Last updated on 12 May 2026
Imagine being able to send a WhatsApp message to Baudelaire to question him on its complex relationship with Paris. This is now possible thanks to ChatBac. A great app to help your students prepare for the French baccalaureate.
Preparing the French baccalaureate has never been an easy task. For many young people, the works on the program seem distant, almost inaccessible, and traditional tools are not always enough to create this living link with literature.
It is precisely to bridge this gap that Emmanuelle Roussel, a letter teacher, designed ChatBac.fr : a platform that offers high school students Conversing directly with the authors of this year's French baccalaureate program.
The principle is simple, but frankly smart – a kind of messaging where students can interact directly with the authors they study. Yes, you read it right. Talk with Rimbaud, Rabealis, Balzac or Colette as if you were writing them a message.
This is done via artificial intelligence in a familiar interface – whatsapp-like instant messaging. I love it.
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Chat with Live Authors
It is by falling on PhiloGPT (a project of another teacher, Vivien Mirbeau) that Emmanuelle had the click. She said: “And why not do the same with the French baccalaureate texts?” Result: an app that speaks the language of teenagers, while sticking to the program.
How does it work, concretely?
No need for operating instructions for the application. Your students are on known ground:
- The interface is very similar to WhatsApp, so there is no need for a user manual.
- The proposed authors are the ones that the students need to know for the exam.
- If you don't know what to ask, sample questions are there to help.
An interface that speaks to students
What is striking first of all is the simplicity of the system. The interface is reminiscent of a well-known messaging application, which facilitates immediate ownership of the tool. But behind this apparent lightness lies a strong idea: put the student back at the heart of the exchange, making him or her an actor in his or her readings.
Too often, students approach works as frozen blocks. Here, they can ask their questions directly to a virtual author, receive clear answers, and even be relaunched with new avenues of reflection.
And that’s not all: for those who would not know where to begin, ChatBac offers examples of questions tailored to each author. This avoids the pitfall of “I don’t know what to ask” and makes it possible to structure exchanges without freezing them. Frankly, it is a real boost to initiate personal reflection, especially for students who do not always dare to express themselves in class.
🧠 AI for school, not for entertainment
One might be tempted to think that it is just a gadget, but it would miss the point. ChatBac is based on an artificial intelligence formed specifically from the courses of its author, and fed by reliable sources such as Wikisource and texts in the public domain of the authors. The objective is clear: avoid approximations, remain faithful to the program, and offer quality content, without unnecessary digressions.
Let's be honest: in a context where Generative AI are sometimes perceived as distracting, even risky, this framed approach is reassuring. The answers remain within the scope of the works studied, without extrapolating, and virtual authors do not just answer – they also question. This two-way dialogue pushes students to go further, to clarify their thinking, to make connections. In short, at really get into reading.
A tool for oral … and writing
ChatBac naturally finds its place in the oral preparation of the Bac. By simulating an exchange with an author, the student learns to construct a point of view, to express their feelings, to formulate ideas. It is not just about “knowing” a work, but about talking about it, with words of your own. And there, we say to ourselves that we have crossed a milestone: the pupil no longer recites, he dialogues.
But the tool is also relevant for writing. By proposing avenues for reflection, by reformulating certain key ideas, it helps to better identify the challenges of a text, to identify major themes, to contextualise. This is a concrete way of revisiting works without reducing them to fact sheets.
Flexible integration into pedagogical practices
What is even more interesting is that the tool was designed for both students and teachers. As far as pupils are concerned, it can be used independently, provided that a minimum of preparation is provided: reflect on your questions, test suggestions, keep track of the most useful exchanges.
On the teacher side, it can be integrated into a pedagogical sequence, upstream or downstream of a course, to prolong reflection or start a debate.
The role of the professor remains central: guide, accompany, give meaning. ChatBac does not replace courses, and that is all the better. It simply extends its scope, adapting to current practices, without denying the requirements of the programme.
A concrete response to new uses
ChatBac.fr is free, easy to handle, and above all, designed to meet a real need: making literature more accessible, without impoverishing it. It is not a question of simplifying everything, but of opening a space for dialogue – even if simulated – between the student and the texts. Congratulations to Emmanuelle Roussel for this great experience.
At a time when artificial intelligence is becoming more and more involved in educational practices, this project shows that it can also serve reflection, expression and the construction of meaning.
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