - Tip: Which file you get for which document: [Files and exports](https://help.slaide.de/files-and-exports).

## Why does Slaide ask questions and show a plan first?

The plan is the cheapest moment to change direction, because nothing is built yet. Planning does not use up your free document.

- **Questions.** Up to four, and only about things that would really change the document. If your request is clear enough, Slaide skips them.
- **Answers.** Each question has two to four options. Tick several where it says **Pick all that fit**, or write your own under **Something else...**. With **I'll take it from here**, Slaide answers the rest itself.
- **The plan.** One card per page and a list called **What I assumed**, so you see what Slaide decided on its own. The switch above the plan sets the page format: see [Page formats and sizes](https://help.slaide.de/page-formats-and-sizes).

> **Only for the first request, and only on a computer:** Questions and plan belong to the first request of a new document. On a phone, Slaide builds straight away. You can also switch planning off with the **Plan first** chip in the start box. Once you have approved a plan yourself in this browser, a countdown bar appears on the plan screens: if nobody touches anything for a minute, Slaide continues on its own. Moving the mouse or pressing a key resets it.

## What does Slaide do while it builds?

Slaide writes and designs one page after another, and each page appears as soon as it is done. The first page can take a minute or more, because Slaide thinks the whole document through first. Once pages arrive, the status line shows an estimate such as “about 2 min left”.

Slaide renders the pages and checks them for text that overflows or is cut off, broken or blank images, weak contrast and logos that are too small. It tries to fix what it finds and ends with a review of all pages. When your request needs current public facts, it searches the web: see [Web research and sources](https://help.slaide.de/web-research-and-sources).

> **You can steer while it builds:** Type a correction in the chat while the build runs, for example “the company name on slide 2 is wrong”. Slaide takes it in at its next step, up to eight corrections per build. If that is not possible, the message waits and runs right after the build. **Stop** ends the build.

## Which documents and file formats does Slaide produce?

The same steps work for slides and for page documents. The page format decides which Office file you download, and every document with pages also exports as PDF, PNG and JPG.

| Document | Typical format | Office file |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sales review, board update, pitch deck | Slides 16:9 | PowerPoint (.pptx) |
| Report, proposal, one-pager, résumé | A4 portrait | Word (.docx) |
| Poster, invitation, social post | Custom size | PowerPoint (.pptx) at that size |
| Budget or financial model | Excel workbook | Excel (.xlsx) with formulas |

[Document types](https://help.slaide.de/document-types-in-slaide) lists what Slaide creates, and [Files and exports](https://help.slaide.de/files-and-exports) explains each download.

## What should I expect, and what not?

Expect a complete first version that you refine, not a final document you send unread. What Slaide can and cannot do is collected in [Slaide features and limits at a glance](https://help.slaide.de/slaide-features-and-limits).

- **Check the facts.** Slaide uses the figures in your request, your files and public sources. Numbers it cannot know, such as your revenue, belong in the request or in a file. AI makes mistakes, so check figures, names and statements before you pass a document on. See [Check facts, sources and calculations](https://help.slaide.de/check-facts-and-numbers).
- **The free document is built in part.** The plan can have up to 12 pages, and the first 3 are built. Free exports carry a small “Made with Slaide” mark.
- **Charts are not chart objects.** In PowerPoint, charts become editable shapes or an image. In Word, they become images.
- **No direct Google Slides export, no video.** Slaide exports PowerPoint, Word, PDF, PNG, JPG and Excel.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do I need a template or a file to start?

No. A written request is enough. Attach files only when the document should use your own material, such as a PDF report, a spreadsheet or an existing deck. Slaide plans the structure and designs the pages for your request instead of asking you to fill a template.

### Can I skip the questions and the plan?

Yes. On a question card, **I'll take it from here** lets Slaide answer the remaining questions with sensible assumptions. In the start box you can switch the **Plan first** chip off before you send the request. Planning only runs for the first request of a document, and never [on a phone](https://help.slaide.de/use-slaide-on-your-phone).

### How long does it take to build a document?

It depends on the number of pages, your attachments and whether Slaide researches the web. The first page can take a minute or more to appear. Once pages arrive, the status line shows an estimate of the time left.

### Does Slaide write in my language?

Slaide writes the document in the language of your request and answers in the chat in the same language. An English request gives an English document and a German request a German one, whichever language the Slaide interface is set to.

### Do I need to install anything?

No. Slaide runs in your browser, so you need no installation to create, edit, export or share documents. Use a current version of a major browser such as Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari. The [Chrome extension](https://help.slaide.de/chrome-extension) is an optional extra, and you can also work from [ChatGPT, Claude or Grok](https://help.slaide.de/use-slaide-in-ai-assistants); the PowerPoint add-in is not available yet, see [the add-in article](https://help.slaide.de/powerpoint-add-in).

### What does the free plan include?

Your first document is free, without a credit card (pupils and students plan for free and pay to build). Slaide plans it with up to 12 pages and builds the first 3. Its exports carry a small Slaide mark. Paid plans start at €7.99 a month, see [Plans and pricing](https://help.slaide.de/plans-and-pricing).