Alibaba’s AI Tool Generates Slide Decks for Business Presentations
Alibaba Group Holding’s web search and cloud storage platform, Quark, has introduced a new application called AI PPT, which utilizes large-language-model (LLM) technology to assist users in creating presentation slides. The Chinese tech company aims to explore practical applications for generative artificial intelligence (AI), as it joins other Big Tech firms in this endeavor.
The AI PPT service enables users to either develop their own topics or choose from a list of options like online marketing campaigns, business plans, or product launch events. Once users confirm the outline generated by the application, it swiftly produces a relevant slide deck based on a design template. The tool is accessible via smartphones and can generate a set of slides within seconds, as observed during a test conducted by the Post.
With AI PPT, users have the flexibility to customize the outline by adding or removing elements and fine-tune the template to suit their preferences. By combining content and intelligent tools, Quark aims to enhance user productivity, according to Zhang Fan, head of Quark’s search product.
Alibaba’s ownership of the South China Morning Post underscores the significance of this launch. This move follows the introduction of Quark’s self-developed LLM last November, which contains hundreds of billions of parameters and has applications across various sectors such as online search, medical, education, and office productivity.
Quark is one of four strategic-level innovation businesses identified by Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu Yongming. These units have been granted the freedom to formulate their own strategies and experiment with new ideas to gain a competitive edge in the broader market.
Quark’s automated deck-making service offers free trials for initial use, after which it is exclusively available to subscribers of Quark’s online document service. Priced at 19 yuan (approximately US$2.66) per month, subscribers can utilize the service a maximum of 30 times per month.
Chinese Big Tech companies are aggressively venturing into AI services tailored to various industries in their bid to attract users. Baidu, a prominent search giant and Chinese AI pioneer, unveiled the paid version of its Ernie Bot, offering access to a more advanced ChatGPT equivalent for a monthly fee of 59.9 yuan.
As diverse industries continue to seek practical use cases for AI, Quark’s AI PPT tool aims to streamline the process of creating business presentation slides. With its user-friendly interface and quick generation capabilities, the tool could offer significant time and productivity savings for professionals across sectors.
