Link Lens - Perplexity Anywhere

Powered by Perplexity Sonar and Deep Research. Get insights from any text on the web, links, etc. Fact check, summarise, and more.

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Inspiration

Watching how people interacted with Ask Perplexity (@AskPerplexity) on Twitter/X, I wanted that powerful AI analysis functionality to be available anywhere on the web, not just on X.

What it does

LinkLens is a Chrome extension that brings Perplexity's AI analysis to any webpage. Users can hover over links while holding Shift+P or select text and press Shift+P to get instant AI-powered summaries, credibility scores, reading time estimates, and key topics - all without leaving their current page.

How I built it

Built as a Chrome Extension with:

  • Content scripts for keyboard shortcuts and hover detection
  • Background service worker handling Perplexity API calls (both Sonar and Sonar Deep Research models)
  • Popup interface for settings and API key management
  • Glassmorphic dark UI with smooth animations and tooltip positioning
  • Structured JSON responses with credibility scoring and metadata extraction

Challenges I ran into

As a product manager learning to code, I "vibe coded" the entire project. I've made some ultra-simple Chrome Extensions before, but this was tough to get how I wanted. The biggest challenge was managing API responses (to show what I wanted) and smooth loading animations. Deep Research model responses take longer, making it difficult to provide real-time feedback to users about the analysis progress. I still haven't gotten the Deep Research part to be something I'm proud of.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

  • Created a fully functional browser extension that works on any website
  • Successfully integrated both Perplexity models with 'structured output parsing' (Better prompting)
  • Built multiple activation methods (keyboard shortcuts, context menus, hover detection)
  • Designed an intuitive UI that doesn't disrupt the browsing experience
  • Implemented proper error handling and user feedback systems

What I learned

More experience with Chrome Extension APIs, and Perplexity API integration. Learned how to upload Github files again. Learned how to do sort of a 'parse output' style prompt to Perplexity. Learned how to integrate infinite style animations.

What's next for Link Lens - Perplexity Anywhere

  • Chrome Web Store publication in the coming weeks
  • Streaming responses with real-time progress indicators ('Showing work')
  • Enhanced loading states showing which sources are being analyzed
  • Response caching to improve performance for repeated queries
  • Finite Loading to help users 'feel' like they can see the model working
  • Additional AI models * and customizable analysis depth settings

*See comment in 'What do I want to see in the Perplexity API'

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