Briefy

Briefy is a reading and research assistant built by Xmind Ltd., the company behind the mind mapping app Xmind. It works as a Chrome extension, a Safari extension, a Gmail add-on, and a web app. You open a page, a video, a PDF, or an email thread and click one button. Briefy reads the source and returns a structured summary instead of a wall of text. That makes it an AI summary tool for people who read more than they can remember.

The product's main idea is that a summary should match the way you plan to use it. A student revising for an exam may want a timeline, a consultant skimming a report may want a table, and a writer collecting ideas may want a mindmap. Briefy generates all four views from the same source and keeps each brief in a knowledge base so you can search, reopen, ask questions, and share it later.

One important caveat sits above everything else. Briefy's own site says the service will close on November 30, 2026, and that new subscriptions and credit purchases are no longer available. Existing users are told to download their files and saved content before that date. The tool still works for current accounts, but anyone starting fresh should treat it as a short term option rather than a long term home for research.

Getting Started

1. Install the Chrome or Safari extension, or open the web app, and create an account with an email address.
2. Open an article, a YouTube video, a PDF, or a Gmail thread, then click the Briefy button on the page.
3. Pick a view: overview for a quick read, table for comparisons, mindmap for structure, or timeline for events and processes.
4. Save the brief to your knowledge base, then ask follow-up questions, translate passages, or export the result before the service closes.