How to Remove an Image Background in Word and PowerPoint

Microsoft Word and PowerPoint both have a built-in tool that removes the background of a picture, so you can place a person or object on a colored slide or page without opening another program. It works well on simple images and poorly on busy ones. Here is how to use it and how to get a better result when it fails.

Remove a background step by step

The steps are almost the same in Word, PowerPoint and Excel on recent versions of Microsoft 365.

1. Insert your picture with Insert › Pictures › This Device and click it so it is selected.
2. Open the Picture Format tab on the ribbon. If you do not see it, click the picture again.
3. Click Remove Background on the left side of the ribbon.
4. Office highlights the area it plans to remove in magenta (purple-pink). The part in its normal colors will stay.
5. Click Keep Changes in the Background Removal tab to confirm, or Discard All Changes to cancel.

Fix the result with Mark Areas

The first guess is rarely perfect. While the magenta preview is showing, the Background Removal tab gives you two brushes.

• Mark Areas to Keep: click and drag over parts of the subject that turned magenta by mistake.
• Mark Areas to Remove: click and drag over background pieces that were left in normal color.
• Delete Mark: click a line you drew to remove it if you change your mind.
• Zoom in with the slider at the bottom right to work on small areas.

You can also drag the handles of the rectangle around the picture. The tool only analyzes what is inside that frame, so tightening it around the subject often improves the result immediately.

Save the cutout as its own file

After you keep the changes, right-click the picture and choose Save as Picture. Pick PNG so the transparent area stays transparent. If you save as JPG, the empty area turns solid. In PowerPoint you can also copy the picture and paste it directly onto another slide.

Where Word and PowerPoint fall short

• Hair, fur, glass and shadows look rough, and edges can appear jagged.
• Large, high-resolution photos can make the tool slow or fail.
• There is no batch mode; every picture needs its own round of clicks.
• The tool is missing from some versions, such as certain web and mobile editions, or it has fewer options.
• Results may differ between Windows, Mac and the web.

A faster free way

Rather than fight with Mark Areas, remove the background first with our Free AI Background Remover and then insert the PNG. It is free, has no account or sign-up, and adds no watermark. An AI model (BiRefNet, running on Cloudflare) separates the subject in a few seconds from a JPG, PNG or WebP file.

Your image goes over an encrypted connection to the site's server and the result comes straight back. The site does not save or keep images, and location and camera metadata are removed from the copy that is sent. Images up to 20 MB and 4096 px on the long side stay at full size, and the free allowance is 30 images per visitor per day.

Download the cutout as a transparent PNG, then use Insert › Pictures in Word or PowerPoint. You can also pick a white or colored background in the tool, which is handy for product slides, or try the white background tool. For a stack of images, the batch preset lets you queue several and download a zip.

Quick tips for better results

• Crop the picture first so the subject fills most of the frame; the tool then has less background to judge.
• Zoom in to at least 200% before using Mark Areas, and use short strokes rather than one long drag.
• Use Format Background or a solid slide color behind the cutout to see leftover pixels clearly.
• Compress large photos only after you finish, because Compress Pictures can discard the removed area permanently.

In PowerPoint, you can also change a single color to transparent with Color › Set Transparent Color under Picture Format. It works on flat colors only and affects every pixel of that exact shade, so it suits clip art but not photos.

Which should you use?

Use Word or PowerPoint when the picture is simple and you are already in the document. Use the free tool when the subject has hair, thin parts or a cluttered background, or when you need many images processed at once.