# On-canvas Copilot menu

> The Copilot menu above a slide in PowerPoint, where you start a deck from a prompt by first reviewing a topic list, and later refine what Copilot drafted.

**Category:** Copilot

**The on-canvas menu lets you review an outline before any slides exist.** Above a slide, you open the Copilot menu, choose "Create a presentation about..." and describe the deck. Copilot first proposes a **list of topics**. You can add, remove, reorder or regenerate any topic with the pencil button, and only then select Generate slides.

That is the main difference with the other prompt route in [Copilot in PowerPoint](/glossary#copilot-in-powerpoint), the Copilot button on the Home tab, which drafts the whole deck in one pass: faster, but with less control. The same menu is where you refine afterwards, for example to rewrite a slide or change the speaker notes. On-canvas creation was still rolling out to Microsoft 365 Insiders, so it may not appear in every tenant yet.

## At work

Before a team offsite, a manager asks for a deck about the year's priorities. She drops two of the proposed topics, moves Budget to the end and only then generates the slides.

## Often confused with

The Copilot button on the Home tab. Both start a deck from a prompt, but the Home tab route skips the topic review; it is also where [Create presentation from file](/glossary#create-presentation-from-file) lives.

## Related terms

- Copilot in PowerPoint
- Create presentation from file
- Iteration

## See it in a lesson

[Copilot in PowerPoint & Designer](/en/learn/copilot/advanced/powerpoint-and-designer)

## Further reading

- [Create a new presentation with Copilot in PowerPoint (Microsoft Support)](https://support.microsoft.com/office/create-a-new-presentation-with-copilot-in-powerpoint-3222ee03-f5a4-4d27-8642-9c387ab4854d): Both prompt routes, step by step.
- [Frequently asked questions about Copilot in PowerPoint (Microsoft Support)](https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/frequently-asked-questions-about-copilot-in-powerpoint-3e229188-9086-4f4c-9f9f-824cd25ae84f): What Copilot can do in PowerPoint and where each feature is available.

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Last updated: 14/10/2026  
Source: Rollo Academy glossary