AssisT

What is AssisT?

Featured on the Chrome Web Store — recognised by Google for quality, user experience, and design best practices.

AssisT is a comprehensive Chrome extension that augments your learning abilities, not just assists them. We believe technology should superpower every learner—leveling the playing field so everyone can excel.

Whether you’re neurodivergent, neurotypical, a visual learner, an auditory learner, or just want to learn more efficiently, AssisT provides 35+ powerful features that work instantly, plus 8 AI-powered features with four flexible AI modes—all running locally in your browser with no subscriptions or API keys required for core features.

Install AssisT from the Chrome Web Store

How-To Videos

New to AssisT? Watch our short how-to video guides — one for every feature, with filters for dyslexia, ADHD, visual impairment, and more.

Browse all how-to videos →

Beyond Accessibility: Augmentative Technology

Accessibility tools help you cope. Augmentative tools help you excel.

AssisT represents a paradigm shift in educational technology:

• Not a crutch, but a superpower — Features like AI summarization, text-to-speech, and OCR don’t just make content “accessible,” they enhance how everyone learns
• Leveling the playing field — Everyone has different learning strengths. AssisT lets you leverage YOUR strengths instead of struggling with your weaknesses
• For all learners — Yes, AssisT was designed with neurodivergent students in mind, but neurotypical students benefit just as much. Speed readers use TTS. Honor students use AI summarization. Visual learners use highlighting. Everyone learns differently.

Think of AssisT as augmented learning — just as augmented reality enhances what you see, AssisT enhances how you learn, comprehend, and retain information.

Enable on All Websites

AssisT uses a privacy-first permission model. By default, the extension works immediately on educational platforms:

Platform	Domains
Canvas LMS	*.instructure.com, *.canvas.com
Moodle	*.moodle.org, *.moodlecloud.com
Google Classroom	classroom.google.com
Google Docs	docs.google.com

Want AssisT on Every Website?

You can enable AssisT on all websites with a single click. This is optional and only needs to be done once:

1. Click the AssisT extension icon in your browser toolbar
2. Look for the “Enable Everywhere” button in the popup
3. Chrome will show a permission dialog asking to “Access your data on all websites”
4. Click Allow to grant permission
5. Reload any open tabs you want to use AssisT on

That’s it! AssisT now works on every website you visit. You’re in control—you can revoke this permission anytime in Chrome’s extension settings.

Why does Chrome show this message? Chrome requires extensions to explicitly request permission before accessing websites. This protects your privacy by ensuring you consent to where extensions can run. AssisT never collects or transmits your data—everything runs locally.

Quick Start Profiles

Get started instantly with pre-configured profiles in Settings → Preferences → Profiles:

• ADHD Focus: Pomodoro timer enabled, progress tracking, simplified interface
• Dyslexia Support: OpenDyslexic font, wide spacing, reading progress bar
• Sensory Sensitive: No animations, muted colors, media blocking

Key Features

Reading & Listening

Text-to-Speech with Synchronized Highlighting

Listen to any web content using your browser’s built-in voices. Words are highlighted as they’re read, helping you follow along. Customize speech rate (0.5x–2.0x), pitch, volume, and choose from 8 highlight colors.

Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+Space (play/pause), Ctrl+Shift+S (stop)

Reading Mode

Distraction-free view that removes navigation, sidebars, and ads. Powered by Mozilla Readability for clean content extraction. Full TTS integration included.

Keyboard shortcut: Alt+R (toggle), Escape (exit)

Dyslexia-Optimized Reading Modes

Three enhancement modes to improve reading comprehension:

• Bionic Reading: Bolds the first 1–3 letters of words to guide eye movement
• Syllable Colors: Alternating color backgrounds break words into visual chunks
• Grammar Colors: NLP-based coloring of parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives)

Keyboard shortcut: Alt+Y (toggle)

OCR & Screenshot Tool (Alpha)

Capture and extract text from images, PDFs, and scanned documents. Uses Tesseract.js for offline processing with support for 100+ languages. Adjustable upscaling and confidence thresholds.

Keyboard shortcut: Alt+O (capture)

Writing & Voice Input

Speech-to-Text

Dictate text directly into any input field using the Web Speech API. Works with standard text inputs, contenteditable elements, and Google Docs rich editor. Features include:

• 60+ voice commands for editing, formatting, and navigation
• Smart auto-punctuation with three modes: Automatic, Assisted, and Manual
• Confidence feedback with color-coded accuracy indicators
• Custom vocabulary with domain presets for Medical, Legal, Academic, and STEM
• Always-on field detection that automatically shows the microphone button when you focus any text field

Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+P (switch STT profile)

Sticky Notes & Annotations

Create floating notes on any webpage. Tag and categorize notes, export them, and view all annotations in a dedicated panel.

Keyboard shortcut: Alt+N (create note)

Study & Research Tools

Dictionary Lookup

Instant definitions for selected words with example sentences and part-of-speech information. Uses the Free Dictionary API.

Keyboard shortcut: Alt+Shift+D

Translation

Translate content into 35+ languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Hindi, Turkish, Vietnamese, Thai, and many more.

Translation providers:

• MyMemory (default): Free, no API key required
• LibreTranslate (fallback): Free, open-source

Keyboard shortcut: Alt+T

Citation Management

Generate citations in Harvard Style (Cite Them Right, 13th edition) for websites, books, journals, newspapers, videos, and social media. Includes:

• Bibliography manager with project organization
• CRAAP test evaluation for source quality
• Export to BibTeX, RIS, JSON, and CSV formats

Text Statistics

Track word count, character count, sentence count, paragraph count, and estimated reading time.

Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+W

Highlight Menu

Quick-access toolbar appears when you select text. Default actions include: Read Aloud, Dictionary, Translate, Search, Annotate, and Copy. Optional AI-powered actions (Summarize, Simplify, Breakdown, Socratic Tutor, Knowledge Graph, Speed Read, Citation Analyzer) appear when AI is enabled. Auto-hides after a customizable delay.

Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+H (toggle)

Visual Comfort & Accessibility

Focus Mode

Dims surrounding content and centers the reading area to reduce visual distractions.

Keyboard shortcut: Alt+F

Reading Guide

Horizontal line that follows your cursor to help track reading position. Customize guide color, height, and opacity.

Keyboard shortcut: Alt+G

Screen Color Overlays

Apply color filters for visual comfort: Sepia, Soft Yellow, Peach, Cream, Cool Blue, Soft Green, Light Pink, Blue Light Filter, and Grayscale.

Keyboard shortcut: Alt+Shift+O

Reading Progress Bar

Visual indicator showing scroll progress. Position at top or bottom of page with color options: Green, Blue, Orange, Purple, Pink.

Text Customization

• 11 Fonts: System Default, Lexend, OpenDyslexic, Comic Sans, Arial, Atkinson Hyperlegible, Andika, Comic Neue, Segoe UI, Trebuchet MS, Georgia
• Spacing Controls: Line height (1.0–3.0x), letter spacing (0–0.25em), word spacing (0–0.5em), paragraph spacing (1.0–4.0em)

All spacing options are WCAG 2.2 SC 1.4.12 compliant.

Reduced Motion

Disables all animations for users with vestibular disorders. Respects the prefers-reduced-motion system preference. WCAG 2.1 SC 2.3.3 compliant.

Custom Cursor & Magnifying Lens

Enhanced cursor visibility with multiple styles including crosshair, arrow, and circle highlight. Accurate hotspot positioning for each cursor type. Floating magnification window with 1.5x–4x zoom that follows your cursor.

Productivity

Pomodoro Timer

Configurable work intervals (5–60 minutes) and breaks (1–30 minutes) with visual progress and optional audio notifications. Designed with ADHD support in mind.

Media Control

Block autoplay video and audio to prevent distractions and sensory overload.

Neurodivergent User Profiles

General Profiles (9)

Comprehensive settings optimized for:

• ADHD
• Autism Spectrum
• Dyslexia
• Anxiety
• Motor Impairment
• Low Vision
• General Learning Disabilities
• Cognitive Overload
• Sensory Sensitivities

Speech-to-Text Profiles (7)

Specialized STT configurations with customized timing, UI appearance, and feedback:

1. Default: Standard settings
2. ADHD Focus: Fast response (800ms), minimal distractions, large buttons
3. Dyslexia Support: Extended processing time (3s), spelling assistance, 3 word alternatives
4. Anxiety Calm: Forgiving timing (4s), calming colors, gentle feedback
5. Motor Impairment: Voice activation, extra-large buttons (80px), 60s speech timeout
6. Low Vision: Maximum contrast, 96px buttons, full audio feedback
7. Autism Comfort: Predictable behavior, literal commands, no surprises

AI Features (Optional)

AssisT offers four AI modes to match your privacy and performance needs. Switch between modes instantly using the inline AI mode switcher in the popup—no wizards, no page reloads.

1. Off Mode

No AI processing—all other 35+ accessibility features still work perfectly. Choose this if you don’t need AI assistance or want to minimize resource usage.

2. Local AI (Ollama)

• Privacy: 100% private, runs on your computer
• Cost: Free
• Requirements: Ollama installation
• Best For: Users prioritizing privacy, offline access, FERPA/HIPAA compliance

Live model selector — AssisT auto-detects your installed Ollama models and shows them in a dropdown. Switch models without restarting.

Recommended models:

• qwen3:8b-q4_K_M (5GB) - Best JSON compliance, recommended default
• llama3.1:8b (5GB) - Strong general-purpose performance
• gemma3:4b (3GB) - Fast responses for basic tasks
• llava (4.7GB) - Image understanding (vision)

3. Browser AI (WebLLM)

• Privacy: 100% private, runs in your browser tab
• Cost: Free
• Requirements: WebGPU-capable browser (Chrome 113+)
• Best For: Zero-install AI — no software to install at all

Browser-native AI powered by WebLLM and WebGPU. Models download once and run entirely in your browser—no server, no API, no installation.

Performance note: Browser AI uses WebGPU, which is significantly slower than a native GPU runtime. Responses typically take 30–90 seconds. If you need faster local AI, use Local AI (Ollama) — it runs the same models at full GPU speed.

Available models:

• llama-3.2-1b (1GB) - Ultra-fast, basic tasks
• gemma-2b (2GB) - Balanced small model
• phi-3.5-mini (3GB) - Strong reasoning for size
• qwen2.5-3b (3GB) - Good multilingual support
• llama-3.2-3b (3GB) - Capable general model
• mistral-7b (5GB) - Complex analysis
• llama-3.1-8b (6GB) - Most capable browser model

The AI Setup Wizard shows which models are already cached on your device, which need downloading, and lets you remove all downloaded models to free up browser storage.

4. Cloud AI (Your API Key)

• Privacy: Data sent to your chosen provider (not Fiavaion)
• Cost: Free with Google Gemini; paid for other providers
• Providers: Google (Gemini), Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI (ChatGPT), Perplexity
• Best For: Maximum capability, latest AI features, complex analysis

Supported providers:

• Google Gemini — Gemini 2.5 Flash (fast, free), Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite (unlimited, free), Gemini 2.5 Pro (most capable, free) — free API key, no credit card required
• Anthropic — Claude Haiku 4.5 (fast), Sonnet 4.6 (balanced), Opus 4.6 (most capable) — paid
• OpenAI — GPT-5.4 mini (fast), GPT-5.4 Thinking (balanced), GPT-5.4 Pro (most capable) — paid
• Perplexity — Sonar (fast search), Sonar Pro (deep retrieval), Sonar Deep Research (comprehensive reports) — paid

API keys are encrypted with AES-256 and stored locally—never sent to Fiavaion servers.

Learn more about AI modes and setup →

Inline AI Mode Switcher

Switch AI modes directly from the popup without navigating to settings:

• Mode chip row — Click Off, Cloud, Browser AI, or Local AI to switch instantly
• Contextual panels — Each mode shows relevant controls inline:
  • Cloud: Provider selector, API key input, model dropdown
  • Browser AI: Model picker with download/load buttons and progress bars
  • Local AI: Live Ollama status with model dropdown
• Persistent status bars — Every AI feature shows its current status (available, unavailable, or processing) directly in the popup

8 AI Features

With any AI mode enabled (except Off), you get:

• Smart Summarization: Brief, detailed, bullet points, or ELI5 mode
• Text Simplification: Three complexity levels for better comprehension — automatically strips trailing AI conversational artifacts
• Assignment Breakdown: Convert instructions to step-by-step checklists
• Socratic Tutor: Guided questions for deeper learning — smart hint filtering suppresses generic canned responses
• Multi-Document Compare: Analyse and contrast multiple text sources side-by-side — includes Read All TTS button
• Knowledge Graph: Visualize concept connections with interactive node graphs — optimized for local AI with smart token limits and person-detection heuristics
• Citation Analyzer: Evaluate source credibility using the CRAAP test
• Study Path Generator: Create personalized learning roadmaps — includes Copy and Read All buttons

All 8 features use a shared AI routing client that consistently handles mode detection, availability checking, and response generation across all modes.

Keyboard Shortcuts

All shortcuts are customizable in settings. Chrome-reserved shortcuts are automatically blocked.

Action	Shortcut
TTS Play/Pause	Ctrl+Shift+Space
TTS Stop	Ctrl+Shift+S
OCR Capture	Alt+O
Reading Mode	Alt+R
Dictionary Lookup	Alt+Shift+D
Text Statistics	Ctrl+Shift+W
Highlight Menu	Ctrl+Shift+H
Create Note	Alt+N
Translation	Alt+T
Focus Mode	Alt+F
Reading Guide	Alt+G
Screen Overlay	Alt+Shift+O
Dyslexia Mode	Alt+Y
STT Profile Switch	Ctrl+Shift+P

Privacy & Data

AssisT is built with privacy as a core principle:

• No tracking: We don’t collect any user data
• No cloud processing: All features run in your browser
• No external servers: Your text, documents, and images never leave your device
• Settings sync: Your preferences are stored in Chrome’s synced storage, so they follow you across devices when signed into Chrome. Annotations are stored locally via IndexedDB
• GDPR/FERPA/HIPAA compliant: Safe for educational and healthcare settings

Translation uses MyMemory (default) and LibreTranslate (fallback) — both free, no API key required. Text is sent to these services for translation but is not stored or tracked.

Read our full Privacy Policy →

Accessibility Standards

AssisT meets WCAG 2.2 AA compliance standards:

• Semantic HTML structure throughout
• Full keyboard navigation support
• Screen reader compatible with ARIA labels
• High contrast mode available
• Focus indicators on all interactive elements
• Text spacing meets SC 1.4.12 requirements
• Reduced motion respects SC 2.3.3

What’s New

Release history is published on GitHub Releases and rendered automatically below. The full versioned CHANGELOG is in the repository.

Latest — v0.9.2 — 23 May 2026

• Ollama model catalog — 11 curated models by category (General, Reasoning, Multilingual, Code, Vision) with hardware tiers (4 GB / 8 GB RAM)
• “Remove all downloaded models” button in Browser AI setup — clears WebLLM cached model storage
• Browser AI speed warning added to setup wizard — honest 30–90s caveat; directs speed-sensitive users to Ollama

v0.9.1 — 21 May 2026 — GAAD Launch

First public Chrome Web Store release, launched on Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2026. Awarded the Chrome Web Store Featured badge by Google.

v0.9.0 — 15 May 2026 — Final Beta

EUPL-1.2 licence, VPAT 2.5, GDPR font bundling, 27 MB → 11 MB bundle, XSS/security audit, TTS Reading Scope + Word Highlight Speed, 997 unit tests, full gap audit.

View the full release history on GitHub →

Technical Details

• 35+ accessibility features (plus 8 AI features)

• 4 AI modes: Off, Cloud, Browser AI (WebLLM), Local AI (Ollama)

• 14 customizable keyboard shortcuts

• 60+ voice commands for hands-free control

• 16 neurodivergent profiles (9 general + 7 STT-specific)

• 11 font options including OpenDyslexic, Lexend, and Atkinson Hyperlegible

• 35+ supported languages for translation

• 100+ languages for OCR text extraction

• 8 WebLLM models available for browser-native AI

• Unit tests: 997 passing across 28 test suites

• E2E tests: 120 manual test cases + 11 Playwright suites

• 20,000+ lines of carefully crafted code

Support Development

Love AssisT? Help us continue building accessible learning tools for everyone. Look for the Support button in the extension popup.

Support the Project →