diff --git a/web/src/editor/AssistantTab.tsx b/web/src/editor/AssistantTab.tsx
index d42faf5..4fea1d8 100644
--- a/web/src/editor/AssistantTab.tsx
+++ b/web/src/editor/AssistantTab.tsx
@@ -36,18 +36,35 @@ export function AssistantTab({ gardenId, canEdit, undo, large = false }: { garde
   const [warning, setWarning] = useState<string | null>(null)
   const abort = useRef<AbortController | null>(null)
   const bottom = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null)
+  const thread = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null)
+  // Whether the view is pinned to the end of the thread. It follows new
+  // content only while it is; a person who scrolled up to read something is
+  // left there until they come back down or send the next message.
+  const stuck = useRef(true)
 
   // Deliberately NOT aborted on unmount: selecting a bed switches the rail to
   // the inspector, and that must not kill a turn mid-flight. The request runs
   // on; the exchange is persisted server-side; coming back shows it.
+  // Instant, not smooth: Chrome left the thread at the top with
+  // `behavior: 'smooth'` — a smooth scrollIntoView into this nested scroller
+  // never moved it, so every new reply landed out of view below a long
+  // conversation (found live, 2026-08-23). The instant form scrolls. It runs
+  // on every step of a turn too, so it is gated on `stuck`: following the
+  // stream is right when the person is at the end, and a snap they didn't
+  // ask for when they had scrolled up.
   useEffect(() => {
-    bottom.current?.scrollIntoView({ behavior: 'smooth', block: 'end' })
+    if (stuck.current) bottom.current?.scrollIntoView({ block: 'end' })
   }, [history.data, pending])
+  const onThreadScroll = () => {
+    const el = thread.current
+    if (el) stuck.current = el.scrollHeight - el.clientHeight - el.scrollTop < 80
+  }
 
   const send = () => {
     const message = input.trim()
     if (!message || pending) return
     setInput('')
+    stuck.current = true // sending is a return to the end of the thread
     setError(null)
     setWarning(null)
     setPending({ message, steps: [] })
@@ -91,7 +108,7 @@ export function AssistantTab({ gardenId, canEdit, undo, large = false }: { garde
       {/* The thread scrolls on its own so the composer stays put: with the whole
           tab scrolling, a long conversation pushed the input off the bottom and
           every new message scrolled it further away. */}
-      <div className="flex min-h-0 flex-1 flex-col gap-2.5 overflow-y-auto">
+      <div ref={thread} onScroll={onThreadScroll} className="flex min-h-0 flex-1 flex-col gap-2.5 overflow-y-auto">
       {!canEdit && <Alert tone="info">You can only view this garden, so the assistant can't change anything in it.</Alert>}
       {history.isPending && <p className="text-[13px] text-ink-mute">Loading the conversation…</p>}
       {history.isError && <Alert>{errorMessage(history.error, "Couldn't load the conversation.")}</Alert>}