ColibotAI
ColibotAI is a free, privacy-first Chrome extension that lets you translate, summarize, explain, and search selected web text using on-device AI or your own API key (GPT/Claude/Gemini/OpenRouter), with notes, page actions, and streaming results.
https://edoardoguzzi.com/colibotai?ref=producthunt
Product Information
Updated:Jun 16, 2026
What is ColibotAI
ColibotAI is an AI-powered browser extension for Chrome designed to help you work with online text directly where you read it. It enables one-click translation, summarization, and explanations of highlighted content, plus features like “Search with ChatGPT,” Quick Translate, and a Notes side panel to save and reuse outputs. Built with a calm, intuitive interface, it’s GDPR-compliant, requires no account, includes no tracking, and is free to use—either via Chrome’s on-device AI (when available) or by connecting your preferred AI provider with your own key.
Key Features of ColibotAI
ColibotAI is a free Chrome browser extension that lets you translate, summarize, explain, and further explore web text directly where you read it. It supports a hybrid AI approach: privacy-first on-device processing via Chrome’s built-in AI (Gemini Nano) when available, or “bring your own key” to use cloud models (Claude, GPT, Gemini, OpenRouter) or even your own OpenAI-compatible local/custom endpoint (e.g., Ollama/LM Studio). It emphasizes no account, no tracking, local key storage, optional notes, streaming outputs, follow-up questions, and one-click actions for selected text or entire pages.
Translate, Summarize, Explain (in-page): Highlight any text on a webpage and instantly translate it, condense it into key points, or get a contextual explanation via a small on-page toolbar and popover.
Hybrid AI engine (on-device or your own model/key): Run free, private on-device AI with Chrome’s built-in model, or connect your own provider key (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, OpenRouter) or an OpenAI-compatible custom/local endpoint.
Whole-page actions: Summarize an entire article (with selectable depth: Short/Medium/Long) or translate a full page in place with a one-click restore to the original.
Notes side panel: Save results, then search, annotate, export, and reuse them from a dedicated side panel for lightweight knowledge capture while browsing.
Streaming answers + follow-ups: See results appear live as they’re generated and ask follow-up questions on the same output without reselecting text, keeping the original context.
Token-saving reuse + key validation: Avoid repeated calls by reusing prior answers for near-identical text (configurable similarity threshold), and validate API keys with a zero-token check plus optional debug mode.
Use Cases of ColibotAI
Student study support: Translate readings, summarize chapters/articles, and get explanations of complex passages directly on academic sites, journals, and online course materials.
Professional research & briefings: Quickly condense long reports, news, or documentation into actionable takeaways, then save highlights to Notes for later review or sharing.
Customer support & knowledge base reading: Explain technical instructions, summarize troubleshooting steps, and translate user-reported issues across languages to speed up triage and resolution.
Multilingual content workflows: Translate snippets or entire pages for market research, competitor analysis, or localization checks without leaving the browser.
Privacy-sensitive teams using local models: Point ColibotAI to a local OpenAI-compatible endpoint (e.g., Ollama/LM Studio) to keep data on-device/on-prem while still getting AI assistance.
Deep-dive exploration via ChatGPT search handoff: Send selected text to “Search with ChatGPT” in a new tab to expand analysis, generate questions, or compare interpretations beyond the on-page popover.
Pros
Privacy-first design: no account, no tracking, no backend; on-device mode keeps text local, and BYOK sends directly to your chosen provider
Flexible model choice: supports major providers plus OpenAI-compatible local/custom endpoints
Productivity features: whole-page summarize/translate, Notes panel, streaming outputs, and follow-ups
Cost control: free on-device option and token-saving reuse for repeated text
Cons
On-device capabilities depend on Chrome’s built-in AI availability and supported languages/models
Using cloud models requires your own API key and incurs provider usage costs
Full-page translation/summarization and accuracy can vary by website structure and model choice
How to Use ColibotAI
1) Install ColibotAI: Download and install ColibotAI from the Chrome Web Store.
2) Choose how you want to run the AI (engine): Either use Chrome’s on-device AI (free/private, when available) or open ColibotAI Settings and add your own API key (OpenAI, Anthropic/Claude, Google/Gemini, OpenRouter) or point it to an OpenAI-compatible endpoint (e.g., Ollama, LM Studio, llama.cpp, or your own server).
3) (Optional) Pick a model/provider when using your own key: In Settings, select the provider and model you want to use. Your key is stored locally and is not synced.
4) Activate the extension UI: Use the default shortcut to toggle/activate ColibotAI (Ctrl+Shift+E on/off). If your setup uses the older/default activation shortcut, try Ctrl+Shift+0. Shortcuts can be changed in Chrome.
5) Select text on any webpage: Highlight the text you want to work with. A small toolbar/command bar appears near your selection.
6) Choose an action: Translate, Summarize, or Explain: Click “Translate”, “Summarize”, or “Explain” on the toolbar to run the selected action on your highlighted text.
7) View the result: Read the output in the popover/modal that appears. If streaming is enabled, you’ll see the answer appear live as it’s generated.
8) Copy or save the result to Notes: Use the copy button to copy the result, or save it to the Notes side panel for later reuse, search, annotation, export, or deletion.
9) Ask a follow-up (optional): From the result view, ask a follow-up question without re-selecting the text; ColibotAI keeps the original selection as context.
10) Use Notes side panel (optional): Open Notes with the default shortcut Ctrl+Shift+Y to browse saved items, search them, annotate, export, or delete them.
11) Use Quick Translate (optional): Open Quick Translate with Ctrl+Shift+U to translate text you type or paste via the floating panel.
12) Summarize the whole page (optional): Use “Summarize page” to condense an entire article in one click and choose the depth (Short/Medium/Long).
13) Translate the whole page (optional): Use “Translate page” to translate the page in place, then restore the original with one click.
14) Use “Search with ChatGPT” (optional): Choose “Search with ChatGPT” to send your selection to ChatGPT in a new tab for deeper exploration.
15) Request features or get community support (optional): Visit the ColibotAI Roadmap/Community page, create an account or log in, and post feature requests or support questions.
ColibotAI FAQs
ColibotAI is a free Chrome extension that lets you translate, summarize, and explain text directly on web pages where you read it.
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