How this visually impaired engineer uses Claude Code to make his life more accessible | Joe McCormick

2026-02-11 · Source: Lenny's Newsletter · Field: Technology & Digital — Software Development & Engineering, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning · Depth: Intermediate, extended

Summary

Joe McCormick, a principal software engineer at Babylist with a vision impairment, demonstrates how he uses AI to create custom Chrome extensions that enhance accessibility and efficiency in his daily work, particularly within Slack. He showcases an image description tool that, with a Ctrl+Shift+D shortcut, describes images and allows follow-up queries, and a spell checker (Ctrl+Shift+S) that instantly corrects typos in any web input field. McCormick emphasizes that these micro-apps, built with tools like Claude Code and OpenAI, offer faster, more tailored solutions than general-purpose AI browsers. He then walks through building a link summarizer extension, highlighting his efficient workflow using dictated PRDs, custom Claude skills for Chrome extensions, and keyboard shortcuts to navigate and refine the code, demonstrating a rapid development cycle for personal software.

Key takeaway

For AI Engineers or Software Engineers seeking to personalize their digital environment, consider building custom micro-applications, such as Chrome extensions, to address specific workflow frictions or accessibility needs. Your ability to rapidly prototype and iterate with AI tools like Claude Code means that even small, recurring tasks can be automated with a quick return on investment, significantly boosting your daily productivity and user experience. Focus on consistent UI/UX patterns for efficiency.

Key insights

AI-powered personal software, like custom Chrome extensions, significantly enhances accessibility and workflow efficiency.

Principles

• Prioritize custom, fast micro-apps over general AI tools.
• Automate recurring tasks to maximize long-term efficiency.
• Leverage AI for rapid prototyping and iterative development.

Method

Define a PRD, use AI (e.g., Claude Code, OpenAI) with custom skills for scaffolding, dictate prompts, and refine code iteratively, employing keyboard shortcuts for efficiency and accessibility.

In practice

• Build Chrome extensions for Slack image descriptions.
• Create a universal web spell checker with a keyboard shortcut.
• Develop a link summarizer for quick content digestion.

Topics

• AI for Accessibility
• Chrome Extensions
• Claude Code
• Personal Software Development
• Multimodal AI

Best for: Software Engineer, AI Engineer, AI Product Manager

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by Lenny's Newsletter.