Video Highlight vs Readray (formerly Lilys AI)
Readray is a reading assistant for everything you read: papers, PDFs, articles and videos. Video Highlight is built for video you learn from, with the video, its notes, Summary, transcript and your highlights on one page.
Readray is the new name of LilysAI. It reads papers, textbooks, articles and videos with you, makes Key Points and Deep Research reports, and captures slides and charts from videos as frames in your notes. Its agent can chat with a whole folder of sources at once, and it has apps for desktop and phone. If you read as much as you watch, Readray is the better choice. If most of what you learn from is video, Video Highlight is built for that one job.
Video Highlight vs Readray: feature by feature
| Feature | Video Highlight | Readray |
|---|---|---|
| Pictures from the video in the notes | Video Highlight watches the whole video for you and keeps pictures of the screen, picked for you | Slides and charts on screen captured as frames into your notes4 |
| What you get from a video | Summary with times, the transcript beside the player, Highlights, Ask, and notes with pictures (Deep Watch) | A Key Points report or a Deep Research report5 |
| Each point opens the video at its time | Every summary line links to its point in the video6 | |
| Ask about a video | Ask about one video; answers carry times that move the player | An agent that can chat with a whole folder of sources at once9 |
| Video links | YouTube, Vimeo and Dailymotion links | Paste a YouTube share link or video URL6 |
| Your own audio and video files | Upload as Private files; video files also get Deep Watch notes (paid plans) | Upload audio or video files8 |
| Free plan | Summary, Transcript, Highlights and Ask on YouTube, Vimeo and Dailymotion links | Get started free12 |
Comparison based on publicly available information as of November 2026; prices and features may have changed. Found something outdated? Tell us and we'll fix it.
All product names and brands are property of their respective owners and are used for identification only; no affiliation or endorsement is implied.
Sources
Updated November 2026
- Readray's news post of 26 October 2026: "LilysAI is reborn as Readray." readray.ai, checked November 12, 2026.
- lilys.ai answers with a permanent redirect (HTTP 301) to readray.ai. lilys.ai, checked November 12, 2026.
- Readray's homepage: "Readray reads everything you read on your computer together with you: papers, videos, textbooks, articles." readray.ai, checked November 12, 2026.
- Readray's homepage: "Not just the transcript. Slides and charts on screen are captured as frames straight into your notes." readray.ai, checked November 12, 2026.
- Readray's homepage: "Choose a Key Points report or a Deep Research report, depending on what you need." readray.ai, checked November 12, 2026.
- Readray's YouTube summary page says to paste the share link or video URL, and that every summary line links to its exact point in the video. readray.ai, checked November 12, 2026.
- Readray's YouTube summary page: "Summarize any video in any language into your preferred language." readray.ai, checked November 12, 2026.
- Readray's audio summary page: "Upload meeting, lecture or podcast audio", with a box to drop an audio or video file. readray.ai, checked November 12, 2026.
- Readray's homepage: "Ask it to sort your sources into topic folders, and chat with an entire folder at once." readray.ai, checked November 12, 2026.
- Readray's homepage lists an "MCP server that lets AI tools read your library". readray.ai, checked November 12, 2026.
- Readray's homepage lists a Chrome extension, a desktop app for Mac and Windows, and an iOS and Android app. readray.ai, checked November 12, 2026.
- Readray's homepage offers "Get started free". readray.ai, checked November 12, 2026.
When Readray is the better fit
- You read papers, PDFs, textbooks and articles as much as you watch videos, and want them all in one library.
- You want to chat with a whole folder of sources at once. Video Highlight's Ask works on one video at a time.
- You watch videos in another language and want the summary in your own.
When Video Highlight is the better fit
- Most of what you learn from is video, and you want the video, its notes, Summary, transcript, Highlights and Ask together on one page.
- You need notes from a video you can only watch in your browser. Record it playing in a Chrome tab, with its sound. The extension never uses your microphone or camera.
- You want to save your own highlights as you go. Press H to save a highlight; with the extension, it keeps a picture of the screen.
- You want to send notes to someone. Notes from a YouTube video can be shared by link, and the reader can save them to their own account.
- You want the notes as a file. Download PDF gives you the notes with their pictures, and in a PDF from a YouTube video the times are links.
Explore related features
Video Highlight watches the whole video for you. Notes with pictures of the screen, each point at its time.
Turn a long video into notes with pictures and times, then open the video only where you need it.
Record a video playing in a Chrome tab, with its sound. It never uses your microphone or camera.
Press H to save a highlight, add your note, and come back to it by its time.
Video Highlight vs Readray: FAQs
Is Readray the same product as Lilys AI?
Yes. In October 2026 LilysAI announced that it is reborn as Readray, and lilys.ai now takes you to readray.ai. If you are looking for a Lilys AI alternative, this page compares the product under its new name.
Is Video Highlight a good Lilys AI alternative?
If you learn mostly from video, yes. Readray is built for reading of all kinds, from papers to videos. Video Highlight does one job: it turns the videos you learn from into notes with pictures and times, next to the video, its Summary and its transcript. If you read as many papers and PDFs as you watch videos, Readray covers more.
Do both put pictures from the video into the notes?
Yes. Readray says it captures slides and charts on screen as frames in your notes. Video Highlight watches the whole video for you. It looks at what is on screen and reads what is said, and keeps the key points with pictures of the screen. Each point has its time, and on screen each time opens the video there.
Can I use Video Highlight for PDFs and articles?
No. Video Highlight works with videos, and with audio files you upload as Private files. For research papers, PDFs and web articles, Readray is the better choice.
Can I chat with all my videos at once?
No. Ask answers questions about one video at a time, and its answers carry times that move the player. To find something across your library, search it by title or by what was said, and see the line that matched. Readray says its agent can chat with a whole folder at once.
Can I get notes from a video I can only watch in my browser?
Yes, with the Chrome extension. Record a video playing in a Chrome tab, with its sound. Press H to save highlights while it records. When you stop, the recording goes to your library as a private video and Video Highlight makes your notes. The extension never uses your microphone or camera. Recording needs a paid plan.
Can other AI tools read my Video Highlight library?
Yes. The Video Highlight MCP lets an AI assistant list your videos, search them, and read a video's transcript, Summary and highlights. Readray also has an MCP server for its library.
Hours of video. Minutes of reading.
Researchers, professionals, and creators use it on YouTube videos and on their own recordings