Comparison
PowerPoint Presenter View vs ScriptAssist
PowerPoint Presenter View is the default way to see your notes while you present — it's free, built in, and familiar. So where does a dedicated tool like ScriptAssist earn its place? The short answer: when you're on camera. Here's an honest look at what each does well.
What Presenter View is great at
If you're presenting in a room with a projector, Presenter View is hard to beat. It shows your current slide, what's next, a timer, and your notes — all on the laptop in front of you while the audience sees the big screen. It costs nothing and it's already on your machine.
Where it struggles on camera
Virtual presenting changes the geometry. Your notes sit on a second monitor off to the side, so reading them pulls your eyes away from the webcam — the classic "they're reading" look. And if you share your whole screen, you have to be careful not to share your notes along with it. Presenter View was designed for a podium, not a webcam.
Where ScriptAssist is different
ScriptAssist uses the same speaker notes, but puts the script beside your camera and hides it from your screen share. You hold eye contact, you don't need a second monitor, and your audience never sees the words — even when you share your entire screen. It adds the things a webcam presentation actually needs.
| Presenter View | ScriptAssist | |
|---|---|---|
| Reads your PowerPoint speaker notes | ✓ | ✓ |
| Built in and free | ✓ | — |
| Keeps your eyes on the camera | — | ✓ |
| Hidden from your screen share | — | ✓ |
| Works on a single monitor | — | ✓ |
| Hands-free scroll that follows your voice | — | ✓ |
| AI-drafted script per slide | — | ✓ |
| Review the script in Word and merge edits | — | ✓ |
Which should you use?
Presenting in person from a podium? Presenter View is all you need. Presenting on camera — on Zoom, Teams, or Webex — where eye contact and a clean screen share matter? That's exactly what ScriptAssist is built for, and you can try it on your own deck free for 7 days.
Keep exploring
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