What to know
- Google Slides has launched new professionally designed templates for various purposes including sales pitches, product roadmaps, lesson plans, and team-building workshops.
- The rollout began this week and will be available to all personal Gmail and paid Workspace users by the end of November, but only for accounts set to “English (United States).”
- These templates aim to enhance productivity and creativity while making Google Slides more competitive with Microsoft PowerPoint.
By introducing a professionally crafted template, Google is giving its presentation software a major facelift. These new additions are useful for creating sales pitches, developing product roadmaps, planning lessons, or organizing team-building workshops, Google announced on its Workplace Updates blog.
The new template library marks Google’s strategic move to strengthen its position against Microsoft PowerPoint. You can access these templates through the top toolbar or by navigating to “Insert > Templates” in Google Slides. Whether you need a single slide or a complete presentation template, you can choose the best for your needs.
When it comes to collaboration, Google Slides continues to maintain its edge. The platform’s real-time editing capabilities allow up to 100 users to work simultaneously on a document. You’ll also find the new ‘live pointers’ feature particularly helpful, as it lets you see your colleagues’ mouse movements in real-time during collaborative sessions.
While Microsoft PowerPoint offers robust desktop applications with extensive features, Google Slides shines in web-based collaboration. You’ll appreciate that Google’s platform works seamlessly across all desktop platforms, and unlike Microsoft’s mobile apps, there are no viewing or editing restrictions on mobile devices.
The rollout is gradual, and you’ll need to have your language set to “English (United States)” to access these templates. If you’re using other English variants like UK or Australian English, you’ll need to wait for future updates to access these new features.
These templates aren’t just about aesthetics – they’re designed to boost your productivity by providing professional starting points for your presentations. Instead of starting from scratch, you can now focus on customizing content while maintaining a polished, professional appearance in your slides.
