Inquira

Inspiration

I created Inquira to address a challenge I face every day: making online research more efficient and organized. Often, when researching across multiple sources, I found myself overwhelmed by information and struggled to consolidate key insights.

What it does

Users can highlight and save text snippets directly from web pages, summarize them into concise points, and organize their notes into a centralized hub. The extension also allows users to ask targeted questions about their saved content, generating insightful responses from built-in AI models. Users can also export their notes to view offline.

How I built it

Inquira is built using React, TailwindCSS, and Chrome's built-in AI APIs such as the Summarization and Prompt APIs. I designed the UI with TailwindCSS to keep the interface sleek and modern, while the extension functionality is powered by React components and Chrome’s extension APIs. The project incorporates local storage to save user preferences and research notes, ensuring a smooth and offline-friendly experience.

Challenges I ran into

One of the biggest challenges was navigating the early access documentation for Chrome’s built-in AI APIs, which required a lot of trial and error. Prompt engineering was another hurdle, as crafting effective and concise prompts for the AI required multiple iterations. Additionally, as a backend-focused developer, designing an intuitive UI was a significant learning curve. Balancing the AI functionality and keeping the extension lightweight was also a key consideration throughout the development process.

Accomplishments that I am proud of

• Time Crunch: I developed Inquira under significant time constraints as I wasn’t granted early access to Chrome’s built-in AI APIs until later in the process. Despite this challenge, I was able to deliver a fully functional and polished tool.
• First Chrome Extension: This was my first experience building a Chrome extension, and I successfully implemented features that leverage modern AI capabilities while maintaining a smooth user experience.
• Effective Prompt Engineering: Crafting prompts to ensure accurate and meaningful AI responses required multiple iterations, and I’m proud of the effectiveness of the final implementation.

What I learned

This project marked my first experience building a Chrome extension, and I was genuinely surprised by the range of possibilities Chrome extensions offer. I learned how to work with Chrome’s built-in AI APIs, design intuitive user interactions, and navigate the nuances of managing local storage. It was also a deep dive into combining frontend and backend development to create a seamless experience for users.

What's next for Inquira

• Backend for Persistence: Implementing a backend will allow users to sync their notes and preferences across devices, ensuring a consistent experience.
• Hybrid AI Integration: Combining client-side and server-side AI will enable more accurate and intensive queries for users who need deeper insights.
• Multi-Topic Management: Introducing tabs to manage multiple research topics simultaneously will enhance organization and usability for users juggling various projects.
• Export Enhancements: Adding support for exporting research notes in multiple formats, such as PDFs and Word documents, to cater to different user needs.
• Collaboration Features: Enabling shared research notes and collaborative editing will expand Inquira’s appeal to teams and academic groups.

Built With

• chromeextensions
• promptai
• react
• summarizationai
• tailwindcss