What Le Chat is
Le Chat is the AI assistant made by Mistral AI, a French company headquartered in Paris. Mistral was founded in April 2023 by three researchers, and it released Le Chat in February 2024, according to Wikipedia. The assistant runs in a web browser and in iOS and Android apps, and it follows a freemium model, which means a free plan with paid plans above it.
In May 2026 Mistral renamed the assistant Mistral Vibe, or simply Vibe, and added new features at the same time, Wikipedia reports. Mistral's own video says Le Chat is now Vibe and sends viewers to chat.mistral.ai, so that is still the web address. Many people still search for the old name, so this page uses both.
Behind the assistant sits a family of Mistral models. Some are open-weight, which means the model files are published for anyone to download. Mistral Small 4 carries the Apache 2.0 license, and Mistral Large 4 opened its weights on 29 October 2026 under Mistral's own license. Which model answers in the chat can change, so read the model name the app shows you.
What Le Chat is good for
- Everyday questions, drafts and summaries: answers, emails and summaries. The model card of Mistral Large 4 says it is natively fluent in more than 160 languages, including every official language of the European Union.
- Research with sources: Mistral's own video announces deep research in Le Chat, and Wikipedia lists a January 2025 deal with Agence France-Presse that lets it query the agency's archive back to 1983.
- Images: Wikipedia says Le Chat gained image creation in November 2024, using the Flux Pro model from Black Forest Labs, and the same Mistral video lists image editing.
- Voice: a voice mode, built on Mistral's Voxtral model, arrived in July 2025.
- Keeping work together: projects group chats and files for one job, and memory, added in September 2025, lets the assistant remember earlier conversations.
- Longer jobs: Mistral calls Vibe the agent for long-horizon work, and its Work mode, in a Mistral video, plans, calls tools in parallel and finishes a multi-step task in one run.
When to use Le Chat, and when to pick another
| Your job | Use Le Chat? | Or try |
|---|---|---|
| An everyday assistant for writing, questions and summaries in several languages | Yes. It has a free plan and apps for iOS and Android | ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini |
| A research report with deep research and news sources | Yes, start with its research feature | Perplexity, or the research tools compared in the lesson below |
| A picture from a short description | Yes. Image creation is built in | Ideogram, which is made for pictures with text in them |
| Private files, client data or personal details | No. The hosted chat runs on Mistral's servers | Ollama or LM Studio, with an open Mistral model on your own computer |
| Running a Mistral model offline | No. That is the open-weight files, not the chat | Ollama, as the local AI course explains |
| A multi-step task that works on its own | Partly. Work mode and Vibe aim at this | Claude Code or ChatGPT agents, for coding or computer tasks |
How to use Le Chat, step by step
These steps follow the web app. The feature names come from Wikipedia and Mistral's own videos, so follow the names on your screen if they differ.
- Open the assistant. Go to chat.mistral.ai, or install the Mistral app on iOS or Android. If the app store lists it under the new name, search for Mistral Vibe.
- Sign in. Create an account or log in when the page asks. The free plan is enough for a first try.
- Ask a plain question. Type in the message box. Say who the answer is for and what shape you want, such as a short email or a table.
- Check the model name. Look at the model menu or the model name beside the message box, because Mistral changes which model answers.
- Switch on the extra you need. Choose from the tools the app shows, such as web search, deep research, image creation or voice, depending on the job.
- Group your work. For a job with files, make a project, add the files and keep the related chats inside it.
- Set memory the way you want. Memory lets the assistant recall earlier chats. Look in the settings for its controls, and turn it off on a shared account.
- Check what matters. Open the source behind a figure, a date or a legal point before you use it.
Go to chat.mistral.ai and press Sign in at the top right. The free plan is enough for a first try.
Type your question in the Ask Le Chat anything box. Say who the answer is for and what shape you want, such as a short email or a table.
Open the Tools menu and switch on what the job needs, such as web search, deep research or image generation.
Choose Projects in the left column to group a job's chats and files in one place.
AI-made illustrations of Le Chat's screens, drawn on 6 November 2026 to match these steps. They are not screenshots, so the real app may look different: follow what you see.
The tutorials at the top of this page show these steps on screen. Some were made before the rename, so the name in the corner may read Le Chat.
An example to try
Paste this into a new chat. It plays to Mistral's strength in European languages, and you can judge the result yourself.
Write a two-line message to a customer whose parcel is two days late.
Give it in English, French and German, with the same polite tone in all three.
Then list, one line each, any word you chose differently in one language to keep the tone.- Read the French and German with a native speaker if you can, or paste each back into the chat and ask for a plain English translation. The meaning and the politeness should match your English.
- Ask for the same message again in a warmer tone and in a more formal tone, and compare which words change.
- The third line of the prompt is the part to read closely. It shows whether the model understood tone, not only words.
Tips for better results
- Name the language you want the answer in. Le Chat follows the language you write in unless you say otherwise.
- Put your files in a project when the same documents will matter across several chats.
- For a research question, ask for the sources in the first message and open at least one of them.
Privacy, limits and open models
The hosted assistant runs on Mistral's servers, so what you type goes there. Read Mistral's privacy settings and terms before you paste client files or personal details, and use a project and memory with care on a shared account.
If you want a Mistral model that stays on your computer, use the open weights instead of the chat. The model card of Ministral 3 8B says it can fit in 12 GB of video memory in FP8, and in less when quantized further, under the Apache 2.0 license. The largest model, Mistral Large 4, has about one trillion parameters and needs data-centre hardware.
Like every assistant, it can state a wrong fact in a confident voice. Plan names and features also change quickly, as the May 2026 rename shows, so check the app for what your plan includes today.
Learn more about Le Chat
- 2Which AI model should I use for my task?Which AI model should I use? Pick the assistant by your task and where your files live, then a fast or deep-thinking model, and test two on your own work.
- 5Best AI for research in 2026: deep research tools, paper search and notebooks comparedCompare ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini Notebook, Microsoft Researcher and Elicit for research: free plans, prices, limits and what each reads.
- 1Ollama tutorial: run AI models on your own computerAn Ollama tutorial for Windows, macOS and Linux: install it, download and chat with a first local model, then list, stop and remove models and move their files.
Frequently asked questions
What is Le Chat?
It is the AI assistant made by Mistral AI, a French company in Paris. It runs in a browser at chat.mistral.ai and in iOS and Android apps. Mistral released it in February 2024.
Is Le Chat the same as Mistral Vibe?
Yes. Mistral renamed Le Chat to Mistral Vibe in May 2026 and added new features, Wikipedia reports. Older tutorials and many search results still use the name Le Chat.
Is Le Chat free?
Wikipedia says it follows a freemium model, which means a free plan with paid plans above it. Read the plans page in the app for what each one includes, because they change.
Who makes Le Chat?
Mistral AI, a French company based in Paris. Arthur Mensch, Guillaume Lample and Timothée Lacroix founded it in April 2023, according to Wikipedia.
Are Mistral models open source?
Many are open-weight, so the files can be downloaded. Mistral Small 4 and Ministral 3 use the Apache 2.0 license, and Mistral Large 4 uses a modified MIT license that asks model-as-a-service businesses to get a commercial license.
Can I run a Mistral model on my own computer?
Yes, a small one. Ministral 3 8B fits in 12 GB of video memory in FP8, and quantized versions need less. The local AI lesson shows how to run models with Ollama.
Can Le Chat make images?
Yes. Wikipedia says image creation arrived in November 2024 with Black Forest Labs' Flux Pro model, and Mistral's own video lists image editing among its newer features.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Mistral AI https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistral_AI
- Wikipedia: Mistral Vibe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistral_Vibe
- Hugging Face: mistralai/Mistral-Large-4-1T-A52B https://huggingface.co/mistralai/Mistral-Large-4-1T-A52B
- Hugging Face: mistralai/Mistral-Small-4-119B-2603 https://huggingface.co/mistralai/Mistral-Small-4-119B-2603
- Hugging Face: mistralai/Ministral-3-8B-Instruct-2512 https://huggingface.co/mistralai/Ministral-3-8B-Instruct-2512
- YouTube: Mistral, Le Chat now with Deep Research, Voice Mode, Image Editing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biEQbkqqAhs
- YouTube: Mistral, Mistral Vibe the agent for long-horizon work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4TuBNXxRq0
- YouTube: Mistral, Work mode in Le Chat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvPX8HB-JUA
- YouTube: Sam Ganguly, Mistral SHOCKED the industry with Le Chat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=639GmZPna_4
- YouTube: How to Digital, How to Use Mistral Le Chat for Businesses https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79uawyAW_jk