How to add a video to PowerPoint and Google Slides
Updated: November 9, 2026
Putting a video in a presentation seems simple until you paste a link and it doesn’t work. PowerPoint and Google Slides only accept online videos from a few specific sites. Here are the two approaches that always work.
What each program accepts
- PowerPoint lets you insert video files from your computer and online videos from a list of supported sites (such as YouTube or Vimeo).
- Google Slides lets you insert videos from YouTube and Google Drive.
- Neither accepts an iframe from any website, so a video hosted on Dembed can’t be embedded directly.
Option 1: insert the file (to present offline)
- 1If the video is on Dembed and you don’t have the original, download it from your dashboard (original file or a lighter quality, like 720p).
- 2In PowerPoint: Insert → Video → This Device, and choose the file.
- 3In Google Slides: upload the file to Google Drive, then Insert → Video → Google Drive.
- 4Upside: it works even if the room has a poor connection. Downside: the presentation gets bigger.
Option 2: a linked thumbnail (to share the presentation)
It’s the best option if you’ll send the presentation to others: it stays small and the video plays in good quality.
- 1Grab a frame from the video with the thumbnail extractor.
- 2Insert it on the slide as an image, with a “play” icon on top if you like.
- 3Select the image and add the video’s link (Insert → Link).
- 4When presenting, click the image and the video opens in the browser.
Frequently asked questions
No. PowerPoint doesn’t accept iframes from any website; use the file or the linked image.