Using the Vinci app

Current availability: The limited no-account web demo is available at Vinci Chat . Account sign-up is available with your email address. New accounts may be asked to verify their email before using Vinci. Vinci Mobile is available in the App Store and Google Play. Platform and the managed API remain under maintenance; their instructions below are retained for when the relevant features are available. This notice does not apply to public model downloads or Vinci Code’s bring-your-own-key setup. See the current products page .

This guide covers the basics of chatting with Vinci and getting better results — from your first message to the features most people find a week in.

Your first five minutes

Open vinci.getsimpledirect.com — you can try it with the limited free demo, no account needed. Follow the limits shown in the app.
Type anything in the message box and press Enter. Ask a question, paste an email to rewrite, or describe something you want explained.
Keep the conversation going — Vinci remembers the earlier messages in the same conversation, so follow-ups like “shorter” or “now as bullet points” just work.
When you switch topics, start a new conversation (in the sidebar). Fresh chats keep answers focused.
For sign-in and account guidance, see Account & sign-in. Account sign-up is available. See Billing & limits for the welcome-credit and balance policy.

One-time $20 USD welcome credit is available for verified personal accounts, once per email address. New sign-ups receive it after email verification while the program is available. Existing accounts can open Account > Usage & billing in Vinci Chat on the web and choose Save welcome credit if it has not been saved. This credit does not expire. Limited program; may end at any time.

On a phone or tablet? Get Vinci from the App Store (iPhone/iPad) or Google Play (Android). Native availability and features may differ from the web demo.

The model

Every chat uses one of three classes. Click the model badge at the top right of the chat to open the class panel: it lists Vinci Mezzo, Vinci Forte, and Vinci Fortissimo from lightest to deepest. The app marks its current default. Switch there without leaving the conversation, or choose under Settings → Personalization. You can set a per-app override if one app should use a different class.

These are hosted-service class labels from the existing app guidance, not a ranking of the current downloadable models. The app shows the classes currently offered.

See What is Vinci? for a plain-language description.

Do more in a conversation

Depending on your device, you can:

Attach files and images

Use the attach button in the message box to add up to 5 files (max 8 MB each) — PDFs, documents, images, code, or data — then ask about them: “summarize this,” “what’s the total in this spreadsheet,” “explain this error log.” Data handling depends on whether a file is a conversation attachment or a document saved for retrieval. See Your data & privacy and the published Privacy Policy before uploading.

Search the web

Vinci automatically searches the web when a question needs current information, such as news, prices, releases, or weather. For bigger questions, it performs deeper research across multiple pages before answering. Answers based on web results include source citations.

Searches run mainly through our own Canadian infrastructure.

Weather, news, and other quick lookups

For questions with a real-time answer — “what’s the weather in Ottawa this weekend?”, “what’s the latest news on…” — Vinci automatically reaches for a live tool instead of guessing from memory, and shows the answer as a small card (current conditions, real headlines with sources). There’s nothing to turn on; Vinci decides per message when a quick lookup beats a plain answer.

Vinci asks before diving in

If you ask for something open-ended that’s missing a key detail — “plan a party,” “build me a website” — Vinci may ask one clarifying question first rather than guessing and doing the wrong thing. Answer it and Vinci picks up right where it left off.

Bigger decisions: Vinci Council

For a genuinely weighty, open-ended call — “should I raise a seed round or bootstrap?”, “is it worth switching careers?” — Vinci can convene a Council: a few independent takes on your question, reconciled into one honest answer that doesn’t paper over disagreement. You see the separate perspectives, not just the final take, so you can judge the reasoning yourself. This is reserved for genuinely tough calls — everyday questions still get a normal, direct reply.

Memories

Vinci can remember durable facts about you — your name, what you’re working on, that you prefer short answers. Two ways it happens:

You tell it. Say “remember that I’m vegetarian” and it’s saved.
It notices. When you mention something durable, you’ll see a small “Saved to your account: …” note after it saves the fact (or “Saved on this device: …” in the no-account demo). Use undo to delete that memory.

In the no-account demo, local memories stay in that browser and are separate from account features and conversation sync. Signed-in web memory is on by default and is separate from conversation sync. With memory on, Vinci may save facts from your chats; manage them in Account > Memory & skills. Browser memories move to your account only through the explicit move action.

Custom instructions

Under Account, you can set standing instructions that apply to every chat — “answer in French,” “I’m a beginner, avoid jargon,” “always show code examples.” Vinci keeps them in mind everywhere, and you can change them anytime.

Private chat

For a one-off or sensitive question, start a private chat: it isn’t saved to your chat history, isn’t synced and isn’t used for memory; close it and it’s gone from the app. Messages still go to Vinci and model providers to generate replies, and usage and billing records are kept.

Not every option appears on every device yet — the app shows what’s available to you.

Get better answers

A few habits make a big difference:

Be specific. “Rewrite this email to sound friendlier and shorter” beats “fix this.”
Give context. Paste the relevant text, describe your audience, or say what you’ve tried.
Ask for a format. Bullet points, a table, a step-by-step list — just ask.
Iterate. If the first answer isn’t right, tell Vinci what to change rather than starting over. “Good, but make the second paragraph more formal” works.
One topic per conversation. Long threads that wander muddy the answers.

Things to keep in mind

Double-check important facts. Like all AI assistants, Vinci can occasionally be wrong or out of date — and sound confident about it. Verify anything that matters (numbers, names, legal or medical details).
Saved background jobs and reliable laptop-to-phone continuation are upcoming. They still need hosted qualification and are not included in the no-account demo.
New web accounts sync new chats by default. Existing accounts keep their sync setting. Earlier local browser chats stay in Archived on that device and are not uploaded by sync. Manage Sync new chats in Account > Data & privacy; Delete synced copies appears there when you have synced copies, whether sync is on or off. See Your data & privacy.