Feature: AI-Powered Hackathon Assistant & UX Refinement

[Chukwudebere-ferd]

This PR introduces an intelligent AI Chatbot Assistant to the Hack4COOU landing page. The assistant is powered by Gemini 2.5 Flash and is designed to provide participants with instant, accurate information about the event, schedule, and tracks, replacing the legacy static FAQ section for a more dynamic user experience.

Key Features

1. Intelligent Assistant: Integrated a floating AI chatbot pre-loaded with comprehensive hackathon context (prizes, timeline, training tracks, any thing about coou ,etc.).
2. Performance & Security: Built a secure server-side API route (/api/chat) with direct HTTP calls to Gemini 2.5 Flash to ensure fast responses while keeping API keys hidden.

UX Enhancements:
Added a "Ask me anything!" discoverability tooltip with slide in animations to encourage engagement.
Replaced all raw emojis with Lucide icons for a more professional and modern design.
Implemented a "Typing indicator" and suggested questions for a seamless chat flow.

Cleanup:
Removed the static FAQ section and its navigation links to streamline the landing page.

Technical Notes
Environment Variables: A new GEMINI_API_KEY is required. I've added a placeholder to
.env.example

Dependencies: Added lucide-react for iconography.
Responsiveness: The chat widget is fully responsive and matches the site's dark theme.

How to Test
Add your GEMINI_API_KEY to your (or i can send you mine privately)
.env.local
file.
Run npm run dev.
Interact with the "Sparkle" button in the bottom-right corner.
Try asking: "When is the registration deadline?" or "What are the training tracks?"

[vercel]

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