A short guide to getting better answers about Europe.

1. Why how you ask matters

    ChatEurope answers from a closed library of verified European journalism. It does not search the open web. That makes its answers more trustworthy — but it also means the way you phrase your question shapes what you get back.

    A clear, focused question helps the assistant find the right articles. A vague one often gets a “no answer” reply. This page shows what works.

2. What you can do here

    Catch up on a topic in two minutes.

    “Summarise this week’s news on the EU and Ukraine.”

    Understand a decision you saw in the news.

    “What have been the reactions on the European Commission budget proposal?”

    Find out how decisions are made in Brussels.

    “How does European legislation get made?”

    Compare how different countries handle a topic.

    “Compare France and Spain on early school leaving.”

    Get up to speed before a meeting, a class, or a conversation.

    Ask the chatbot to explain a topic in three sentences, then read the linked articles for depth.

3. How to ask a good question

    Three simple rules.

    Use a full sentence. Include a verb. “Recent EU defence spending” works less well than “What has been decided about EU defence spending this year?” The chatbot understands plain language better than keywords.

    Be specific about what and when. “EU migration policy in the last month” is much better than “migration.”

    Imagine you are asking a knowledgeable stranger. Give them enough context to know what you mean. They cannot read your mind. The same is true here.

    You do not need to write long, complicated prompts. Prompt-engineering tricks from ChatGPT are not needed. The assistant is built to understand natural language.

4. Six prompts to try right now

    Copy any prompt and paste it in the chatbot window.

1. “What are the most important EU decisions this week?”
2. “Explain the EU’s response to the energy crisis in three sentences.”
3. “Who currently leads the European Commission, and what are their priorities?”
4. “Summarise recent news on EU migration policy.”
5. “How does the EU budget process work?”
6. “What has been reported about the Green Deal in the last month?”

5. Keep going — ask follow-up questions

    You do not have to repeat yourself. The chatbot remembers the topic of your conversation for the last several exchanges.

    Example:

• What can you tell me about the Mercosur agreement?
• Who signed it?
• What did European farmers say about it?

    After each answer, the chatbot also offers up to three suggested follow-up questions as buttons. One click takes you further into the topic.

6. ChatEurope is not ChatGPT — and that is the point

    |ChatGPT, Gemini, LeChat|ChatEurope
    |Trained on the open web|Trained on verified European journalism
    |Will answer almost anything, sometimes by guessing|Answers only from its source archive
    |No source links|Every answer links to the original article
    |General-purpose assistant|Built for one job: helping you understand Europe

    Use ChatEurope when you want grounded, sourced information about Europe. For everything else, you have other tools.

7. When the bot says “no answer”

    Sometimes the chatbot will tell you it cannot answer. This is intentional. The system is built to refuse rather than guess. That is how we keep made-up answers out.

    When this happens, try one of these:

• Rephrase the question in simpler words, with a full sentence and a verb.
• Add context. Pick a country, a timeframe, or a specific decision.
• Check that your topic is in scope. ChatEurope covers EU affairs and recent European news. It does not cover sports, weather, personal advice, or general world news.

    If it still says no, the topic probably is not in the archive yet. The archive grows every week.

8. Going deeper — what advanced users can do

    If you want fine control, the chatbot supports a few more things.

    Asking about a time period. You can frame questions with phrases like “in the last week” or “since January.” The system focuses on recent articles (last three months) but will pull in older material if it helps complete the answer.

    Asking about a specific source. You can mention an outlet, for example “What has AFP reported on…?” The chatbot will give priority to that source, but other partner outlets may also appear in the answer.

    Asking for a specific format. Requests like “list the three main points” or “answer in two sentences” usually work, as long as they fit the chatbot’s built-in rules. A request like “write a 5,000-word essay” will not work — the chatbot is designed for short, focused answers.

9. Frequently asked questions

    Does the chatbot remember earlier questions in a session?

    Yes. It keeps roughly 8 to 10 exchanges in memory, so you can ask follow-up questions naturally.

    Does the language I use change the results?

    You can ask in any European language. The chatbot searches across all articles, regardless of their original language, and answers in your language. It gives slight priority to articles in English and in the language of your question, but will still find relevant content in other languages if needed.

    What sources does the chatbot draw from?

    The content of the ChatEurope website — verified articles from 10 European partner newsrooms. Statistical data from Eurostat is also available.

    Will the chatbot give me the full text of an article?

    No. It gives you a summary based on one or several articles, with links so you can read the originals.

    What should I not expect?

    ChatEurope is not a general-purpose assistant. It does not search the web, write your essays, do your maths, or give personal advice. It does one thing: help you understand Europe based on trusted journalism.