French Chatbot Le Chat Hits 1M Downloads in Two Weeks

French AI assistant Le Chat, developed by startup Mistral, has surpassed 1 million downloads on the App Store just two weeks after launch.

According to TechCrunch, the app quickly became the #1 free download in France, reflecting strong user interest in a local alternative to global AI assistants.

Le Chat’s success has even received government backing. French President Emmanuel Macron publicly endorsed the chatbot in a recent TV interview, urging users to choose it over OpenAI’s ChatGPT or other competitors. His statement came ahead of the AI Action Summit in Paris, where AI development and policy are key topics.

Fast adoption of AI apps is becoming the norm. OpenAI’s ChatGPT reached 500,000 downloads in six days, despite being limited to iOS users in the U.S. at launch. Today, Appfigures reports 350 million total downloads for the app.

Similar trends are emerging globally. China’s DeepSeek saw 1 million downloads in three weeks, with its daily active users hitting 6 million by late January.

Le Chat’s rapid growth highlights the increasing competition in the AI assistant market, as new players gain traction—sometimes with government support.