Data culture is about putting data into the hands of business users who need data and insights in decision making. When the same users need to drive a conversation and enable decision making, they usually use PowerPoint presentation to lead that conversation. However, while the data in Power BI is up to date, live, and interactive – when it’s usually added to the presentation in the form of screen captures, stripped of interactivity, and doesn’t update. As a result, it’s up to you to manually create new screenshots to keep your presentations up to date.

Guess what? No more. Today we’re very happy to announce the preview of Power BI data storytelling in PowerPoint. We’re thrilled to be shipping an add-in that lets you add Power BI reports and bookmarks to your slides and enjoy the delightful interactive experience of Power BI inside your presentations. With data storytelling, data will always be up to date in your slides, whether you’re building a presentation or presenting it live to others. From today, using Power BI data storytelling, you can respond to people’s requests to get more information, without leaving your presentation and while maintaining the flow of your meetings.

How to get started?

Starting from PowerPoint

For those who are using Microsoft 365, we’ve added a new Power BI button to your PowerPoint ribbon.

If the Power BI button is not there yet, you can still get the add-in from the Office store. Just search for the Power BI add-in published by Microsoft.

Once the add-in is in your slide, all you need to do is bring the URL of a report page or bookmark you want to add to the presentation.

Starting from Power BI

You can also start with a Power BI report you wish to use. Use the Share button and then choose PowerPoint, or select Export > PowerPoint > Embed live data. Both options will present you with this dialog.

Now, you have a URL you can use in an existing presentation, or if you wish, you can use the Open in PowerPoint button to create a new presentation with this report page ready for you.

Using Power BI storytelling

Once the report is loaded to the presentation, it is live and interactive, also when you show the presentation as a slideshow. You can enjoy all of Power BI’s “slice & dice” capabilities and really engage with your audience based on the data and insights you have on the slide. With storytelling, you’re now able to respond to questions and feedback raised during a presentation, and to look at a different view of the data by making new data selections to create more relevant views.

Any change that you make in the view when you’re editing the presentation, such as updating a slicer or changing a filter, is automatically saved in the presentation, so you can tailor the view of the data you want to present to the context of your meeting in advance.

Freezing the view

Sometimes you might want your data view to remain static. For this you have the option to freeze the current live view, and make it into an image. Go to the top-right corner of the add-in, open the menu, and select Show as Saved Image. This will turn the add-in into an image until you reselect this option.

Sharing the presentation and permissions

When you share the presentation with others, they’ll need an active Power BI account and access to the report to view the data in the presentation, unless you’ve frozen the view as an image.

To make sure people in your org can access the report and enjoy the live data experience, use the link generated in Power BI from the Share > PowerPoint option. Any person you share the presentation with via this link will get access to the report.

Users who don’t have permission can request access to the report from its owner directly from the presentation and will be able to view the data once they’re given access.

Try Power BI data storytelling today

With the Power BI storytelling add-in, the data in your slides is always fresh, so you can trust it with any decision you need to make.

We’re starting the rollout of Power BI data storytelling this week. First, we’re enabling it in Office’s beta channel and publishing the add-in in the Office add-in store. We’ll then continue the rollout in other rings based on Office’s standard feature deployment process. Stay tuned and look for the new Power BI button in the ribbon of your PowerPoint desktop application!

We are also lighting up the starting points in Power BI as well, so check out both your PowerPoint desktop application and Power BI for easy access to data storytelling.

And remember, even if you don’t see the Power BI button yet in your PowerPoint ribbon, you can get the add-in directly from the Office add-in store and start using it today. Just search for the Power BI add-in published by Microsoft.

As always, we’re looking for your feedback to help inform us about where to take the product next as we evolve and add more innovations and capabilities to this new experience. So please submit your feedback and ideas to the discussion in this blog.