Chrome extension disguising AI as Google Docs grew from joke to 500+ users
One developer felt self-conscious using ChatGPT in public, so they built a as a joke that wraps the AI chat interface to look like a page. The project unexpectedly reached over 500 and was featured by tech publication TechRadar. Based on user feedback, the developer added support for Claude (Anthropic's AI), introduced Microsoft Word and Notion-style visual themes, and rewrote the underlying code to cleanly handle multiple AI services.
The original disguise remains free, while the new themes and multi-AI support are offered as paid options. Keeping the visual design consistent across different AI platforms turned out to require far more work than expected, which drove the decision to charge for those extras.
Key points
- Started from a very specific personal discomfort (feeling awkward using AI in public) — not a market study
- Reached 500+ and earned press coverage without a marketing budget
- Free tier ( look) stays free; new themes and multi-AI support are the paid upsell
- Maintaining consistent UI across multiple AI platforms was unexpectedly time-consuming
- Iterated steadily on user feedback rather than shipping a big planned roadmap