diff --git a/backend/api/v1/ppt/endpoints/presentation.py b/backend/api/v1/ppt/endpoints/presentation.py
index c1f97b8..d125172 100644
--- a/backend/api/v1/ppt/endpoints/presentation.py
+++ b/backend/api/v1/ppt/endpoints/presentation.py
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ from utils.llm_calls.generate_presentation_outlines import generate_ppt_outline
 from utils.llm_calls.summarize_brief import summarize_brief
 from models.sql.slide import SlideModel
 from models.sse_response import SSECompleteResponse, SSEErrorResponse, SSEResponse
+from pydantic import BaseModel, ConfigDict
 
 from services.database import get_async_session, async_session_maker
 from services.temp_file_service import TEMP_FILE_SERVICE
@@ -73,6 +74,23 @@ from utils.process_slides import (
 import uuid
 
 
+class SlideInput(BaseModel):
+    """Plain Pydantic model for slide data in request body (avoids SQLModel table=True validation quirks)."""
+    model_config = ConfigDict(extra="ignore")
+
+    id: Optional[uuid.UUID] = None
+    presentation: uuid.UUID
+    layout_group: str
+    layout: str
+    index: int
+    content: dict
+    html_content: Optional[str] = None
+    speaker_note: Optional[str] = None
+    properties: Optional[dict] = None
+    deleted_at: Optional[datetime] = None
+
+
+
 PRESENTATION_ROUTER = APIRouter(prefix="/presentation", tags=["Presentation"])
 
 
@@ -425,7 +443,7 @@ async def update_presentation(
     id: Annotated[uuid.UUID, Body()],
     n_slides: Annotated[Optional[int], Body()] = None,
     title: Annotated[Optional[str], Body()] = None,
-    slides: Annotated[Optional[List[SlideModel]], Body()] = None,
+    slides: Annotated[Optional[List[SlideInput]], Body()] = None,
     _current_user: UserModel = Depends(get_current_user),
     sql_session: AsyncSession = Depends(get_async_session),
 ):
@@ -442,22 +460,32 @@ async def update_presentation(
     if n_slides or title:
         presentation.sqlmodel_update(presentation_update_dict)
 
+    slide_models: List[SlideModel] = []
     if slides:
-        # Just to make sure id is UUID
-        for slide in slides:
-            slide.presentation = uuid.UUID(slide.presentation)
-            slide.id = uuid.UUID(slide.id)
+        for s in slides:
+            slide_models.append(SlideModel(
+                id=s.id or uuid.uuid4(),
+                presentation=s.presentation,
+                layout_group=s.layout_group,
+                layout=s.layout,
+                index=s.index,
+                content=s.content,
+                html_content=s.html_content,
+                speaker_note=s.speaker_note,
+                properties=s.properties,
+                deleted_at=s.deleted_at,
+            ))
 
         await sql_session.execute(
             delete(SlideModel).where(SlideModel.presentation == presentation.id)
         )
-        sql_session.add_all(slides)
+        sql_session.add_all(slide_models)
 
     await sql_session.commit()
 
     return PresentationWithSlides(
         **presentation.model_dump(),
-        slides=slides or [],
+        slides=slide_models,
     )
 
 
diff --git a/frontend/app/hooks/useCustomTemplates.ts b/frontend/app/hooks/useCustomTemplates.ts
index 8a1fbc1..7b0c09b 100644
--- a/frontend/app/hooks/useCustomTemplates.ts
+++ b/frontend/app/hooks/useCustomTemplates.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,20 @@ import TemplateService from "../(presentation-generator)/services/api/template";
 import { isJsonLayoutCode, parseLayoutSchema, ParsedLayout, LayoutSchema } from "./parseLayoutSchema";
 import { SlideRenderer } from "../(presentation-generator)/components/SlideRenderer";
 
+// Build a JSON Schema from a LayoutSchema's elements so the backend LLM knows what content to generate.
+function buildSchemaFromElements(layoutSchema: LayoutSchema): Record<string, any> {
+  const properties: Record<string, any> = {};
+  for (const el of layoutSchema.elements) {
+    if (!el.placeholder) continue;
+    properties[el.placeholder] = { type: "string" };
+  }
+  return {
+    type: "object",
+    title: layoutSchema.layoutName,
+    properties,
+  };
+}
+
 // Adapter: convert ParsedLayout (JSON schema) into a CompiledLayout-compatible object
 // so existing code that uses CompiledLayout can work with both formats.
 function parsedLayoutToCompiled(parsed: ParsedLayout): CompiledLayout {
@@ -26,7 +40,7 @@ function parsedLayoutToCompiled(parsed: ParsedLayout): CompiledLayout {
     layoutDescription: parsed.layoutDescription,
     schema: null,
     sampleData: parsed.sampleData,
-    schemaJSON: null,
+    schemaJSON: buildSchemaFromElements(schema),
   };
 }
 
diff --git a/frontend/store/slices/clientSlice.ts b/frontend/store/slices/clientSlice.ts
index 1025004..ce1f0d0 100644
--- a/frontend/store/slices/clientSlice.ts
+++ b/frontend/store/slices/clientSlice.ts
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ export const fetchMasterDecks = createAsyncThunk(
   "client/fetchMasterDecks",
   async (clientId: string, { rejectWithValue }) => {
     try {
-      const response = await fetch(
+      const response = await apiFetch(
         `/api/v1/admin/master-decks?client_id=${clientId}`,
         { headers: getHeader() }
       );
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ export const fetchClientPresentations = createAsyncThunk(
   "client/fetchClientPresentations",
   async (clientId: string, { rejectWithValue }) => {
     try {
-      const response = await fetch(
+      const response = await apiFetch(
         `/api/v1/ppt/presentation/all?client_id=${clientId}`,
         { headers: getHeader() }
       );