AI Side Hustles
Business Model

AI Chrome Extensions

Founders who built browser extensions that add AI features to sites people already use, such as ChatGPT organisers and research tools for Amazon sellers. Figures below are computed from the cases listed on this page and are what each source reports, not typical results.

Browser extensions with AI features, sold as subscriptions or one-time licences.

Superpower ChatGPT social preview: "Turn ChatGPT into your AI workspace", with a mockup of folders and tools.
A laptop showing revenue charts on a desk beside an open notebook and coffee
A laptop showing revenue charts on a desk beside an open notebook and coffee
Startup Cost in Our Cases
About $32 for the first version in the one case that discloses a cost
Time to First Revenue in Our Cases
Within 30 days in the one case that says
Published Cases
6 Published
Independently Documented
1 of 6

Strengths Seen in Our Cases

  • Small scope, so a first version can be built quickly
  • The Chrome Web Store helps people find extensions
  • Sits inside tools users already have open

Known Risks

  • The host site can change and break the extension
  • Browser store policy changes
  • The host product can add the same feature
Gallery

Images and videos from AI Chrome Extensions cases

Superpower ChatGPT social preview: "Turn ChatGPT into your AI workspace", with a mockup of folders and tools.Image: Superpower ChatGPT
Superpower ChatGPT (Saeed Ezzati)

How the model works

General guidance

A founder builds a browser extension that adds an AI feature to a site people already use, such as ChatGPT or Amazon.

The first version is usually small and quick to build.

Users find extensions through the Chrome Web Store, social posts and communities.

How it earns

General guidance

Subscriptions or one-time licences, sometimes with a free version.

Some extensions grow into full web products.

General guidance is our editorial summary and contains no figures. Every number on this page comes from a linked case.

Reported results

What the cases report, and how well it is backed up

Figures are as reported by each source, for different periods and metrics. They are not typical results. How we label evidence.

Case Studies

AI Chrome Extensions Cases

6 case studies
Superpower ChatGPT social preview: "Turn ChatGPT into your AI workspace", with a mockup of folders and tools.
Image: Superpower ChatGPT
August 18, 2024
1 source

A solo developer's ChatGPT browser extension at $20,000 to $30,000 MRR

Superpower ChatGPT (Saeed Ezzati)

Saeed Ezzati, a software engineer, learned to build browser extensions and launched his first one within two or three days. Superpower ChatGPT adds features such as folders and search to ChatGPT. He told Starter Story it was at about $20,000 to $30,000 MRR and that he is the only person working on it.

Read original source
Reported figure
$20,000 to $30,000 MRR(recurring revenue)
Evidence levelSelf-Reported
Tools:
Inspect Case
A laptop showing revenue charts on a desk beside an open notebook and coffee
June 2, 2026
1 source

An Amazon seller with no coding background built a research tool in 48 hours with AI and grew it to $30K MRR

Launch Fast (Hasaam Bhatti)

Hasaam Bhatti worked a corporate job and ran two Amazon brands on the side when he found the AI code editor Cursor. With no computer science degree and no coding experience, he built a tool for the product research he had been doing by hand in spreadsheets. He offered a sellers coaching community he belonged to a 48 hour build in exchange for a partnership. He says Launch Fast hit $10K MRR on day 30, $21.8K by day 90 and $30K MRR a few months later.

Read original source
Reported figure
$30K MRR(recurring revenue)
Evidence levelSelf-Reported
Tools:
Inspect Case
A laptop showing revenue charts on a desk beside an open notebook and coffee
October 14, 2026
1 source

A dictation app built for his dad makes $16K to $20K a month as a side project

Voicy (Kourosh)

Kourosh grew up in Tehran, studied business in London and worked as a fintech product manager. While he was sick in hospital, he watched his dad type slowly all day and wished he could give him good dictation everywhere. He launched Voicy as a Chrome extension two years ago, then built Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android apps. It runs as a side project next to his nine to five and, he says, makes $16K to $20K a month, with about 1,400 active subscriptions.

Read original source
Reported figure
$16K to $20K a month(revenue)
Evidence levelSelf-Reported
Tools:
Inspect Case
A laptop showing revenue charts on a desk beside an open notebook and coffee
April 19, 2023
1 source

A non-programmer used ChatGPT to build a Chrome extension in 10 hours, took $1,000 in pre-orders in a day, then sold it

Type Slash AI (Ihor Stefurak)

Ihor Stefurak, a Ukrainian entrepreneur with a portfolio of five businesses, built Type Slash AI, a Chrome extension that runs an AI prompt typed as /ai in any text box. He says the launch tweet reached 500,000 people and brought $1,000 of pre-orders within 24 hours. He sold it on Acquire after one week of listing.

Read original source
Reported figure
$1,000 in pre-orders(revenue)
Evidence levelSelf-Reported
Tools:
Inspect Case
A laptop showing revenue charts on a desk beside an open notebook and coffee
July 23, 2026
1 source

Two developers turned their own ChatGPT clutter into a browser extension with a five-figure MRR and 35,000 users

AI Toolbox (Adi Leviim and Mohammad El-Esawi)

Adi Leviim is a full-stack developer with more than seven years of building products, and he runs Infi Developments with cofounder Mohammad El-Esawi. In mid-2024 they both used ChatGPT every day and had hundreds of conversations they could not find again. They built AI Toolbox, a browser extension that adds nested folders, full-text search, bookmarks, a prompt library and bulk export. It launched on the Chrome Web Store in September 2024 and, they say, now has 35,000+ active users in 150+ countries and a five-figure MRR.

Read original source
Reported figure
5-figure MRR (more than $10K a month)(recurring revenue)
Evidence levelSelf-Reported
Tools:none named in the source
Inspect Case
A laptop showing revenue charts on a desk beside an open notebook and coffee
October 20, 2026
1 source

Math AI, a Chrome extension that solves math from a screenshot, shows $1,124 in Stripe-verified MRR

Math AI (Andrew Kalita)

Andrew Kalita runs Math AI, a Google Chrome extension that solves math problems from a screenshot. TrustMRR shows $55,756 in all-time revenue. The listing says all traffic comes from SEO and support takes about 20 minutes a week.

Read original source
Reported figure
$1,124 MRR(recurring revenue)
Evidence levelIndependently Documented
Tools:none named in the source
Inspect Case
Startup costs

What the cases say they spent

The other 5 sources do not disclose a startup cost.

Risks

Challenges reported in these cases

Tools

Tools for AI Chrome Extensions

ChatGPT logo and wordmark on a blue and orange gradient.Official image

ChatGPT

AI Assistant

OpenAI's general-purpose AI assistant. In our documented cases it is used to draft reports, brainstorm product slogans, write first drafts of client posts, and generate code for digital products.

Free plan: Yes. Free plan with limits on uploads, image creation, and deep research.

Pricing: Free plan, plus paid Go, Plus, and Pro plans for individuals and Business and Enterprise plans for teams. Exact prices were not shown in the version of the page we could read; check the official page for your region.

Checked October 17, 2026

Used in 51 documented casesView Profile
Claude logo and wordmark on a cream background.Official image

Claude

AI Assistant

Anthropic's AI assistant. Documented cases use it to write long video scripts, draft newsletter summaries, and run client offers on a single monthly subscription.

Free plan: Yes. Free plan for chat on web, desktop, and mobile.

Pricing: Free plan. Pro is $20/month billed monthly or $17/month billed annually. Max starts at $100/month. Team seats start at $20/seat/month billed annually.

Checked October 17, 2026

Used in 35 documented casesView Profile

Cursor

AI Coding

AI code editor with an agent that writes and edits code. Several documented founders say they built their apps with it, often with little or no prior coding.

Free plan: Yes. Free plan with limited agent and chat requests.

Pricing: Free $0/month with limited AI usage. Plus $8/month, Premium $30/month, Super $100/month, Ultra $200/month, Teams from $30 per user per month. Third-party model usage is billed separately at API list price. Plans are sold together with X and Grok features.

Checked October 20, 2026

Used in 18 documented casesView Profile
More tools

Other tools and platforms used in this model

Chrome Web StoreWhere Chrome extensions are listed (official site, opens in a new tab)

Links go to each tool's official site. None of these links are affiliate links.

FAQ

AI Chrome Extensions: common questions

How much do people make with AI Chrome Extensions and AI?

Across the 3 of our 6 sourced cases that report a monthly figure, amounts range from $1,124 to $30,000 a month, with a median of $20,000. These are what each source reports, not typical results.

How much does it cost to start?

About $32 for the first version in the one case that discloses a cost. 1 of 6 cases disclose a startup cost.

How long until the first dollar?

Within 30 days in the one case that says. This comes from what our cases report.

Which AI tools do these cases use most?

ChatGPT (3 cases), Cursor (2 cases), Claude (1 case). Only tools named in the sources are counted.

How reliable are these income figures?

1 of 6 cases are independently documented, meaning a news outlet says it reviewed records. 5 are self-reported. Every case links its source.

What are the main risks?

The host site can change and break the extension. Browser store policy changes. The host product can add the same feature.

How many of these cases say when they made their first dollar?

1 of 6 cases state a time to first revenue. For example: Launch Fast (Hasaam Bhatti): "Within 30 days (the founder says it reached $10K MRR on day 30)". The rest do not say, so treat any single timeline as one example, not a norm.

What went wrong or held these cases back?

6 of 6 cases list limitations or risks drawn from their sources. Examples: Superpower ChatGPT (Saeed Ezzati): Depends entirely on ChatGPT's interface, which can change or add the same features; Launch Fast (Hasaam Bhatti): The revenue figures are self-reported; Voicy (Kourosh): The figures are self-reported. Each case page lists them in full.

Do I have to report this income to the IRS if I never get a 1099-K?

Yes. The IRS says that whether or not you receive a Form 1099-K, you must report all income from selling goods or services on your tax return. Payment apps and online marketplaces must send a 1099-K when payments for goods or services total over $20,000 in more than 200 transactions, but they may send one for lower amounts. Source: IRS, "Understanding your Form 1099-K" (irs.gov/businesses/understanding-your-form-1099-k), checked 2026-10-20. General information, not tax advice.

Do I owe self-employment tax on side hustle income in the US?

According to the IRS, you must pay self-employment tax and file Schedule SE if your net earnings from self-employment were $400 or more. The rate is 15.3% (12.4% Social Security and 2.9% Medicare), and you may need to pay estimated taxes quarterly. Source: IRS, "Self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes)" (irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/self-employment-tax-social-security-and-medicare-taxes), checked 2026-10-20. General information, not tax advice.

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