From Zero to Working Chrome Extension in 18 Minutes
The real AI building process (complete with errors, fixes, and why this matters for your business)
Ever watch those "I built this amazing app in 5 minutes" videos?
They're cutting out 90% of the work.
The errors.
The iterations.
The moments when nothing works.
Here's What Actually Happened When I Built a Chrome Extension Live
I streamed myself building a text-to-speech Chrome extension from absolute zero.
No existing files.
No preparation.
Just me, Cursor AI, and whatever problems came up.
The result?
In 18 minutes, I had a working extension that:
Converts any highlighted text to speech
Adds summarization capabilities
Provides custom AI processing options
But here's the part most people don't show you...
The Truth About Building with AI
Error #1: "Could not load because this was not specified in the icons"
Error #2: "Maximum call stack size exceeded"
Error #3: Image generation API calls failing
Each error meant:
Screenshot the problem
Back to Cursor
Explain what broke
Test again
Repeat
This isn't a one-prompt miracle.
It's a conversation.
A collaboration between human judgment and AI capability.
Why This Matters for Your Business
Most business owners think AI automation is either:
Too complex for them, or
As simple as one magic prompt
Both are wrong.
The reality?
You can create custom tools tailored to your specific needs.
But you need to understand the iteration process.
You need to know when AI gets it wrong (like when it suggested using Dall-E instead of their latest image model).
You need patience for debugging.
What I Actually Built (And Why It's Powerful)
This wasn't just a tech demo.
This extension saves me hours weekly by:
Converting reading into listening:
Highlight any text on any webpage
Right-click, select "Read Out Loud."
Process information while multitasking
Adding intelligent processing:
Summarize complex documents
Extract key points automatically
Create custom prompts for specific needs
Staying in my workflow:
No switching between apps
No copy-pasting into ChatGPT
Everything happens in context
The Framework That Made This Possible
Step 1: Start with a clear, specific need "I want to listen to text instead of reading it"
Step 2: Use the right AI coding tool, Cursor with Claude Sonnet for development
Step 3: Expect iteration. The First version won't be perfect
Step 4: Learn from errors. Each error teaches you something
Step 5: Add features incrementally. Start simple, build complexity
Your Next Move
Stop thinking AI automation is too complex.
Stop believing it's too simple.
Start thinking about your specific pain points.
What repetitive task could you eliminate with a custom tool?
What manual process could be automated?
What information processing could be streamlined?
Watch the full YouTube video below for the complete breakdown – you'll see every error, every fix, and exactly how the iteration process works in real-time.
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No hype. No perfect one-prompt solutions. Just real strategies you can implement.
Best,
Avi