The UX problem with AI browser extensions

The dominant UX pattern for AI browser extensions goes like this: notice the problem → click extension icon → panel opens → paste or select text → click summarise → wait → read result → close panel → return to page → realise you lost context.

That's eight steps. For a tool that exists to save you time.

The core insight behind SkipTheTerms was simple: the trigger — landing on a Terms of Service page — is completely predictable. The URL contains /terms, /privacy, /legal. The page title says it. The extension doesn't need to wait for the user to initiate anything. It can detect the context automatically, pre-trigger the summarisation in the background, and surface the result with a single badge. No panel. No copy-paste. No mental context switch.

This collapsed the interaction: arrive at terms page → see badge → click once → read summary.

The backend had to match this UX promise. If the summary takes 8 seconds, the friction isn't gone — it's just relocated. Supabase caching on document hash was the fix. Cache hits return in 50ms. Fast enough to feel instant. Not fast. Instant. There's a difference, and users can feel it.

The thing I most underestimated: backend latency isn't just an engineering metric. It is a UX decision. Every second a user waits is a second they're thinking about the wait, not the result.

Zero-friction doesn't mean fewer features. It means removing the distance between the problem and the answer.