# Custom templates (beta) {% hint style="warning" %} Automated upload of custom templates is an experimental **beta** feature and may be buggy. Custom templates are only available in **Google Slides** for now and require a **Team** plan. {% endhint %} {% hint style="success" %} If you would like for us to set up your custom presentation template, please [contact us](https://guide.plusai.com/help/contact-us) about our Enterprise plans. {% endhint %} ### What are custom templates? When you import a custom template, we convert it into a format that can be used by Plus AI — including when [generating a presentation](https://guide.plusai.com/ai-for-presentations/generate-a-presentation), [inserting](https://guide.plusai.com/ai-for-presentations/insert-a-single-slide) a single slide, and [remixing](https://guide.plusai.com/ai-for-presentations/remix-slides) slides. We will use the slides in your template **as-is** — Plus AI will not redesign your slides or add new slide types. This article will walk you through how to prepare your template before importing. ### Requirements **Google Slides only** * Your template must be a Google Slides presentation in your Google Drive * You must log into Plus with the Google account that has access to that Google Drive file * PowerPoint support is coming soon **Supported slides** — These elements can be updated by AI * Text-only slides * Text and image slides **Unsupported elements** — These will be imported as static elements and cannot be updated by AI * [See below](#slides-to-avoid) * If you need to use these types of slides with AI, [contact us](https://guide.plusai.com/help/contact-us) about our Enterprise plans. **Limits** * Each template has a maximum of 25 slides, including title, agenda, and dividers * You can import up to 5 custom templates ## Preparing a template for import {% embed url="" %} ### Sample template {% hint style="warning" %} To edit this file, save a copy to your own Google Drive first! \ **File > Make a copy > Entire Presentation** {% endhint %} ### Template prep checklist {% stepper %} {% step %} ### Set up your template * Your template must be a Google Slides file in your **Google Drive**. * If you're adapting our example template or an official company template, make a copy first. * Give it a unique name that you can easily find later, like "Template - Copy for PlusAI".

* Launch the slide master / theme builder ( **View > Theme builder** ) * Update theme colors and fonts, if needed

{% endstep %} {% step %} ### Move footers and logos into the slide master / "theme builder" * Move any repeating, static text — disclaimer, copyright, company name — into the theme builder slides. Otherwise, AI will rewrite this text! * Copy and paste static elements into the slide master. Remember to delete any duplicate elements left on the slide. You should not be able to click on or select these elements in the normal editing view. * For best results, do the same with any logos that repeat on every slide. {% endstep %} {% step %} ### Select the slides you want to import * Maximum of 25 slides, including titles, agendas, dividers * Make sure there is exactly one copy of each template slide * ⚠️ Layouts that are in the slide master but NOT the actual file will not be imported

* Delete any duplicate slides you don't want to import twice * Remove extraneous slides that are not part of the template itself * instructions * brand guidelines * Remove [slides that won't work well](#slides-to-avoid), including * tables, charts, diagrams * assets that come from a specific library (e.g., custom icons) * Remove static slides that are not meant to be updated — you can copy/paste these into the presentation afterward * thank you slide, legal disclaimers * mission statement, pricing chart, team page * :warning: **If you import these, AI will rewrite them!** {% endstep %} {% step %} ### Optimize text elements * Don't use inline formatting within the same text element — Each distinctly formatted piece of text should be in its own text box. * For example, a header should be in a separate text box from the supporting content.

* For best results, use **sample text** instead of empty placeholders — the more specific the better, for example * length — fill in the entire text box, don't leave it at 1 example bullet * content — If it's a generic slide, lorem ipsum is fine, but if it's a case study, write an actual example.

{% endstep %} {% step %} ### Optimize images * Our AI importer will do its best to distinguish the content-related images — which will be updated with relevant AI-generated imagery when you use your template — from decorative elements. * We recommend moving decorative images (including background images) into the slide master. * Alternatively, add the image as the slide background (**Background** button in the toolbar) — just make sure you can't click to select the background image on the slide.

With no elements selected, use the "background" button in the toolbar to set a background image

* For best results, avoid overlapping images. * You can add up to 10 images per slide. {% endstep %} {% endstepper %} ### Slides to avoid These slides won't work well with Plus AI and we recommend removing them from your template before importing. {% hint style="success" %} Support for all of these slides are available on Plus AI Enterprise — [send us your template to get a quote](https://guide.plusai.com/help/contact-us). {% endhint %}

Charts

* We don't support native charts and graphs with custom templates yet — even though you can generate charts with our [public templates](https://guide.plusai.com/ai-for-presentations/templates). * If you import a slide with a chart, PlusAI can fill in the text elements, but the chart will not be updated.

Tables (native element)

* Tables are not yet supported by PlusAI * If your table always has the same number of rows and columns, convert it into individual text boxes before importing the template

Example of a "table" made with individual text boxes — ✅ works with PlusAI

Example of a native table in Google Slides — ❌ not compatible with PlusAI

Diagrams, gantt charts, comparison matrices

* Currently, you can use custom templates to generate basic text and image slides — PlusAI does not understand how to fill out a complicated diagram. * *Examples: Gantt charts, matrices with repeating symbols*

Example matrix — ❌ AI can fill out the text elements, but can't swap out the RACI icons

Example Gantt — ❌ AI can fill out tasks and dates, but can't update the bars or add/remove rows

Static / library slides that are not meant to be rewritten

* If you import these slides, PlusAI will overwrite the text when generating your slides * We recommend copy/pasting these into your deck after generating with AI, or using [insert](https://guide.plusai.com/ai-for-presentations/insert-a-single-slide) to add individual slides to customize your existing presentation. * *Examples: Mission statement, About us, Feature comparisons, Thank you*

Example team slide from HomeCooks pitch deck — ❌ remove before import

Example mission statement from Smalls pitch deck — ❌ remove before import

Instructions, brand guidelines, icon/image libraries

* Remember to remove any slides that are not part of the template before importing * *Examples: Instructions, brand guidelines, sample icon/images*

Example of a Brand Guideline slide from Zapier — ❌ remove before import

Example of a sample icon slide from Zapier — ❌ remove before import

## Import a custom template After preparing your template, you're ready to import it into Plus. Launch **Plus AI > New Presentation**. Then click on **Custom templates**.

Import a custom template: Launch Plus AI > New Presentation > Custom templates

#### Importing 1. **Name** your template. Remember that your template will be visible to everyone on your team 2. If you'd like, add a **description** to give your teammates more context — e.g., "Only use this for internal meetings". This is visible when someone clicks on the template preview 3. Select your template file in Google Drive 4. Click **import** 5. Wait your template to process — This can take a minute or two. In the meantime, you can use other PlusAI features or close the add-on. #### How it works When you import a template, we automatically make a copy of your presentation before converting it into a format that is usable by PlusAI. Therefore, any changes you make to your original template later will NOT be reflected in Plus. This also means you can safely delete and move your original file without affecting your new custom template. ## Managing custom templates {% hint style="info" %} Custom templates are shared across your team. Each team can have a maximum of 5 custom templates. {% endhint %} #### Editing your templates Currently, you cannot edit a template once it's been imported. Delete the template and reimport it to make changes. #### Deleting your template Click on the 3-dot (**...**) menu to delete a custom template. ## Using custom templates You can use custom templates when [generating a presentation](https://guide.plusai.com/ai-for-presentations/generate-a-presentation), [inserting](https://guide.plusai.com/ai-for-presentations/insert-a-single-slide) a single slide, and [remixing](https://guide.plusai.com/ai-for-presentations/remix-slides) slides. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://guide.plusai.com/ai-for-presentations/custom-templates-beta.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.