If you've searched for a "Keynote plugin" for live polling, here's the honest answer: it doesn't exist — not from PollSlide, and not from anyone else. Apple doesn't publish a public add-in API for Keynote the way Microsoft does for PowerPoint or Google does for Slides, so no third-party tool can install itself inside the app. What actually works, and what presenters already use today, is simpler than a plugin: put a QR code on the slide.
Why there's no "Keynote plugin" — and why that's fine
Keynote is Mac-only and, unlike PowerPoint or Google Slides, has never opened itself up to third-party add-ins. So instead of promising an integration that can't be built, PollSlide treats every slide the same way Keynote already treats an image: something you paste in. A live poll becomes a picture — a QR code — sitting on your slide exactly where you put it. Your audience scans it, answers on their own phone, and you keep presenting from Keynote the entire time.
How it works with Keynote
- Write your question in PollSlide. A poll, quiz, survey or study set — type it yourself, or describe a topic (or hand it a PDF or your notes) and let Polly AI draft the questions, answers and even matching images for you.
- Open the question's live view and click "Copy QR box for slide." This copies a ready-made QR code image to your clipboard.
- Switch to Keynote and paste (⌘V) onto the slide where you want the audience to vote. The QR box lands like any pasted image — drag it, resize it, or restyle it to match your slide.
- Repeat for every question you want to poll, pasting a fresh QR box on each slide. One deck can freely mix ordinary slides with polling slides.
- Install the free PollSlide Mac companion app — optional, but the point of it. It's a small menu-bar app that watches your screen while you present, recognizes which question's QR is currently on screen, and floats the matching live-results window on top of Keynote automatically. You never alt-tab out of Present mode.
- Present as normal. When a poll slide is up, tell the room to scan the QR (or go to pollslide.com/join and type the code) and answer on their own phone. Results appear live in the companion window — or in PollSlide's browser tab if you'd rather not install the companion.
What you get
🎯 Every question type
Polls, quizzes, surveys and study sets all work the same way — paste one QR box, present, done.
🪄 Questions written for you
Give Polly a topic, a PDF or your notes and it drafts the questions, answers and images.
🖥️ Results float over your deck
The free Mac companion detects the on-screen QR and shows matching live results automatically — no switching apps.
📱 Zero install for your audience
They scan and answer in their phone's browser. No app, no account, nothing to explain.
Where things stand across your other tools
Because the QR-on-slide method is universal, none of this is locked to Keynote — but the level of "native" integration differs by platform today, and it's worth being upfront about exactly where each one stands:
🍎 Keynote
No third-party add-in ecosystem exists, full stop. The QR method plus the free Mac companion for floating results is the complete, shipped Keynote setup.
🪟 PowerPoint
The QR method works today, pasted or inserted like any picture. A native Office.js add-in is built and currently in review with Microsoft — not yet available to install.
🌐 Google Slides
The QR method works today, straight in the browser. Native Google Slides integration is planned but not yet available.
Before you present
- A free PollSlide account, with your question or deck ready to go.
- A QR box copied and pasted onto every slide you want to poll.
- The free Mac companion app installed, if you want results floating over Keynote automatically.
- Your join code or QR left on screen as long as you want — nobody needs to rush.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to install a Keynote plugin?
No — there's no plugin to install, because Apple doesn't offer a public add-in system for Keynote the way Microsoft and Google do for their apps. Instead, you paste a small QR code image onto any slide, like pasting a picture, and your audience scans it with their phone. It works today, with zero setup for anyone in the room.
Does this work on Windows, or only on Mac?
Keynote itself only runs on Mac, iPad and the web, so the Keynote workflow is inherently Mac-based. The QR-on-slide method works no matter what device you present from. The free PollSlide companion app that floats live results on top of your slideshow automatically is macOS only today — on any other machine, you check results by switching to PollSlide in a browser tab.
Is PollSlide free to use with Keynote?
Yes. The free plan runs full, real sessions — 3 saved presentations, 25 participants per session and 5 Polly AI question generations a month, with no credit card required. Paid plans lift those limits.
Does my audience need to download an app or make an account?
No. They scan the QR code on your slide, or go to pollslide.com/join and type the code, and answer in their phone's browser. Nothing to install, no account needed.
What about PowerPoint or Google Slides?
The same QR-on-slide method works in PowerPoint and Google Slides today. A native PowerPoint add-in is on the way and is currently in review with Microsoft, and native Google Slides integration is planned but not yet available.