I found the Gamma App on Product Hunt and was intrigued because the advertising positions it very assertively as going way beyond simple image generation technology.
What is the Gamma App?
Gamma is an AI-driven platform that streamlines the creation of presentations, documents, and webpages using text prompts and easy menus, some of which are built on the fly based on your selections. It features a variety of customizable templates and interactive elements, enabling users to produce professional-looking content with ease. The platform supports real-time collaboration, making it suitable for team projects, and ensures compatibility across different devices. Gamma is particularly useful for professionals, educators, and marketers looking to create compelling content without extensive design skills.
My Experiment
I asked ChatGPT Gamma (just kidding 😆) to write a number of slide decks, documents, and webpages to get the hang of it. I didn't really need to do all that much. Partly, I wanted to verify what I was reading in reviews and marketing material.
The actual experiment was to create a slide deck explaining the key skills you need to be a good product manager, with tips and resources for learning them. First you specify the number of slides you want and provide a prompt. I determined 8 slides and gave it the following prompt.
Write a slide deck going over the basic and advanced skills you need to develop to be a good SaaS product manager. For each skill, include some tips and resources for developing the skill.
Gamma provides an outline that you can edit. It gave me the following. Interestingly, it gave me a list of 10 slides, 3 of which seem to be introductory in nature.
Introduction to SaaS Product Management
Basic Skills
- Customer Understanding
- Roadmap and Prioritization
- Metrics and Analytics
Advanced Skills
- Strategic Thinking
- Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Continuous Improvement
- Storytelling and Communication
I approved these topics inserting only a couple more: project managerment and market research as basic skills. Gamma provides some settings that I left alone.
Then Gamma went to work. Here is the unedited result:
The presentation looks nice. It did a lot of the "grunt" creative work and text generation for me. One thing that I'll mention that was disappointing. I specifically asked for resources and tips for learning the skills. Gamma completely missed this point. It's the kind of mistake that LLMs seem to make.
Key Features
Some summary before we dive into the SWOT analysis.
The Big Pitch
- AI-Powered Content Generation: I very easily got it to generate some pretty great presentations that have a good amount of pop. The accomplishment is significant, yet I can't shake the feeling that the text is pretty LLM-ish. It's possible, as with ChatGPT, that some prompting will move it away from this feeling. I didn't get that far.
- Real-Time Collaboration: Allows multiple users to work on the same project simultaneously.
- No-Code Editing: Users can customize content without needing any coding skills.
- Cross-Device Compatibility: Content is accessible and presentable on laptops, tablets, and phones.
Other Cool Features
- Import/Export Functionality: Easily import text and images from other sources and export finished projects as PDFs or PPTs.
- Customizable Templates: Offers a wide range of templates for different content types. The basic templates don't vary as widely as if you go to template shop, but there was a good variety and the AI templates picked something that plausibly matched my themes.
- Interactive Elements: Supports embedding videos, charts, GIFs, and other interactive content.
- Smart Editing: AI assists in rephrasing text, completing sentences, and suggesting visuals.
- Presentation Mode: A dedicated mode for delivering presentations with features like nested cards and animations.
- Collaboration Tools: Includes threaded commenting and version control to streamline team projects.
- Analytics and Tracking: Provides insights into how presentations are viewed and interacted with.
- Cross-Platform Integrations: Integrates with tools like Google Drive, Figma, and Zapier for enhanced workflow.
- Brand Customization: Upload and use custom brand color palettes for a cohesive visual identity. I didn't play with this, but I saw the ability to select color palettes.
- Content Suggestions: The AI suggests content improvements and enhancements during the creation process.
The SWOT Analysis
Strengths:
- AI-Powered Content Creation: Gamma App excels at simplifying content creation by using AI to generate presentations, documents, and web pages quickly. This eliminates the need for extensive formatting and design work, making it user-friendly even for those without design skills.
- Versatile Templates: The platform offers a wide range of customizable templates, allowing users to create visually appealing content tailored to their needs, whether for business, education, or marketing purposes.
- Real-time Collaboration: Gamma App supports real-time collaboration, making it ideal for teams working on projects together. This feature ensures that multiple users can work simultaneously without version control issues.
- Interactive Elements: Users can enhance their presentations with embedded videos, charts, and other interactive elements, increasing audience engagement.
- Cross-Device Compatibility: The app ensures that content is accessible and presentable on various devices, including laptops, tablets, and phones.
Weaknesses:
- Limited Customization for Advanced Designs: While Gamma provides a wide array of templates, the customization options for more advanced design are somewhat limited, which could be a drawback for users seeking more creative control.
- AI Limitations: The AI-driven content generation can sometimes miss the mark, particularly with complex or highly technical content, requiring manual adjustments. My experiment, above, is a case in point. I gave a very straightforward, simple prompt, and Gamma missed a big part of it. ChatGPT and other LLMs seem to make this kind of mistake a lot, so it's not a knock on Gamma as much as a limitation of the field. It could be that Gamma is prevented from even referencing copyrighted materials, which is why I asked for resources or tips.
Opportunities:
- Growing Demand for AI Tools: As AI continues to integrate into more business processes, the demand for tools like Gamma that simplify content creation and collaboration is likely to grow, providing a significant opportunity for market expansion.
- Expansion of Template Library: By expanding its library of templates and offering more advanced customization options, Gamma could attract a broader user base, including more creative professionals.
Recommendation: Form a partnership Slidesgo or Slides Carnival to keep content templates fresh. Gamma and a slide marketplace could do a revenue sharing agreement and also co-market.
Threats:
- Competition: The market for AI-powered content creation tools is rapidly expanding, with competitors like Tome AI and others emerging as well as market veterans like Prezi adopting and adapting AI. These competitors may offer features or pricing models that could draw users away from Gamma.
- Reliance on AI: The effectiveness of Gamma’s AI is crucial to its value proposition. If the AI fails to meet user expectations consistently, it could lead to user dissatisfaction and churn.
- Data Privacy Regulations: As global data privacy regulations become more stringent, Gamma may face challenges in ensuring compliance across different regions, particularly if its security features are perceived as insufficient.
Overall, Gamma App is a powerful tool for streamlining content creation and enhancing collaboration, though it faces challenges related to customization, security, and competition in a fast-evolving market.
Sources
"Gamma App Review – Is it worth the hype?" in How With AI, undated, unsigned.
Gamma App marketing materials
My own experimentation