Taking aim at the “AI smell” with Gamma 5

A redesigned Gamma combines a conversational agent, a freeform canvas, and editable file imports to help teams preserve their visual identity.

Repetitive layouts, generic images, predictable design choices: these are what Gamma calls the “AI smell” in its announcement of version 5. The company, which reports more than 100 million users, has rebuilt its platform around giving teams more visual flexibility across generated presentations, documents, websites, and social content. A broader range of styles comes alongside saved brand preferences, instructions, and templates intended to maintain consistency across projects.

The process now starts with a conversation with an agent that asks questions, helps structure the narrative, and retains context through subsequent edits. Users can switch between conversational instructions and direct manipulation of elements on a freeform canvas. According to the editor documentation, a selection can target a slide, a piece of text, or a specific element. A before-and-after preview lets users review changes, then accept them or restore the previous version. Changes from a single request are applied together, however, rather than approved individually.

Working with existing materials is another part of the redesign. According to the company, imported PowerPoint and PDF files can retain their layouts and structure while remaining editable. Users can also request a different visual direction based on the same content, then save the result as a template. Preserving the original design requires importing from the Gamma 5 home screen; the classic generator imports text only.

Connectors bring in context from existing work tools: a Slack conversation or a Granola transcript can serve as source material for a presentation. According to the inbound connector documentation, sources are accessed on request, in read-only mode, and within the connected account’s permissions. The company says version 5 is available to all users, with some features depending on the subscription. Individual custom instructions are available to everyone; instructions set by administrators for an entire workspace require the Enterprise plan.