diff --git a/surfsense_web/components/assistant-ui/connector-popup.tsx b/surfsense_web/components/assistant-ui/connector-popup.tsx
index d1f6dd31f..b31b7cbd1 100644
--- a/surfsense_web/components/assistant-ui/connector-popup.tsx
+++ b/surfsense_web/components/assistant-ui/connector-popup.tsx
@@ -376,14 +376,14 @@ export const ConnectorIndicator = forwardRef<ConnectorIndicatorHandle, Connector
 									<div className="px-4 sm:px-12 py-4 sm:py-8 pb-12 sm:pb-16">
 										{/* LLM Configuration Warning */}
 										{!llmConfigLoading && !hasDocumentSummaryLLM && (
-											<Alert variant="destructive" className="mb-6">
+											<Alert variant="destructive" className="mb-6 bg-muted/50 rounded-xl border-destructive/30">
 												<AlertTriangle className="h-4 w-4" />
 												<AlertTitle>LLM Configuration Required</AlertTitle>
 												<AlertDescription className="mt-2">
 													<p className="mb-3">
 														{isAutoMode && !hasGlobalConfigs
-															? "Auto mode is selected but no global LLM configurations are available. Please configure a custom LLM in Settings to process and summarize documents from your connected sources."
-															: "You need to configure a Document Summary LLM before adding connectors. This LLM is used to process and summarize documents from your connected sources."}
+															? "Auto mode requires a global LLM configuration. Please add one in Settings"
+															: "A Document Summary LLM is required to process uploads, configure one in Settings"}
 													</p>
 													<Button
 														size="sm"
diff --git a/surfsense_web/components/assistant-ui/document-upload-popup.tsx b/surfsense_web/components/assistant-ui/document-upload-popup.tsx
index c34890dff..06b0d38e7 100644
--- a/surfsense_web/components/assistant-ui/document-upload-popup.tsx
+++ b/surfsense_web/components/assistant-ui/document-upload-popup.tsx
@@ -149,14 +149,14 @@ const DocumentUploadPopupContent: FC<{
 					{/* Content */}
 					<div className="px-4 sm:px-12 pb-4 sm:pb-16">
 						{!isLoading && !hasDocumentSummaryLLM ? (
-							<Alert variant="destructive" className="mb-4">
+							<Alert variant="destructive" className="mb-4 bg-muted/50 rounded-xl border-destructive/30">
 								<AlertTriangle className="h-4 w-4" />
 								<AlertTitle>LLM Configuration Required</AlertTitle>
 								<AlertDescription className="mt-2">
 									<p className="mb-3">
 										{isAutoMode && !hasGlobalConfigs
-											? "Auto mode is selected but no global LLM configurations are available. Please configure a custom LLM in Settings to process and summarize your uploaded documents."
-											: "You need to configure a Document Summary LLM before uploading files. This LLM is used to process and summarize your uploaded documents."}
+											? "Auto mode requires a global LLM configuration. Please add one in Settings"
+											: "A Document Summary LLM is required to process uploads, configure one in Settings"}
 									</p>
 									<Button
 										size="sm"
diff --git a/surfsense_web/components/public-chat-snapshots/public-chat-snapshots-empty-state.tsx b/surfsense_web/components/public-chat-snapshots/public-chat-snapshots-empty-state.tsx
index 4a4a57770..4e8ec5bb6 100644
--- a/surfsense_web/components/public-chat-snapshots/public-chat-snapshots-empty-state.tsx
+++ b/surfsense_web/components/public-chat-snapshots/public-chat-snapshots-empty-state.tsx
@@ -11,11 +11,8 @@ export function PublicChatSnapshotsEmptyState({
 }: PublicChatSnapshotsEmptyStateProps) {
 	return (
 		<div className="flex flex-col items-center justify-center py-12 text-center">
-			<div className="rounded-full bg-muted p-3 mb-4">
-				<Link2Off className="h-6 w-6 text-muted-foreground" />
-			</div>
-			<h3 className="text-sm font-medium text-foreground mb-1">{title}</h3>
-			<p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground max-w-sm">{description}</p>
+			<h3 className="text-sm md:text-base font-semibold mb-2">{title}</h3>
+			<p className="text-[11px] md:text-xs text-muted-foreground max-w-sm">{description}</p>
 		</div>
 	);
 }
diff --git a/surfsense_web/components/settings/image-model-manager.tsx b/surfsense_web/components/settings/image-model-manager.tsx
index 0c45af7d4..55128dc59 100644
--- a/surfsense_web/components/settings/image-model-manager.tsx
+++ b/surfsense_web/components/settings/image-model-manager.tsx
@@ -240,26 +240,14 @@ export function ImageModelManager({ searchSpaceId }: ImageModelManagerProps) {
 			{!isLoading && (
 				<div className="space-y-4 md:space-y-6">
 					{(userConfigs?.length ?? 0) === 0 ? (
-						<Card className="border-dashed border-2 border-muted-foreground/25">
+						<Card className="border-0 bg-transparent shadow-none">
 							<CardContent className="flex flex-col items-center justify-center py-10 md:py-16 text-center">
-								<div className="rounded-full bg-gradient-to-br from-teal-500/10 to-cyan-500/10 p-4 md:p-6 mb-4">
-									<Wand2 className="h-8 w-8 md:h-12 md:w-12 text-teal-600 dark:text-teal-400" />
-								</div>
-								<h3 className="text-lg font-semibold mb-2">No Image Models Yet</h3>
-								<p className="text-xs md:text-sm text-muted-foreground max-w-sm mb-4">
+								<h3 className="text-sm md:text-base font-semibold mb-2">No Image Models Yet</h3>
+								<p className="text-[11px] md:text-xs text-muted-foreground max-w-sm mb-4">
 									{canCreate
 										? "Add your own image generation model (DALL-E 3, GPT Image 1, etc.)"
 										: "No image models have been added to this space yet. Contact a space owner to add one."}
 								</p>
-								{canCreate && (
-									<Button
-										onClick={openNewDialog}
-										size="lg"
-										className="gap-2 text-xs md:text-sm h-9 md:h-10"
-									>
-										Add First Image Model
-									</Button>
-								)}
 							</CardContent>
 						</Card>
 					) : (
diff --git a/surfsense_web/components/settings/model-config-manager.tsx b/surfsense_web/components/settings/model-config-manager.tsx
index 50d2ab5b7..837060c70 100644
--- a/surfsense_web/components/settings/model-config-manager.tsx
+++ b/surfsense_web/components/settings/model-config-manager.tsx
@@ -250,28 +250,14 @@ export function ModelConfigManager({ searchSpaceId }: ModelConfigManagerProps) {
 				<div className="space-y-4">
 					{configs?.length === 0 ? (
 						<div>
-							<Card className="border-dashed border-2 border-muted-foreground/25">
+							<Card className="border-0 bg-transparent shadow-none">
 								<CardContent className="flex flex-col items-center justify-center py-10 md:py-16 text-center">
-									<div className="rounded-full bg-gradient-to-br from-violet-500/10 to-purple-500/10 p-4 md:p-6 mb-4 md:mb-6">
-										<Wand2 className="h-8 w-8 md:h-12 md:w-12 text-violet-600 dark:text-violet-400" />
-									</div>
-									<div className="space-y-2 mb-4 md:mb-6">
-										<h3 className="text-lg md:text-xl font-semibold">No Configurations Yet</h3>
-										<p className="text-xs md:text-sm text-muted-foreground max-w-sm">
-											{canCreate
-												? "Create your first AI configuration to customize how your agent responds"
-												: "No AI configurations have been added to this space yet. Contact a space owner to add one."}
-										</p>
-									</div>
-									{canCreate && (
-										<Button
-											onClick={openNewDialog}
-											size="lg"
-											className="gap-2 text-xs md:text-sm h-9 md:h-10"
-										>
-											Create First Configuration
-										</Button>
-									)}
+									<h3 className="text-sm md:text-base font-semibold mb-2">No LLM Models Yet</h3>
+									<p className="text-[11px] md:text-xs text-muted-foreground max-w-sm mb-4">
+										{canCreate
+											? "Add your first LLM model to power document summarization, chat, and other agent capabilities"
+											: "No LLM models have been added to this space yet. Contact a space owner to add one"}
+									</p>
 								</CardContent>
 							</Card>
 						</div>