Optical isolators today are exclusively built on magneto-optic principles but are not readily implemented within photonic integrated circuits. So far, no magnetless alternative1–22 has managed to simultaneously combine linearity (that is, no frequency shift), linear response (that is, input–output scaling), ultralow insertion loss and large directional contrast on-chip. Here we demonstrate an electrically driven optical isolator design that leverages the unbeatable transparency of a short, high-quality dielectric waveguide, with the strong attenuation from a critically coupled absorber. Our concept is implemented using a lithium niobate racetrack resonator in which phonon-mediated13 photonic Autler–Townes splitting10,16,23,24 breaks the chiral symmetry of the resonant modes. We demonstrate isolators at wavelengths one octave apart near 1,550 nm and 780 nm, fabricated from the same lithium-niobate-on-insulator wafer. Linear isolation is demonstrated with simultaneously <1 dB insertion loss, >39 dB contrast and 10 dB bandwidth up to ~200 MHz.Non-magnetic optical isolators are demonstrated using phonon-mediated photonic Autler–Townes splitting. The on-chip lithium niobate devices simultaneously achieve ultralow insertion loss and high contrast.