diff --git a/frontend/src/views/SettingsView.vue b/frontend/src/views/SettingsView.vue
index 4190697..c9197e1 100644
--- a/frontend/src/views/SettingsView.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/views/SettingsView.vue
@@ -9,7 +9,11 @@ const store = useSettingsStore();
 const authStore = useAuthStore();
 const toastStore = useToastStore();
 const assistantName = ref("");
+const defaultModel = ref("");
 const intentModel = ref("");
+const installedModels = ref<string[]>([]);
+const defaultChatModel = ref("");
+const defaultIntentModel = ref("");
 const newEmail = ref("");
 const emailPassword = ref("");
 const changingEmail = ref(false);
@@ -66,8 +70,19 @@ onMounted(async () => {
   assistantName.value = store.assistantName;
   newEmail.value = authStore.user?.email ?? "";
 
+  // Load installed models and configured defaults
+  try {
+    const modelsData = await apiGet<{ models: string[]; default_chat_model: string; default_intent_model: string }>("/api/settings/models");
+    installedModels.value = modelsData.models;
+    defaultChatModel.value = modelsData.default_chat_model;
+    defaultIntentModel.value = modelsData.default_intent_model;
+  } catch {
+    // Ollama unreachable — dropdowns will be empty
+  }
+
   // Load notification preferences from user settings
   const allSettings = await apiGet<Record<string, string>>("/api/settings");
+  defaultModel.value = allSettings.default_model ?? "";
   intentModel.value = allSettings.intent_model ?? "";
   if (allSettings.notify_task_reminders !== undefined) {
     notifyTaskReminders.value = allSettings.notify_task_reminders !== "false";
@@ -157,7 +172,8 @@ async function saveAssistant() {
   try {
     await store.updateSettings({
       assistant_name: assistantName.value.trim() || "Fable",
-      intent_model: intentModel.value.trim(),
+      default_model: defaultModel.value,
+      intent_model: intentModel.value,
     });
     saved.value = true;
     setTimeout(() => (saved.value = false), 2000);
@@ -342,20 +358,22 @@ async function handleRestoreFile(event: Event) {
         </p>
       </div>
 
+      <div class="field">
+        <label for="default-model">Chat Model</label>
+        <select id="default-model" v-model="defaultModel" class="input">
+          <option value="">Default ({{ defaultChatModel || "qwen3" }})</option>
+          <option v-for="m in installedModels" :key="m" :value="m">{{ m }}</option>
+        </select>
+        <p class="field-hint">Model used for new conversations.</p>
+      </div>
+
       <div class="field">
         <label for="intent-model">Intent Model</label>
-        <input
-          id="intent-model"
-          v-model="intentModel"
-          type="text"
-          placeholder="Same as chat model"
-          class="input"
-        />
-        <p class="field-hint">
-          Optional smaller/faster model for intent routing (e.g. <code>llama3.2:3b</code>,
-          <code>qwen2.5:3b</code>). Leave empty to use the same model as chat.
-          Can also be set via <code>OLLAMA_INTENT_MODEL</code> environment variable.
-        </p>
+        <select id="intent-model" v-model="intentModel" class="input">
+          <option value="">Default ({{ defaultIntentModel || "qwen2.5:1.5b" }})</option>
+          <option v-for="m in installedModels" :key="m" :value="m">{{ m }}</option>
+        </select>
+        <p class="field-hint">Smaller/faster model for intent routing. Runs before the main model to detect tool calls.</p>
       </div>
 
       <div class="actions">
diff --git a/src/fabledassistant/config.py b/src/fabledassistant/config.py
index d592043..b02fb55 100644
--- a/src/fabledassistant/config.py
+++ b/src/fabledassistant/config.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ class Config:
     OLLAMA_MODEL: str = os.environ.get("OLLAMA_MODEL", "qwen3")
     # Optional dedicated model for intent classification (should be small/fast).
     # Falls back to OLLAMA_MODEL if not set. Can also be overridden per-user via settings.
-    OLLAMA_INTENT_MODEL: str = os.environ.get("OLLAMA_INTENT_MODEL", "")
+    OLLAMA_INTENT_MODEL: str = os.environ.get("OLLAMA_INTENT_MODEL", "qwen2.5:1.5b")
     # KV cache context window for generation. Lower = less VRAM, less throughput impact.
     # 8192 is sufficient for most conversations; raise if you paste large documents.
     OLLAMA_NUM_CTX: int = int(os.environ.get("OLLAMA_NUM_CTX", "8192"))
diff --git a/src/fabledassistant/routes/settings.py b/src/fabledassistant/routes/settings.py
index 577cdf4..8070aaf 100644
--- a/src/fabledassistant/routes/settings.py
+++ b/src/fabledassistant/routes/settings.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 from quart import Blueprint, jsonify, request
 
 from fabledassistant.auth import login_required, get_current_user_id
+from fabledassistant.config import Config
 from fabledassistant.services.caldav import CALDAV_SETTING_KEYS, get_caldav_config, test_connection
 from fabledassistant.services.llm import get_installed_models
 from fabledassistant.services.settings import get_all_settings, set_settings_batch
@@ -24,17 +25,31 @@ async def update_settings_route():
     if not isinstance(data, dict):
         return jsonify({"error": "Expected a JSON object"}), 400
 
-    if "default_model" in data:
-        model = str(data["default_model"])
+    if "default_model" in data or "intent_model" in data:
         installed = await get_installed_models()
-        if installed and model not in installed:
-            return jsonify({"error": f"Model '{model}' is not installed"}), 400
+        for key in ("default_model", "intent_model"):
+            if key in data and data[key]:
+                model = str(data[key])
+                if installed and model not in installed:
+                    return jsonify({"error": f"Model '{model}' is not installed"}), 400
 
     await set_settings_batch(uid, {k: str(v) for k, v in data.items()})
     settings = await get_all_settings(uid)
     return jsonify(settings)
 
 
+@settings_bp.route("/models", methods=["GET"])
+@login_required
+async def get_models_route():
+    """Return installed Ollama models and the configured defaults."""
+    models = sorted(await get_installed_models())
+    return jsonify({
+        "models": models,
+        "default_chat_model": Config.OLLAMA_MODEL,
+        "default_intent_model": Config.OLLAMA_INTENT_MODEL,
+    })
+
+
 @settings_bp.route("/caldav", methods=["GET"])
 @login_required
 async def get_caldav():