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The Explain and Refresh features in PowerPoint Live help presenters and audiences stay aligned during live presentations. The Explain feature lets participants select slide content to quickly understand unfamiliar terms, while the Refresh feature lets presenters update to the latest version of their deck quickly, without stopping the presentation or resharing it.

Present with confidence. Participate with clarity.

As a presenter – Let’s say you’re 15 minutes into presenting the quarterly deck when a teammate pings you: the revenue number on slide 12 is outdated, and they’ve just uploaded a corrected version. With the Refresh feature, a single click reloads the latest version of your deck without ever leaving the session. You stay on the same slide, the meeting continues smoothly, and everyone sees the updated content immediately. No resharing. No disruption. No lost momentum.

As an attendee – Imagine you’re in a cross-functional review and a slide includes an acronym you’ve never seen before. Previously, you had two choices: interrupt the presenter and break the flow, or stay quiet and miss part of the discussion while trying to figure it out yourself. With the Explain feature, you can select the term directly on the slide and instantly get more context with Copilot, without disrupting the meeting or drawing attention. You stay informed, confident, and engaged in the conversation.

How it works

To use the Refresh feature:

1. Start presenting your PowerPoint deck with PowerPoint Live in your Teams meeting.


2. Click the Refresh button (2 circular arrows) to reload the latest version of your deck.
   
   


3. To confirm that the latest version is now available, look for the “You’re presenting the latest version” message in the bottom-left corner.
   
   

To use the Explain feature:

1. Start viewing a PowerPoint Live presentation as an attendee in a Teams meeting.


2. Click the Select and drag text to ask Copilot button (dashed square with 2 sparkle icons), select the content you want explained, and then select Explain selected text from the button that appears above your selection.
   
   


3. In the Copilot pane, review the explanation generated based on the text you selected.

Known limitations

• The Explain feature works best with text-based content. Charts and complex visuals (such as graphs or diagrams) may not be accurately interpreted.

Requirements

To use the Explain feature, you need:

• A Microsoft 365 subscription


• A Microsoft 365 Copilot license
  
  

To use the Refresh feature, you need:

• A Microsoft 365 subscription

Availability

These features are available to all PowerPoint for Windows and PowerPoint for Mac users.

Feedback

To submit feedback about the Explain feature:

1. After Copilot generates a response, select the thumbs up or thumbs down icons directly below the response.


2. If Copilot shows an error, select the Give feedback button beneath the error message.


3. In the Copilot chat pane, select the three dots (…) in the top-right corner, then select Send feedback.

To submit feedback about the Refresh feature:

1. Select the three dots (…) in the top-right corner of the Teams meeting window.


2. Select Report a problem from the menu.