WEBE | Devpost

Our popup in our extension
Another one of our AI personalities, the Therapist
Prompt for users bedtime, to stop scrolling
The prompt when the user reaches their self-imposed reels limit

Inspiration

Everyone has had the experience of opening social media for “just a minute” before working and suddenly an hour disappears. Traditional blockers either fully block apps or rely on self-control, which often fails. We wanted something that felt more human and harder to ignore. The idea came from the thought: what if someone was actually calling you out while you were procrastinating? That became WEBE, an AI system that escalates interventions while you scroll instead of work.

What it does

WEBE detects when you're endlessly scrolling short-form content and interrupts you with an AI personality that pressures you to get back to work. The interruptions escalate the longer you ignore them, starting as a gentle message and eventually becoming a full-screen block.

Users can: -Set a bedtime so late-night scrolling gets interrupted -Adjust task due dates dynamically -Add free-time blocks so the AI knows when not to interrupt -Choose different AI personalities (like a disappointed friend, drill sergeant, or passive-aggressive AI girlfriend) The goal is to make procrastination uncomfortable enough that you actually close the app.

How we built it

We built WEBE as a Chrome extension to test the core behavioral logic. The extension: -Detects scrolling patterns on short-form video feeds -Tracks scroll counts and time spent -Calculates escalation stages based on task urgency -Generates personality-driven interventions using AI -Displays a chat-style overlay that escalates until the user stops scrolling Chrome lets us rapidly prototype the logic while we experiment with intervention timing and personality styles.

Challenges we ran into

One challenge was designing escalation that feels engaging instead of annoying. If interruptions happen too often, users ignore them, but if they happen too rarely, the tool becomes useless. Another challenge was making the AI personalities feel distinct while keeping responses short and contextual. We also had to carefully manage overlays and page interaction so the extension could interrupt scrolling without breaking the underlying website.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We're proud of building a working escalation system that adapts based on task urgency and user behavior. We also created multiple AI personalities that deliver interventions in completely different tones, which makes the experience more memorable and harder to ignore. Finally, we built a system that integrates tasks, deadlines, and browsing behavior into a single intervention loop.

What we learned

We learned that behavioral design matters as much as technical implementation. The timing, tone, and escalation of an interruption dramatically change how people respond. We also learned how quickly browser extensions can be used to prototype systems that interact with real user behavior.

What's next for WEBE

The Chrome extension is mainly a prototype for the core intervention logic. Next, we want to bring WEBE to mobile, especially iOS, where most doomscrolling actually happens. We plan to expand the scheduling system, improve AI personalities, and explore smarter ways to detect when someone is avoiding important tasks. Our goal is to turn WEBE into a system that doesn't just block distractions, but actively helps people break procrastination loops.