How to Create an Investor Pitch Deck with AI (Without Looking Like an Idiot)

How to Create an Investor Pitch Deck with AI (Without Looking Like an Idiot)

Let me save you some embarrassment: investors can smell lazy AI output from a mile away.

I've sat through pitch presentations where founders clearly hit "generate" and sent the output without editing. Slide 3 said "Our innovative solution leverages cutting-edge technology." Slide 5 claimed a $50 billion TAM with zero citation. The founder couldn't explain either.

Don't be that founder.

AI can make your pitch deck creation dramatically faster. And here's the part that matters: a well-prompted AI will often produce cleaner, more professional-looking slides than most founders create themselves. But you still need to add your substance.

What Investors Actually Want in a Deck

Forget the "perfect pitch deck" templates. Here's what investors actually look at:

Problem/Solution — Is this a real problem? Is your solution obviously better?

Traction — Do you have any evidence people want this?

Market — Is this market big enough to care about?

Team — Why can you specifically execute on this?

Ask — What do you want and what will you do with it?

Everything else is supporting detail. Don't let AI bury these in 30 slides of filler.

The Right Way to Prompt for a Pitch Deck

Bad prompt:

"Create a pitch deck for my startup"

This will generate generic garbage.

Good prompt:

"Create a 10-slide investor pitch deck for [Company Name], a B2B SaaS platform that helps manufacturing companies track equipment maintenance. Include these sections: Problem, Solution, Product screenshot placeholder, Market size, Business model, Traction, Competition, Team, Use of funds, Ask and contact. Tone: confident but not arrogant. Audience: Series A investors."

See what's different?

Specific slide count (10 slides—within the 1-10 range)

Specific sections in the order you want them

Actual description of what your company does

Tone guidance (AI defaults to corporate-speak without this)

Audience (Series A investors care about different things than angels)

TextDeck Settings for Pitch Decks

When generating a pitch deck:

Slide count: 8-10 is standard. Keep it focused.

Use Images: Consider turning ON for product slides, but many pitch decks work fine text-only

Use Background: Personal preference—some investors prefer clean white backgrounds

Attach files: Got a product screenshot or logo? Attach it so the AI can incorporate it

Why AI Pitch Decks Often Look More Professional

Here's a secret: most founder-made pitch decks look amateur.

Inconsistent fonts. Text crammed onto slides. Bad color choices. Bullet points that go 6 levels deep. Charts that make no sense.

The AI doesn't make these mistakes. It creates:

Consistent visual hierarchy

Appropriate text density

Clean layouts

Proper emphasis on key points

Your pitch deck should look like you could afford a designer. AI makes that happen without the designer.

What You MUST Edit After Generation

No AI should have final say on these:

1. The Problem Slide

AI writes generic problems. Your problem needs to be visceral and specific.

AI might generate: "Companies struggle with inefficient processes."

You should edit to: "Plant managers at manufacturing facilities lose an average of 23 hours per month tracking equipment maintenance in spreadsheets. When something breaks, they scramble through emails to find the maintenance history. Last year, unplanned downtime cost mid-size manufacturers $260,000 on average."

Specific numbers. Specific pain. Specific people.

2. Market Size

Do not let AI make up your TAM/SAM/SOM. It will hallucinate numbers.

Use AI to structure the slide, then add YOUR research:

Cite actual reports (Gartner, industry associations, etc.)

Show your work (X companies * Y average deal size = Z market)

Be conservative—investors respect realistic numbers

3. Traction

AI doesn't know your traction. It'll leave placeholders or make things up.

Replace with real numbers:

Revenue (actual dollars, not "growing fast")

Users/customers (actual count)

Growth rate (% month-over-month with timeframe)

Notable logos (if you have them)

4. Team

AI can structure this slide, but you need to add:

Actual names and photos

Relevant credentials (what makes you the right person?)

Key hires you've made or will make

The Quick Pitch Deck Process

Write your prompt with company specifics and desired structure

Generate (about 60 seconds)

Heavy editing on Problem, Market, Traction, Team, Financials

Quick pass on flow and visual consistency

Export to PPTX, add your logo/branding

You now have a deck that's AI-assisted but authentically yours—and probably better-designed than what you'd make from scratch.

Editing Specific Slides

After generation, use TextDeck's edit mode to refine:

Select individual slides to modify (use the slide selector in the chat panel)

Give specific instructions: "Make the market size slide more visual with a chart"

Iterate quickly: Each version is saved, so you can compare

The AI becomes your design collaborator, not just a generator.

What Impresses Investors

Nobody is impressed that you used AI. They're impressed by:

Clarity — Can you explain your business in one sentence?

Honesty — Do you acknowledge risks and weaknesses?

Specificity — Do you have actual numbers or just "significant market opportunity"?

Preparation — Can you answer questions the deck raises?

Professionalism — Does the deck look like you take this seriously?

AI helps with speed and professionalism. The substance is your job.

Customize for Your Audience

Different investors care about different things:

Angels: Team story, vision, early signal of product-market fit Seed VCs: Market size, initial traction, why now Series A: Growth metrics, unit economics, path to scale

Use the edit mode to regenerate specific slides for different audiences.

Final Thought

The best pitch decks I've seen were created quickly and edited thoughtfully. AI gives you a professional-quality first draft fast—one that probably looks better than what you'd make yourself. The iteration—incorporating feedback, refining the story, adding real data—that's what makes it great.

Use AI to start (and look professional doing it). Use your brain to finish.

Create your pitch deck—but please, edit it before you send it.