How to Record Audio on PowerPoint: Slide-by-Slide Narration and AI Voiceover

Three Ways to Do a Voiceover on PowerPoint

There are three main ways to add your voice to PowerPoint slides. Choose based on whether you want narration throughout the presentation or only on some slides, and whether you will be the one speaking.

• Record the slide show: Use Record to capture your narration and slide timings together as you advance through the slide show. This is the standard way to narrate a whole presentation.
• Add audio to individual slides: Use Record Audio in PowerPoint for Windows to record audio on the slide you are viewing. You can also insert an audio file recorded in another app.
• Use an AI voice: Write a script and have a speech synthesis (AI voice) tool read it as your narration. You don’t record anything yourself, so you don’t need a microphone or a quiet room.

PowerPoint also has a Speak feature that reads selected text aloud. However, Microsoft’s instructions don’t describe any way to save that audio to a slide. The section on Speak below explains this in more detail.

What to Prepare Before You Record

Taking care of these five things before you start will cut down on retakes.

• Save the file as .pptx: Microsoft advises saving in .pptx format before you export to video. If your file is in the older .ppt format, use Save As to convert it to .pptx first.
• Connect and test your microphone: Your computer’s built-in microphone will work. If you use a headset or a USB microphone, connect it first and check the input level in your Windows or Mac settings (where to find those settings is covered in “When Audio Won’t Record or Gets Cut Off”).
• Find a quiet place: Air conditioners, exhaust fans and computer notification sounds all end up in the recording. Turn off notifications while you record.
• Write your script in the slide notes: In the new recording screen, the text in your notes appears at the top of the screen as a teleprompter, so you can read your script while still facing the slide.
• Check the submission requirements: For on-demand conference presentations or class assignments, the organizer may specify the video length, file format, resolution and file size. Check these first, then decide how long to spend on each slide.

The Japanese original of this example is about 140 characters, which takes just under 30 seconds to read at 300 characters per minute (our calculation). The English translation above is about 70 words, or a little over 30 seconds at 130 words per minute (our calculation). Speaking speed varies from person to person, so read your script aloud once, time it, and then adjust the length.

Rather than reading the slide text word for word, say where to look on the screen, as in “the graph on the left.” That makes your talk easier to follow by ear alone. For script lengths by running time and tips on turning written text into spoken language, see our guide to writing narration scripts.

• How to Write a Narration Script (Length Guide and Examples)

How to Record a PowerPoint with Narration on Windows (Microsoft 365)

PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 on Windows has been rolling out a new recording experience since early 2022. On work or school computers, you may still see the older screen, depending on when your administrator rolls out new features. If so, check the steps for the classic screen in the table in the next section.

The overall flow is: prepare your script, record slide by slide and check the result, save, and then export to video.

1. 1

   Open the recording screen from the Record tab

   Open the Record tab on the ribbon, select Record, and choose whether to start from the beginning or from the current slide.

2. 2

   Set up your camera and microphone

   Use the icons at the top of the screen to turn your camera and microphone on or off. To record only your voice, turn the camera off. To use a different microphone, choose it from Select more options (···).

3. 3

   Choose how your script is shown

   In the Views menu, choose Teleprompter to show your notes at the top of the screen. Use auto-scroll to adjust how fast the script scrolls. You can also switch to Presenter View or Slide View.

4. 4

   Select Start recording and speak

   Recording starts after a countdown. When you finish talking about a slide, use the arrow on the screen to move to the next one. If you use the pen, highlighter or laser pointer, those movements are recorded too.

5. 5

   Start speaking after the slide changes

   According to Microsoft, narration isn’t recorded during slide transitions. Wait until the next slide appears before you start talking, and finish speaking before you advance.

6. 6

   Stop and play it back

   Select Pause to take a break, or Stop when you reach the end. Use Play to check your volume and listen for slips.

7. 7

   Save the file

   When you finish recording, save the file. Your recorded audio is stored inside the file, slide by slide.

• Microsoft: Record a slide show with narration and slide timings

Differences in PowerPoint 2019 and Earlier, on Mac, and on the Web

How you start recording and export to video depends on your version of PowerPoint. Microsoft ended support for PowerPoint 2016 and 2019 on October 14, 2025, so this guide focuses on the Microsoft 365 screens. How to re-record a single slide and how to clear recordings are summarized in the table in the next section.

According to Microsoft, animation effects don’t play in videos exported on a Mac. Narration recorded in the slide show plays, but other embedded audio and video doesn’t. If you reveal content step by step with animations, split it across separate slides so the video shows it in the same order.

• Microsoft: Save a presentation as a movie file or MP4 in PowerPoint for Mac
• Microsoft Learn: Ending Support in 2025

Re-record One Slide or Delete the Narration

Recorded narration is saved slide by slide, so you can re-record only the slide where you misspoke. There’s no need to start over from the beginning. The table below shows how to do this in each version, followed by the steps for re-recording in the new recording screen.

1. 1

   Go to the slide you want to re-record

   In the recording screen, display the slide you want to record again.

2. 2

   Delete the current recording

   Use Delete to remove the recording on the current slide. You can also delete the recordings on all slides and start over.

3. 3

   Record it again

   Select Start recording to record that slide. When you finish, select Stop, then use Play to check how it flows with the slides before and after it.

If you want to keep the recorded narration but speak live at the venue, clear the Play Narrations and Use Timings check boxes on the Slide Show tab. The narration won’t play, and you can advance the slides by clicking.

Before re-recording, save a copy of the file under a different name so you can go back to the earlier recording if you need to.

• Microsoft: Record a slide show with narration and slide timings

How to Record or Insert Audio on Individual Slides

If only some slides need narration, or recording the whole slide show in one go is difficult, you can add audio to slides one at a time. In PowerPoint for Windows, you can record directly onto a slide with these steps.

1. 1

   Open Record Audio

   Go to the slide where you want the audio, then on the Insert tab, select Audio > Record Audio.

2. 2

   Name it and record

   Type a name for the audio, select Record, and speak. When you’re done, select Stop.

3. 3

   Listen, then insert it

   Select Play to listen. Select Record to redo it, or OK if you’re happy with it. A speaker icon is added to the slide; drag it to a spot where it won’t cover your content.

4. 4

   Choose how it plays

   Select the icon, and on the Playback tab, set Start to Automatically so the audio plays when the slide appears. To hide the icon during the slide show, turn on Hide During Show (use this only when the audio plays automatically).

On Microsoft’s support page, these Record Audio steps are given only for Windows. On a Mac or on the web, insert an audio file recorded in another app via Insert > Audio. Audio files made with an AI voice tool can be inserted the same way.

Prepare your audio files as .m4a (AAC), which Microsoft recommends, or as .mp3. From PowerPoint version 2505 onward, formats such as WMA and AIFF have limited support and are deprecated. Even if such a file can be inserted, it is converted to MPEG-4 when inserted and when played.

With audio added this way, pay attention to how long each slide is shown when you export the video. For files without recorded narration, the export default is 5 seconds per slide. If the audio length differs from slide to slide, enter a display time in seconds that matches each slide’s audio under Advance Slide > After on the Transitions tab, then export using those timings.

Microsoft’s export page doesn’t say how manually entered timings are handled. Play the exported video and check that no slide changes in the middle of its audio.

• Microsoft: Add or delete audio in your PowerPoint presentation
• Microsoft: Video and audio file formats supported in PowerPoint

When Audio Won’t Record or Gets Cut Off

Here are the most common sticking points when recording or exporting, and where to check. For the Mac export limitations and the web version, see “Differences in PowerPoint 2019 and Earlier, on Mac, and on the Web” above.

If your voice still isn’t picked up, go to Input under Sound in Windows Settings, open your microphone’s properties, select Start test, and speak. If it responds there, the microphone is working, so review the settings on the PowerPoint side (the microphone selected in the recording screen). If it doesn’t respond, check the microphone connection and your operating system settings.

• Microsoft: How to set up and test microphones in Windows
• Microsoft: Windows camera, microphone, and privacy
• Apple: Control access to the microphone on Mac

Export a Narrated Video (MP4)

Recorded narration plays inside the PowerPoint slide show. To share it with people who don’t have PowerPoint, or to submit or publish it, export it as an MP4 video.

To include your recorded narration on Windows, go to File > Export > Create a Video and select Use Recorded Timings and Narrations. If you’ve recorded narration, this option is selected by default.

On a Mac, choose File > Export (Save As has no video options). Choose MP4 or MOV under File Format and a setting under Quality, turn on Use Recorded Timings and Narrations, and then select Export.

After exporting, play the video from start to finish to check that every slide has audio and nothing is cut off. If there’s no audio, or the slides advance every 5 seconds, see the table in “When Audio Won’t Record or Gets Cut Off” for causes and fixes.

For the rest of the export process, such as choosing the video quality and adding captions, see our guide to converting PowerPoint to video.

• Microsoft: Turn your presentation into a video
• How to Convert PowerPoint to Video (Narration, Export, and Choosing a Tool)

Can PowerPoint’s Speak Feature Add Narration?

PowerPoint’s Speak feature reads selected words or passages aloud on the spot. Microsoft’s instructions don’t describe a way to save the spoken audio to a file or to add it to slides as narration.

Google’s Keyword Planner shows that in Japan, people search for having PowerPoint read text aloud about as often as they search for recording audio in PowerPoint. This suggests that some people are looking for a way to have PowerPoint read their text instead of recording it themselves.

To use Speak, open Customize Quick Access Toolbar > More Commands, set Choose commands from to All Commands, and add Speak. The voices available depend on the speech synthesis (text-to-speech) engines installed on your computer and on the language.

If you want a synthetic voice as your slide narration, create audio files with an AI voice tool and insert them, or use a tool that turns your slides into a narrated video. The next section compares the options.

• Microsoft: Use the Speak text-to-speech feature to read text aloud

Recorded vs. AI Voice Narration: Comparing the Methods

If you want students or an audience to hear your own voice, use PowerPoint’s Record feature. If you have nowhere to record, don’t want to do take after take, or find it a burden to re-record every time you edit the script, an AI voice is also an option. The table compares the methods.

With an AI voice tool, you write the script, create one audio file per slide, insert them one by one, and match the display times. Clipchamp lets you use AI voices even on its free plan and export the audio on its own (video exports go up to 1080p without a watermark). VOICEVOX, a free Japanese text-to-speech app, can be used for commercial and non-commercial purposes at no cost, but its terms of use require a credit.

How an AI voice sounds depends on the engine and the voice. Listening to real samples before you start makes it easier to choose a voice that suits your material.

• Clipchamp: Pricing
• VOICEVOX: Terms of use (in Japanese)
• Microsoft: Create a video with the Microsoft Copilot app
• Clipchamp: How to create a video from PowerPoint with AI (August 2025)
• Listen and compare four AI voice engines

Add AI Narration to Each Slide with SpeechSlide AI

SpeechSlide AI turns a PDF or PowerPoint file into an MP4 video: after you upload the file, AI writes a spoken-style script for each slide and adds AI voice narration. Writing the script, generating the audio and exporting the video all happen one after another within a single project.

It has no feature for recording your own voice. Use it instead of recording when you don’t have the time or a place to record, or when you don’t want to re-record every time you change the content.

1. 1

   Create a new project and upload your file

   Upload a PDF or PowerPoint file (.pptx or .ppt). Files uploaded through the app can be up to 20 MB each. For Google Slides, export to PDF or PPTX first, then upload.

2. 2

   Generate and edit the script

   Generate scripts for all slides at once, then edit them slide by slide. You can set the script language and instructions on how it should sound (for example, “keep it concise and explain technical terms”). PowerPoint speaker notes aren’t imported as the script, so if your notes already contain a script, edit the AI-generated script to match them.

3. 3

   Choose a voice and generate audio

   Choose a voice from four engines: ElevenLabs, Google, Google (Gemini) and OpenAI. You can adjust settings such as speaking speed, and use a different voice for each slide. According to the How to Use page, generating audio takes about 10–30 seconds per slide.

4. 4

   Set pauses and display times

   Slides without narration can be set to “no audio” with a display time in seconds. You can also set the pause after each slide (1 second by default).

5. 5

   Create and download the video

   Videos are exported as Full HD (1920×1080) MP4 files. According to the How to Use page, exporting takes about 1–5 minutes. If a word is misread on a slide, fix that slide’s script, regenerate only its audio, and create the video again.

The free plan lets you create 2 projects a month with up to 8 slides per project and up to 4 videos a month, and you can download the videos with a watermark. No credit card is required. The Standard plan ($15/month, or ¥2,200/month including tax in Japan) removes the watermark and allows up to 20 slides per project.

Captions, background music and avatars (on-screen presenters) aren’t included. If you need them, finish the exported MP4 in video editing software.

You can also use the AI-generated script as a reading script when you record yourself. Copy the text from the script field and paste it into your PowerPoint notes, and it will appear in the recording screen’s teleprompter.

• How to use SpeechSlide AI (with a 2-minute video)
• Pricing and plan limits

How to Choose a Method

Decide based on whose voice you want people to hear and how likely you are to change the content later.

• You want to speak in your own voice or keep your talk as you gave it: Record narration slide by slide with PowerPoint’s Record feature.
• You only want to add explanations to a few slides: Use Record Audio or insert audio files.
• You have no place or microphone to record, or you’ll revise the content often: Use an AI voice. If you have many slides, a tool that takes you from script to video export in one flow saves you from inserting audio files one slide at a time.
• You also need narration in another language: Have someone who speaks that language record it, or write a script in that language and have an AI voice read it.
• There are submission requirements: Check the video format, length and resolution, and whether AI voices are allowed, with the organizer or instructor first.

Even if you record in your own voice, polishing the script first reduces retakes. If you’re unsure about using an AI voice, listen to voice samples first to see whether there’s a voice that suits your material.

Frequently asked questions

How is this different from sharing my screen and recording in Teams or Zoom?

A Teams or Zoom recording captures the whole meeting as a single video. Recording in Teams requires an eligible license and permission from your admin, and videos and animations embedded in PowerPoint Live aren’t recorded. With a free (Basic) Zoom account, each meeting is limited to 40 minutes and recordings can only be saved to your computer. If you want to re-record only the slides where you misspoke, PowerPoint’s Record feature is easier to work with.

What if the exported video file is too large?

Export it again from Create a Video at a lower quality setting. According to Microsoft, the higher the video quality, the larger the file size. For example, if you switch from Full HD (1080p) to HD (720p), play the video to check that the text on your slides is still readable.

What if the recorded volume varies from slide to slide?

For audio added with Record Audio or by inserting a file, select the icon and adjust Volume on the Playback tab. If narration recorded with Record is noticeably louder or quieter on one slide, keep the same distance between your mouth and the microphone as on the surrounding slides and re-record just that slide.

Can I share the narrated PowerPoint file as is, without turning it into a video?

If the recipient plays the slide show in PowerPoint, your recorded narration plays too. If some viewers don’t have PowerPoint or will watch on a smartphone, export to MP4 before sharing so the presentation plays in most video players.

Can I turn my recorded narration into another language?

PowerPoint records your voice exactly as you speak, so for another language you need to record again in that language. In SpeechSlide AI, when you set the script language, AI writes the script in that language and reads it in a voice for that language. Text on the slides isn’t translated, so prepare a version of your slides in that language if needed.