Tome: Promising AI for Presentations, But is it Worth the Hype?

Tome, a generative AI platform, promises to revolutionize presentations with AI-powered slide creation. It allows you to input a prompt and get a draft presentation complete with text content, layout, and even AI-generated images. As a design educator at Queens College, CUNY, I explored Tome’s potential for a course on incorporating generative AI in design.

Initial Impressions: A Strong Start

Tome’s AI features impressed initially. The AI can generate a solid foundation for your presentation, including text content, design layout, and relevant AI-generated visuals. This can be a great time-saver, especially for brainstorming ideas.

Beyond the Initial Spark: Limitations Emerge

However, Tome’s limitations become apparent when you need to go beyond that initial draft. Here’s where the platform falls short:

• Need for Extensive Manual Editing: Despite the promising start, I had to invest significant time in adding additional slides, editing the generated content, and finding appropriate imagery and videos. The generative AI could only take me so far, and substantial manual effort was still required to achieve the desired quality and completeness.
• Limited Manual Editing Features: Tome lacks several key features that are standard in traditional tools like PowerPoint, Keynote, or Google Slides. The absence of functionalities such as embedding videos from YouTube or Vimeo and the inability to view speaker notes during presentation mode were particularly restrictive.
• Export Options: Tome’s export capabilities are limited to PDF format, with no option to export to PowerPoint or Google Slides. This restriction hinders seamless integration with other tools that I often use for presentations.
• Design Customization Limitations: The platform offers minimal design customization options. There is no maximum height for slides, and content that exceeds the screen height results in a scroll bar, which is far from ideal for presentations.
• Cost of Generative AI Features: One of the most significant drawbacks is the cost associated with accessing Tome’s generative AI features. Users must pay either $192 a year or $20 a month. Given the platform’s limitations and the extensive manual work still required, this expense does not seem justified.
• Collaborative Features: While Tome includes collaborative working features, they are limited to simple commenting capabilities on the deck or individual slides.

The Verdict: AI is Promising, But Execution Needs Work

While Tome’s AI-powered slide generation is a great starting point, the lack of robust editing and presentation features make it a less attractive option compared to traditional presentation software.

A Better Workflow? Consider This:

For a more efficient workflow, explore using Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT or Gemini for initial text content and structure generation. Text-to-image AI platforms like Midjourney, Dalle, or Stable Diffusion can then create visuals. Finally, import everything into your preferred presentation software for a polished final product.

In conclusion, Tome offers a glimpse into the future of AI-assisted presentations. However, it’s currently best suited for those who need a creative spark to get started and are comfortable working within Tome’s limitations for the entirety of their presentation creation process.