AI Overview Extractor - Browser Extension

🔍 Extract AI Overview content from Google Search to Markdown format

Extension automatically detects AI Overview on Google results pages and enables exporting content along with sources to readable Markdown format.

Chrome Extension: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/ai-overview-extractor/cbkdfibgmhicgnmmdanlhnebbgonhjje
Firefox Add-on: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ai-overview-extractor/

🚀 Features

✅ Automatic detection of AI Overview on Google Search (#m-x-content container)
📋 Content extraction to Markdown format using TurndownService library
🧹 Advanced cleaning - removes MSC elements, CSS, JavaScript and hidden elements
🔍 Automatic extraction of search keyword from query
🔗 Source extraction with cleaned Google URLs
💾 Copy to clipboard with one click
📥 Download as .md file with timestamp
🚀 Webhooks - automatic sending of data to external APIs
⚙️ Webhook configuration - easy URL setup and connection testing
🎨 Clean interface with preview and notifications
🔄 DOM Observer - automatic button addition for new results
🤖 Intelligent State Machine - Predictable automation flow control
🛡️ Circuit Breaker Protection - Automatic failure detection and recovery
🔄 Unified Detection System - Robust container detection with multiple fallback strategies
⚙️ Advanced Debugging - Real-time system status monitoring and reset capabilities

📦 Installation

Method 1: Chrome/Chromium - Developer Mode

Download files - copy all files to ai-overview-extractor/ folder
Open Chrome and navigate to chrome://extensions/
Enable "Developer mode" (toggle in top right corner)
Click "Load unpacked extension"
Select ai-overview-extractor/ folder
Done! Extension will be loaded

Method 2: Firefox - Developer Mode

Download files - copy all files to ai-overview-extractor/ folder
Open Firefox and navigate to about:debugging
Click "This Firefox" in left menu
Click "Load Temporary Add-on..."
Select manifest.json file from extension folder
Done! Extension will be loaded

Method 3: Firefox - Permanent Installation

Go to about:config in Firefox
Find xpinstall.signatures.required and set to false
Pack extension folder to .zip file
Change extension to .xpi
Drag .xpi file to Firefox

🎯 Usage

Basic extraction

Search for something on Google (e.g. "diabetes")
Wait for AI Overview to appear
Click "Show more" button
Click "Show all"
Click "📋 Extract to Markdown" button
Copy content or download as file

Webhook configuration

Click "📋 Extract to Markdown" button
In "🔗 Webhook Configuration" section enter your API URL
Test connection with "🧪 Test" button
Save configuration with "💾 Save" button
Send data with "🚀 Send webhook" button

Example webhook URLs

https://your-api.com/ai-overview-webhook
https://example.com/webhook-endpoint
https://api.your-domain.com/receive-ai-data
http://localhost:5678/webhook/ai-overview-extractor  # n8n locally

🔗 n8n Integration

The extension is fully compatible with n8n and includes a ready-made template workflow for comprehensive automation!

🚀 Ready n8n Template

In the workflows_templates/ folder you'll find ready workflow AI_Overviews_Extractor_Plugin.json which contains:

📋 Workflow features:

Webhook endpoint - automatic data reception from extension
HTML→Markdown processing - content conversion
Google Sheets saving - automatic results storage
AI Guidelines Generator - LLM generates SEO guidelines based on AI Overview
Automation - scheduler every 15 minutes + manual trigger
Page analysis - fetching and analyzing content from URLs

🛠️ Template installation:

In n8n go to: Templates → Import from JSON
Load file: workflows_templates/AI_Overviews_Extractor_Plugin.json
Configure nodes:
- Google Sheets (OAuth connection)
- OpenRouter Chat Model (API key)
- Set Google Sheets URL in nodes
Activate workflow
Copy webhook URL (from Webhook node)

⚙️ Extension configuration:

Webhook URL: http://localhost:5678/webhook/ai-overview-extractor
Test connection - should return status 200
Save configuration

📊 What the workflow does:

Receives data from extension (keyword, markdown, HTML, sources)
Saves to sheet all AI Overview data
Analyzes pages from Google Sheets (myURL column)
Generates SEO guidelines using AI (compares page content with AI Overview)
Updates sheet with generated guidelines
Automatic execution every 15 minutes for new tasks

🎯 Benefits:

Full automation - from extraction to analysis
Knowledge base - all AI Overviews in one place
SEO insights - AI guidelines on what to add to page
Scalability - batch processing of multiple URLs
Monitoring - tracking changes in AI Overview

🔧 n8n Requirements:

n8n v1.95.3+ (locally or in cloud)
Google Sheets API (for data saving)
OpenRouter API (for AI guidelines) or other LLM provider
Webhook endpoint active on port 5678

📁 File Structure

ai-overview-extractor/
├── manifest.json      # Extension configuration (Manifest V3)
├── styles.css         # User interface styles
├── README.md          # This documentation
├── LICENCE            # MIT License
├── .gitignore         # Files ignored by Git
├── AI_SUMMARY.md      # 🤖 CRITICAL: Technical documentation for AI/LLM systems - main project overview
├── src/              # Source files
│   ├── content.js                    # Main orchestrator with AIOverviewExtractor class
│   ├── automation-state-machine.js  # State machine for automation flow control
│   ├── automation-circuit-breaker.js # Circuit breaker protection against failures
│   ├── container-detection-manager.js # Unified container detection system
│   ├── settings-manager.js           # Extension settings management
│   ├── auto-expander-overviews.js    # Automatic AI overview expansion
│   ├── auto-expander-sources.js      # Automatic source list expansion
│   ├── auto-webhook.js               # Automatic webhook dispatch
│   ├── extraction-orchestrator.js    # Manual extraction coordination
│   ├── content-extractor.js          # Content and source extraction
│   ├── markdown-generator.js         # Markdown conversion
│   ├── ui-manager.js                 # In-page UI management
│   ├── popup.js                      # Extension popup management
│   ├── popup.html                    # Popup interface structure
│   ├── popup.css                     # Popup interface styling
│   ├── webhook-manager.js            # Webhook management and POST requests
│   ├── turndown.js                   # HTML→Markdown conversion library
│   └── README.md                     # Source code documentation
├── icons/            # Extension icons
│   ├── icon-16.png
│   ├── icon-32.png  
│   ├── icon-48.png
│   ├── icon-96.png
│   └── icon-128.png
├── images/           # Documentation images
│   ├── ai-overviews-extractor.gif
│   ├── ai-overview-extractor-001.jpg
│   └── ai_overviews_extractor_logo.png
├── workflows_templates/  # Ready n8n workflow template
│   ├── AI_Overviews_Extractor_Plugin.json  # Comprehensive n8n workflow
│   └── README.md                            # Workflow documentation
├── n8n-template-submission/  # n8n Template Store submission files
│   ├── AI_Overviews_Extractor_Plugin.json  # Template workflow file
│   ├── README.md                            # Template description
│   ├── setup-instructions.md               # Installation instructions
│   ├── template-description.md             # Detailed template description
│   └── template-name.txt                   # Template name
└── docs/             # Publication and legal documentation
    ├── chrome-web-store-description.md         # Chrome Web Store description
    ├── chrome-web-store-privacy-justifications.md # Chrome privacy justifications
    ├── chrome-web-store-permission-justifications.md # Chrome permission justifications
    ├── chrome-web-store-appeal-response.md     # Chrome Store rejection response
    ├── firefox-release-notes.md                # Firefox Add-ons release notes
    ├── firefox-reviewer-notes.md               # Firefox reviewer notes
    └── privacy-policy.md                       # Privacy policy

⚙️ Requirements

Chrome/Chromium (latest version) or Firefox 58+ (Firefox Quantum)
Manifest V3 - modern extension standard
Page: google.com/search
Language: Works with Google interface in any language
Permissions: storage, host_permissions: *://www.google.com/*

🔧 Configuration

Extension works automatically on:

*://www.google.com/search*

To add other Google domains, edit content_scripts.matches section in manifest.json:

"content_scripts": [
  {
    "matches": [
      "*://www.google.com/search*",
      "*://www.google.pl/search*",
      "*://www.google.de/search*"
    ],
    "js": ["src/turndown.js", "src/content.js"],
    "css": ["styles.css"],
    "run_at": "document_end"
  }
]

🔍 How it works

AI Overview Detection

Looks for #m-x-content container on page
Uses MutationObserver to monitor DOM changes
Automatically adds button when container is found
State Machine Architecture - Predictable automation flow: IDLE → EXPANDING_OVERVIEW → EXPANDING_SOURCES → SENDING_WEBHOOK → COMPLETE

Content Extraction

Removes elements with data-subtree="msc" (MSC elements)
Removes elements with style="display:none" (hidden elements)
Removes sources container before conversion
Converts HTML to Markdown using TurndownService

Source Extraction

Finds sources container div[style="height: 100%;"]
Extracts links from visible list ul[class]
Improved button detection - Fixed jsaction selector for reliable expansion
Cleans Google URLs (removes /url? wrappers)
Filters duplicates and invalid links

Automation System

Circuit Breaker Protection - Prevents infinite loops and system failures
Unified Container Detection - Multiple fallback strategies with debouncing
Enhanced Debugging - getAutomationStatus() and resetAutomation() methods
Robust Error Handling - Automatic fallback to manual mode

Webhooks

Automatic sending of data to external APIs via POST method
UI configuration - easy webhook URL setup
Connection testing - check if webhook works
Secure storage - URL saved in chrome.storage
Complete payload - keyword, markdown, HTML and sources
Error handling - 5s timeout and informative messages

Webhook data format:

{
  "timestamp": "2025-01-06T12:30:00Z",
  "searchQuery": "search keyword",
  "aiOverview": {
    "content": "markdown content",
    "htmlContent": "cleaned HTML"
  },
  "sources": [
    {"title": "Title", "url": "https://url.com"}
  ],
  "metadata": {
    "googleSearchUrl": "https://google.com/search?q=...",
    "extractedAt": "2025-01-06T12:30:00Z",
    "userAgent": "Mozilla/5.0...",
    "extensionVersion": "1.0.8"
  }
}

🐛 Troubleshooting

Button doesn't appear

Check if AI Overview is actually on the page
Open console (F12) and look for [AI Overview Extractor] logs
Check if #m-x-content element exists
Refresh page and wait for full loading

Sources not expanding automatically

Check console for [AutoExpanderSources] logs
Verify auto-expand sources is enabled in popup settings
Try refreshing page if button detection fails
Check for jsaction attribute changes in new Google updates

No content in markdown

AI Overview may not be fully loaded
Try again after a few seconds
Check console logs - they should show extraction process
Check for JavaScript errors

Copy error

Check if browser has clipboard permissions
Try downloading file instead of copying
Check if page is served over HTTPS

Source issues

Check console logs about found links
Some sources may be filtered (Google, support etc.)
URLs are automatically cleaned from Google wrappers

Automation issues

Use getAutomationStatus() in console to check system state
Use resetAutomation() to reset state machine if stuck
Check circuit breaker status in console logs
Verify settings are properly saved in popup

🔄 Updates

To update the extension:

Chrome/Chromium:

Download new files
Replace old files in extension folder
Go to chrome://extensions/
Click "Reload" on the extension

Firefox:

Download new files
Replace old files in extension folder
Go to about:debugging
Click "Reload" on the extension

📝 Changelog

v1.0.8 (current)

🐛 Fixed auto-expand sources functionality - Fixed critical issue where sources were not expanding automatically
🔧 Button selector bug - Fixed jsaction selector from ^="trigger" to *="trigger" to properly match jsaction="trigger.Wyhgxe"
⏱️ Timing improvements - Increased delays for better DOM loading stability (1500ms, 1000ms, 3000ms)
🔍 Expansion detection logic - Made areSourcesExpanded() more conservative to prevent false positives
🛡️ Button clicking prevention - Added buttonClicked flag to prevent multiple clicking attempts
🔧 Reliable Source Expansion - Fixed button detection with improved jsaction selectors

v1.0.7

🏗️ Major Architecture Refactor - Replaced callback-based system with state machine for predictable automation flow
🔧 State Machine Implementation - Clear automation states: IDLE → EXPANDING_OVERVIEW → EXPANDING_SOURCES → SENDING_WEBHOOK → COMPLETE
🛡️ Circuit Breaker Protection - Added circuit breakers to prevent infinite loops and system failures
🎯 Unified Container Detection - Single manager for all container detection with debouncing and multiple strategies
🐛 Fixed Automation Issues - Resolved multiple button clicks, infinite loops, and unpredictable behavior
📊 Enhanced Debugging - Added getAutomationStatus() and resetAutomation() methods for system monitoring
🔍 Improved Reliability - Robust error handling with automatic fallback to manual mode
⚙️ Modular Design - Clean separation of concerns with well-defined module interfaces

v1.0.6

✨ Auto-expand AI overviews - Automatically clicks "Show more" button on collapsed AI overviews
🔗 Auto-expand sources - Automatically expands collapsed source sections
🚀 Auto-webhook functionality - Automatically sends extracted data to configured endpoints
⚙️ Settings management - Persistent storage with Chrome storage API
🎨 Extension popup interface - Modern settings panel accessible from browser toolbar
🔄 Real-time synchronization - Changes applied immediately across all tabs

v1.0.5

🔧 Chrome Web Store compliance - removed unnecessary activeTab permission
📝 Documentation update - updated all permission justifications and descriptions
✅ Verification - confirmed extension works with minimal permissions only
🏪 Store ready - prepared for Chrome Web Store resubmission

v1.0.4

🌍 English translation - complete interface and documentation translation
🎨 UI improvements - updated button text and user messages
📝 Documentation - fully translated README and user guides
🧹 Code cleanup - improved console messages and comments

v1.0.3

🚀 NEW: Webhooks - automatic data sending to external APIs
⚙️ Webhook configuration - UI for URL setup and testing
🧹 Improved cleaning - removal of CSS, JavaScript and inline styles
💾 Chrome Storage - secure configuration storage
🔒 HTTPS validation - webhook security
⏱️ Timeout handling - error handling and timeouts (5s)

v1.0.2

🔧 Stability and compatibility fixes
📱 Manifest V3 support
🌐 Chrome and Firefox compatibility

v1.0.1

🐛 Source extraction bug fixes
⚡ Performance optimizations
🔍 Improved AI Overview detection

v1.0.0

✨ First version
📋 AI Overview extraction to Markdown with TurndownService
🔗 Source extraction with Google URL cleaning
🧹 Advanced content filtering (MSC, hidden elements)
💾 Copy and download with timestamp
🎨 User interface with notifications
🔄 DOM observer for dynamic changes

🤝 Contributing

Project is open source! You can:

🐛 Report bugs via Issues on GitHub
💡 Suggest features
🔧 Send Pull Requests
⭐ Star if you like the project

GitHub: https://github.com/romek-rozen/ai-overview-extractor

👨‍💻 Author

Roman Rozenberger

GitHub: https://github.com/romek-rozen
Website: https://rozenberger.com

📄 License

MIT License - you can use, modify and distribute for free.

Useful? Leave a ⭐ and share with others!

Created with ❤️ for SEO and digital marketing community.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
.github		.github
docs		docs
icons		icons
images		images
n8n-template-submission		n8n-template-submission
src		src
workflows_templates		workflows_templates
.gitignore		.gitignore
AI_SUMMARY.md		AI_SUMMARY.md
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
LICENCE		LICENCE
README.md		README.md
README_updated_temp.md		README_updated_temp.md
manifest.json		manifest.json
styles.css		styles.css

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