Simplified.

Simplified is an AI-powered accessibility extension for dyslexia and cognitive fatigue, transforming dense web pages into calm, actionable summaries using progressive disclosure.

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Simplified

Inspiration

We wanted to make the web feel less overwhelming.

A lot of online content is long, busy, and hard to follow—especially for people with dyslexia, cognitive fatigue, ADHD, or anyone reading in a second language. Simplified started from a simple idea: if information is easier to understand, more people can use it confidently.

What it does

Simplified is a Chrome extension that turns difficult web pages into clearer, easier-to-read explanations.

When someone opens the extension, they see a calm overlay instead of a wall of text. The content is shown in small, manageable parts. Users can ask simple questions about the page and listen to the explanation through audio.

The goal is not to replace the original page. It is to help people understand it without feeling lost or overwhelmed.

How we built it

We built Simplified as a Chrome extension with a React interface. It appears over a webpage without changing the site itself, so it works across many different pages.

GPT-5.6 helps turn complex text into short, structured explanations at an easier reading level. We use a Cloudflare Worker to securely connect the extension to the AI service, and ElevenLabs provides narration when available, with browser text-to-speech as a fallback.

Codex helped us move faster during development, especially with the extension setup, UI components, themes, and audio controls.

Challenges we ran into

The hardest part was keeping the experience simple.

People can find dense text difficult for many reasons, so we did not want to build something that felt clinical or complicated. We spent time making the interface calm, clear, and easy to use while avoiding visual choices that can make reading more tiring, like harsh white backgrounds or too much information on screen at once.

What we’re proud of

We are proud that Simplified feels friendly and straightforward.

It uses advanced AI in the background, but the person using it does not need to understand any of that. They can open a page, click the extension, and get help right away.

What we learned

Accessibility is about more than meeting technical requirements.

It is also about reducing stress, giving people control, and making information feel approachable. Small design decisions—such as shorter sections, clear language, and audio support—can make a real difference.

Supported platforms

  • Chrome, Edge, Brave, and other Chromium-based browsers
  • macOS, Windows, and Linux

How to test it

  1. Download the extension .zip from the repository Releases page.
  2. Unzip it.
  3. Open chrome://extensions/ in a Chromium-based browser.
  4. Turn on Developer mode.
  5. Choose Load unpacked and select the unzipped folder.
  6. Open a text-heavy article and click the Simplified extension icon.

What’s next

Next, we want feedback from dyslexic and neurodivergent users so we can improve the tone and usefulness of the explanations.

Our longer-term goal is simple: help make everyday web content easier and less stressful to understand.

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