Getting Started with Mistral's Le Chat: Your Private AI Guide

Learn how to use Europe's leading private AI assistant for daily writing and organising tasks.

4 min read·4 steps·22 June 2026

Want to try AI but feel a bit uneasy about where your data goes? Meet Le Chat, a friendly, European-made assistant built by a company called Mistral that takes a privacy-minded approach to your daily tasks.

✅ Before you start

A computer, tablet, or smartphone connected to the internet.
A valid email address to create a free account.
Five minutes of quiet time to try your first conversation.

Create your free account

To use Le Chat (which is French for "The Cat", a playful nod to "chatting"), you need to set up a profile. Because Mistral is based in Europe, it operates under very strict European privacy laws, making it a wonderful option if you are conscious of your digital footprint.

Open your web browser and search for Mistral AI's Le Chat. Look for a button that says "Sign up" or "Try Le Chat".

💬 Try typing thisEnter your email address, choose a secure password, and click submit. You will receive a verification email; click the link inside it to activate your account.➤

Adjust your privacy settings

Before we type anything, let's make sure your account is set up to keep your thoughts private. By default, many AI tools use your chats to train and improve their models. With Le Chat, you can easily control this.

Find your profile settings by looking for a gear icon or your initials, usually located in the bottom-left or top-right corner of the screen.

💬 Try typing thisLook for a section labelled "Data Privacy" or "Store Chat History". If you do not want your conversations used for training, toggle this option off. This ensures your text remains strictly your own.➤

Write your first prompt

Now you are ready to chat! At the bottom of the screen, you will see a text box. This is where you type your prompt (the plain-language instruction you give to an AI to tell it what to do).

Let's start with a simple task: sorting a messy list. This is an easy way to see how the AI understands structure.

💬 Try typing thisCopy and paste the following text into the box and press the send arrow:➤

"Please organise this messy shopping list into neat categories like 'Fresh Produce', 'Dairy', and 'Pantry': apples, milk, carrots, cheese, pasta, bananas, butter, eggs."

Refine the results

AI is designed to be conversational. You do not have to accept the first answer as final. If the output is not exactly what you wanted, you can simply ask Le Chat to make adjustments.

💬 Try typing thisType this follow-up message into the chat box:➤

"Thank you! Now, can you rewrite that list but put a little checkbox symbol [ ] next to each item so I can print it out and tick them off?"

⚠️ Common mistakes

Treating it like a rigid search engine: Do not just type "meal plan". Instead, speak to Le Chat as if you are talking to a helpful assistant. Use full sentences like, "Could you please help me plan three simple dinners using chicken?"
Forgetting the short-term memory limit: Le Chat has a context window (think of this as the AI's short-term memory during a single conversation). If you chat for hours about ten different topics, it might start to forget the early details. If you want to start a brand-new task, look for the "New Chat" button to start fresh.

🚀 Try it now

Open your Le Chat window right now and type this simple sentence to see how natural the conversation feels:

"Give me three quick, positive suggestions for a weekend morning routine that doesn't involve looking at my phone."

✦ Original step-by-step guide by AI World Co.'s AI editorial team. Written in plain language, reviewed for accuracy.

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