diff --git a/lib/providers/chat_provider.dart b/lib/providers/chat_provider.dart
index 4b4e687..50fa882 100644
--- a/lib/providers/chat_provider.dart
+++ b/lib/providers/chat_provider.dart
@@ -100,24 +100,38 @@ class MessagesNotifier extends FamilyAsyncNotifier<List<Message>, int> {
 
     // ── Step 3: Poll the API until we have a completed assistant response.
     //
-    // If SSE delivered content the server is done; one reload suffices.
-    // If SSE delivered nothing, the LLM may still be generating — we retry
-    // with short delays so the response appears as soon as it's ready.
-    // A completed message is one whose status is not 'generating'.
+    // We always retry up to 20 times regardless of whether SSE streamed
+    // content. SSE ending does NOT mean the server has finished writing to
+    // the DB — there can be a brief gap between the stream closing and the
+    // row being marked complete.
+    //
+    // To avoid clobbering SSE-streamed text with a stale empty DB row, we
+    // only replace state when the polled data is complete OR has content.
     try {
-      final maxAttempts = streamedContent ? 1 : 20;
-      for (var attempt = 0; attempt < maxAttempts; attempt++) {
+      for (var attempt = 0; attempt < 20; attempt++) {
         if (attempt > 0) await Future.delayed(const Duration(seconds: 2));
         final (conv, fresh) = await repo.getMessages(convId);
-        state = AsyncData(fresh);
         ref.read(conversationsProvider.notifier).patchConversation(conv);
+
         final done = fresh.any(
           (m) => m.role == MessageRole.assistant && m.status != 'generating',
         );
+        final polledHasContent = fresh.any(
+          (m) => m.role == MessageRole.assistant && m.content.isNotEmpty,
+        );
+
+        // Update UI state when:
+        //   • SSE never delivered anything (polling is the only data source), or
+        //   • the polled response is complete or has content to show.
+        if (!streamedContent || done || polledHasContent) {
+          state = AsyncData(fresh);
+        }
+
         if (done) break;
       }
     } catch (_) {
-      // If every reload fails, at least clear the generating placeholder.
+      // Polling failed entirely — clear the generating placeholder so the UI
+      // doesn't spin forever.
       final msgs = state.valueOrNull;
       if (msgs != null && msgs.isNotEmpty && msgs.last.status == 'generating') {
         state = AsyncData([