diff --git a/R/pal-class.R b/R/pal-class.R
index 4bc9d23..bcfcba2 100644
--- a/R/pal-class.R
+++ b/R/pal-class.R
@@ -13,9 +13,8 @@ Pal <- R6::R6Class(
 
       .stash_last_pal(self)
     },
-    chat = function(expr) {
-      request <- deparse(substitute(expr))
-      private$.chat(request)
+    chat = function(...) {
+      private$Chat$chat(...)
     },
     stream = function(expr) {
       request <- deparse(substitute(expr))
@@ -31,15 +30,6 @@ Pal <- R6::R6Class(
   ),
   private = list(
     Chat = NULL,
-    .chat = function(request, call = caller_env()) {
-      if (identical(request, "")) {
-        cli::cli_abort("Please supply a non-empty chat request.", call = call)
-      }
-      structure(
-        private$Chat$chat(paste0(request, collapse = "\n")),
-        class = c("pal_response", "character")
-      )
-    },
     .stream = function(request, call = caller_env()) {
       if (identical(request, "")) {
         cli::cli_abort("Please supply a non-empty chat request.", call = call)
diff --git a/man-roxygen/manual-interface.R b/man-roxygen/manual-interface.R
index 0371e55..3ef1e07 100644
--- a/man-roxygen/manual-interface.R
+++ b/man-roxygen/manual-interface.R
@@ -10,6 +10,6 @@
 #' Then, to submit a query, run:
 #'
 #' ```r
-#' pal_<%= role %>$chat({expr})
+#' pal_<%= role %>$chat({x})
 #' ```
 #' @md
diff --git a/man/pal_cli.Rd b/man/pal_cli.Rd
index 334a55a..1e524dd 100644
--- a/man/pal_cli.Rd
+++ b/man/pal_cli.Rd
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ pal directly, use:
 
 Then, to submit a query, run:
 
-\if{html}{\out{<div class="sourceCode r">}}\preformatted{pal_cli$chat(\{expr\})
+\if{html}{\out{<div class="sourceCode r">}}\preformatted{pal_cli$chat(\{x\})
 }\if{html}{\out{</div>}}
 }
 
diff --git a/man/pal_roxygen.Rd b/man/pal_roxygen.Rd
index e77aab1..b505f0b 100644
--- a/man/pal_roxygen.Rd
+++ b/man/pal_roxygen.Rd
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ pal directly, use:
 
 Then, to submit a query, run:
 
-\if{html}{\out{<div class="sourceCode r">}}\preformatted{pal_roxygen$chat(\{expr\})
+\if{html}{\out{<div class="sourceCode r">}}\preformatted{pal_roxygen$chat(\{x\})
 }\if{html}{\out{</div>}}
 }
 
diff --git a/man/pal_testthat.Rd b/man/pal_testthat.Rd
index 153acda..bc098b6 100644
--- a/man/pal_testthat.Rd
+++ b/man/pal_testthat.Rd
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ pal directly, use:
 
 Then, to submit a query, run:
 
-\if{html}{\out{<div class="sourceCode r">}}\preformatted{pal_testthat$chat(\{expr\})
+\if{html}{\out{<div class="sourceCode r">}}\preformatted{pal_testthat$chat(\{x\})
 }\if{html}{\out{</div>}}
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/testthat/_snaps/pal-class.md b/tests/testthat/_snaps/pal-class.md
index 8a6cc69..a6bb149 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/_snaps/pal-class.md
+++ b/tests/testthat/_snaps/pal-class.md
@@ -3,6 +3,6 @@
     Code
       cli_pal$chat()
     Condition
-      Error in `cli_pal$chat()`:
-      ! Please supply a non-empty chat request.
+      Error in `user_turn()`:
+      ! Must supply at least one input.
 
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-pal-class.R b/tests/testthat/test-pal-class.R
index 7e418c1..32b6ab3 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-pal-class.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-pal-class.R
@@ -4,8 +4,7 @@ test_that("can find the previous pal", {
   withr::local_options(.pal_fn = NULL, .pal_args = NULL)
 
   cli_pal <- .init_pal("cli")
-  expect_no_error(response <- cli_pal$chat(stop("Error message here")))
-  expect_s3_class(response, "pal_response")
+  expect_no_error(response <- cli_pal$chat("stop(\"Error message here\")"))
 })
 
 test_that("chat errors informatively with no input", {
@@ -23,12 +22,12 @@ test_that("pal_chat effectively integrates system prompt", {
   withr::local_options(.pal_fn = NULL, .pal_args = NULL)
 
   cli_pal <- .init_pal("cli")
-  response <- cli_pal$chat(stop("Error message here"))
+  response <- cli_pal$chat("stop(\"Error message here\")")
   expect_true(grepl("cli_abort", response))
   expect_true(grepl("Error message here", response))
 
   testthat_pal <- .init_pal("testthat")
-  response <- testthat_pal$chat(expect_error(beep_bop_boop()))
+  response <- testthat_pal$chat("expect_error(beep_bop_boop())")
   expect_true(grepl("expect_snapshot", response))
   expect_true(grepl("beep_bop_boop", response))
 })