diff --git a/surfsense_backend/app/routes/public_chat_routes.py b/surfsense_backend/app/routes/public_chat_routes.py
index 916a53249..ca70e911a 100644
--- a/surfsense_backend/app/routes/public_chat_routes.py
+++ b/surfsense_backend/app/routes/public_chat_routes.py
@@ -28,13 +28,13 @@ async def read_public_chat(
     Get a public chat by share token.
 
     No authentication required.
-    Returns sanitized content (citations stripped, non-UI tools removed).
+    Returns sanitized content (citations stripped).
     """
     return await get_public_chat(session, share_token)
 
 
 @router.post("/{share_token}/clone", response_model=CloneInitiatedResponse)
-async def clone_public_chat(
+async def clone_public_chat_endpoint(
     share_token: str,
     session: AsyncSession = Depends(get_async_session),
     user: User = Depends(current_active_user),
@@ -45,19 +45,20 @@ async def clone_public_chat(
     Requires authentication.
     Initiates a background job to copy the chat.
     """
+    from app.tasks.celery_tasks.clone_chat_tasks import clone_public_chat_task
+
     thread = await get_thread_by_share_token(session, share_token)
 
     if not thread:
         raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Not found")
 
-    # TODO: Implement Celery task for cloning
-    # For now, return a placeholder response
-    # The actual implementation will:
-    # 1. Get user's default search space
-    # 2. Queue Celery task to clone thread, messages, and podcasts
-    # 3. Create notification on completion
-
-    raise HTTPException(
-        status_code=501,
-        detail="Clone functionality not yet implemented",
+    task_result = clone_public_chat_task.delay(
+        share_token=share_token,
+        user_id=str(user.id),
+    )
+
+    return CloneInitiatedResponse(
+        status="processing",
+        task_id=task_result.id,
+        message="Copying chat to your account...",
     )
diff --git a/surfsense_backend/app/tasks/celery_tasks/clone_chat_tasks.py b/surfsense_backend/app/tasks/celery_tasks/clone_chat_tasks.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b846ee555
--- /dev/null
+++ b/surfsense_backend/app/tasks/celery_tasks/clone_chat_tasks.py
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+"""Celery tasks for cloning public chats."""
+
+import asyncio
+import logging
+
+from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import async_sessionmaker, create_async_engine
+from sqlalchemy.pool import NullPool
+
+from app.celery_app import celery_app
+from app.config import config
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+def get_celery_session_maker():
+    """Create a new async session maker for Celery tasks."""
+    engine = create_async_engine(
+        config.DATABASE_URL,
+        poolclass=NullPool,
+        echo=False,
+    )
+    return async_sessionmaker(engine, expire_on_commit=False)
+
+
+@celery_app.task(name="clone_public_chat", bind=True)
+def clone_public_chat_task(
+    self,
+    share_token: str,
+    user_id: str,
+) -> dict:
+    """
+    Celery task to clone a public chat to user's account.
+
+    Args:
+        share_token: Public share token of the chat to clone
+        user_id: UUID string of the user cloning the chat
+
+    Returns:
+        dict with status and thread_id on success, or error info on failure
+    """
+    loop = asyncio.new_event_loop()
+    asyncio.set_event_loop(loop)
+
+    try:
+        result = loop.run_until_complete(_run_clone(share_token, user_id))
+        return result
+    except Exception as e:
+        logger.error(f"Error cloning public chat: {e!s}")
+        return {"status": "error", "error": str(e)}
+    finally:
+        asyncio.set_event_loop(None)
+        loop.close()
+
+
+async def _run_clone(share_token: str, user_id: str) -> dict:
+    """Run the clone operation with a fresh database session."""
+    from uuid import UUID
+
+    from app.services.public_chat_service import clone_public_chat
+
+    async with get_celery_session_maker()() as session:
+        return await clone_public_chat(
+            session=session,
+            share_token=share_token,
+            user_id=UUID(user_id),
+        )