GovEase

Main content when extension is opened
Showcasing the summarization feature of the extension
Navigation page
The page to save information to for the autofill feature

Inspiration

Filling out government forms can be confusing for anyone — but for elderly individuals, the challenge is even greater. Between complex language, endless fields, and unclear instructions, what should take minutes often takes hours (and frustration).

As a team of freshmen at our very first hackathon, we wanted to use AI to simplify digital accessibility for seniors — helping them complete government forms quickly, confidently, and independently.

That’s how GovEase was born: a Chrome extension that acts as a friendly assistant for navigating complicated government websites.

What it does

Summarization Uses the Gemini API to read and summarize any webpage, translating bureaucratic language into clear, simple explanations. Text-to-Speech Integrates ElevenLabs’ voice synthesis API, allowing users to click Play or Pause to have the summarized content read aloud in a natural, human-like voice. Autofill Assistance Users can save their personal details once, and GovEase automatically fills in repetitive form fields, saving time and reducing frustration.

How we built it

We used HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to make a pleasing and accessible UI. We plugged in the UI to a Chrome Extension, so that features are available anywhere. We integrated the Gemini API for webpage summarization and the ElevenLabs for a natural sounding Text-to-Speech voice.

Challenges we ran into

We faced many challenges and learned even more from them:

It was our first hackathon, and we started with zero experience building Chrome extensions.
We had to restart from scratch twice due to file and configuration issues.
Integrating two different APIs required debugging asynchronous code, managing API calls, and handling CORS restrictions.
At one point, we were ready to call it quits until a mentor swooped in with a pep talk that reenergized us to continue on with what we had. Despite the various setbacks, we pulled through and created a working, functional product we were proud of.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We made our first chrome extension
We learned how to use the Gemini and ElevenLabs APIs successfully
We overcame bugs, failures, and impostor syndrome

Some lessons we learned

Vibe coding is NOT the solution
Fleshing out the core product with all of its features is the most important part to get right
When facing challenges, it's best to take a step back and evaluate what we have currently and what our next steps could be