diff --git a/surfsense_web/app/dashboard/[search_space_id]/new-chat/[[...chat_id]]/page.tsx b/surfsense_web/app/dashboard/[search_space_id]/new-chat/[[...chat_id]]/page.tsx
index 865dd6e68..43c33ba5a 100644
--- a/surfsense_web/app/dashboard/[search_space_id]/new-chat/[[...chat_id]]/page.tsx
+++ b/surfsense_web/app/dashboard/[search_space_id]/new-chat/[[...chat_id]]/page.tsx
@@ -33,7 +33,6 @@ import { GeneratePodcastToolUI } from "@/components/tool-ui/generate-podcast";
 import { LinkPreviewToolUI } from "@/components/tool-ui/link-preview";
 import { ScrapeWebpageToolUI } from "@/components/tool-ui/scrape-webpage";
 // import { WriteTodosToolUI } from "@/components/tool-ui/write-todos";
-import { useChatMessagesLive } from "@/hooks/use-chat-messages-live";
 import { getBearerToken } from "@/lib/auth-utils";
 import { createAttachmentAdapter, extractAttachmentContent } from "@/lib/chat/attachment-adapter";
 import {
@@ -258,9 +257,6 @@ export default function NewChatPage() {
 	// Get current user for author info in shared chats
 	const { data: currentUser } = useAtomValue(currentUserAtom);
 
-	// Live sync for other users' messages (shared chats)
-	const { messages: liveMessages } = useChatMessagesLive(threadId);
-
 	// Create the attachment adapter for file processing
 	const attachmentAdapter = useMemo(() => createAttachmentAdapter(), []);
 
@@ -413,45 +409,6 @@ export default function NewChatPage() {
 		});
 	}, [currentThread, setCurrentThreadState]);
 
-	// Live sync: Merge messages from other users (shared chats)
-	useEffect(() => {
-		if (!liveMessages.length || !currentUser?.id || isRunning) return;
-
-		// Get IDs of messages we already have locally
-		const localMessageIds = new Set(
-			messages
-				.map((m) => {
-					// Extract numeric ID from "msg-{id}" format
-					const match = m.id?.match(/^msg-(\d+)$/);
-					return match ? Number.parseInt(match[1], 10) : null;
-				})
-				.filter((id): id is number => id !== null)
-		);
-
-		// Find live messages from OTHER users that we don't have locally
-		const newOtherUserMessages = liveMessages.filter((liveMsg) => {
-			// Skip if we already have this message
-			if (localMessageIds.has(liveMsg.id)) return false;
-			// Skip if this is our own message (we added it optimistically)
-			if (liveMsg.author_id === currentUser.id) return false;
-			return true;
-		});
-
-		if (newOtherUserMessages.length > 0) {
-			// Convert and add new messages from other users
-			const converted = newOtherUserMessages.map(convertToThreadMessage);
-			setMessages((prev) => {
-				// Merge and sort by ID to maintain order
-				const merged = [...prev, ...converted];
-				return merged.sort((a, b) => {
-					const aId = Number.parseInt((a.id ?? "").replace(/^msg-/, ""), 10) || 0;
-					const bId = Number.parseInt((b.id ?? "").replace(/^msg-/, ""), 10) || 0;
-					return aId - bId;
-				});
-			});
-		}
-	}, [liveMessages, currentUser?.id, messages, isRunning]);
-
 	// Cancel ongoing request
 	const cancelRun = useCallback(async () => {
 		if (abortControllerRef.current) {
diff --git a/surfsense_web/components/assistant-ui/assistant-message.tsx b/surfsense_web/components/assistant-ui/assistant-message.tsx
index 513242d1b..681dc315a 100644
--- a/surfsense_web/components/assistant-ui/assistant-message.tsx
+++ b/surfsense_web/components/assistant-ui/assistant-message.tsx
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ import { TooltipIconButton } from "@/components/assistant-ui/tooltip-icon-button
 import { CommentPanelContainer } from "@/components/chat-comments/comment-panel-container/comment-panel-container";
 import { CommentSheet } from "@/components/chat-comments/comment-sheet/comment-sheet";
 import { CommentTrigger } from "@/components/chat-comments/comment-trigger/comment-trigger";
-import { useCommentsLive } from "@/hooks/use-comments-live";
+import { useComments } from "@/hooks/use-comments";
 import { useMediaQuery } from "@/hooks/use-media-query";
 import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";
 
@@ -115,8 +115,12 @@ export const AssistantMessage: FC = () => {
 	const isLastMessage = useAssistantState(({ message }) => message?.isLast ?? false);
 	const isMessageStreaming = isThreadRunning && isLastMessage;
 
-	// Live sync for real-time comment count
-	const { commentCount } = useCommentsLive(dbMessageId);
+	const { data: commentsData } = useComments({
+		messageId: dbMessageId ?? 0,
+		enabled: !!dbMessageId,
+	});
+
+	const commentCount = commentsData?.total_count ?? 0;
 	const hasComments = commentCount > 0;
 	const isAddingComment = dbMessageId !== null && addingCommentToMessageId === dbMessageId;
 	const showCommentPanel = hasComments || isAddingComment;
diff --git a/surfsense_web/components/chat-comments/comment-panel-container/comment-panel-container.tsx b/surfsense_web/components/chat-comments/comment-panel-container/comment-panel-container.tsx
index 8281ca8fd..197ac0798 100644
--- a/surfsense_web/components/chat-comments/comment-panel-container/comment-panel-container.tsx
+++ b/surfsense_web/components/chat-comments/comment-panel-container/comment-panel-container.tsx
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import {
 } from "@/atoms/chat-comments/comments-mutation.atoms";
 import { membersAtom } from "@/atoms/members/members-query.atoms";
 import { currentUserAtom } from "@/atoms/user/user-query.atoms";
-import { useCommentsLive } from "@/hooks/use-comments-live";
+import { useComments } from "@/hooks/use-comments";
 import { CommentPanel } from "../comment-panel/comment-panel";
 import type { CommentPanelContainerProps } from "./types";
 import { transformComment, transformMember } from "./utils";
@@ -21,10 +21,10 @@ export function CommentPanelContainer({
 	maxHeight,
 	variant = "desktop",
 }: CommentPanelContainerProps) {
-	// Live sync for real-time comment updates
-	const { comments: liveComments, isLoading: isCommentsLoading } = useCommentsLive(
-		isOpen ? messageId : null
-	);
+	const { data: commentsData, isLoading: isCommentsLoading } = useComments({
+		messageId,
+		enabled: isOpen,
+	});
 
 	const [{ data: membersData, isLoading: isMembersLoading }] = useAtom(membersAtom);
 	const [{ data: currentUser }] = useAtom(currentUserAtom);
@@ -35,8 +35,9 @@ export function CommentPanelContainer({
 	const [{ mutate: deleteComment, isPending: isDeleting }] = useAtom(deleteCommentMutationAtom);
 
 	const commentThreads = useMemo(() => {
-		return liveComments.map(transformComment);
-	}, [liveComments]);
+		if (!commentsData?.comments) return [];
+		return commentsData.comments.map(transformComment);
+	}, [commentsData]);
 
 	const members = useMemo(() => {
 		if (!membersData) return [];
diff --git a/surfsense_web/contracts/types/chat-messages.types.ts b/surfsense_web/contracts/types/chat-messages.types.ts
index 01edef3f2..faba71bff 100644
--- a/surfsense_web/contracts/types/chat-messages.types.ts
+++ b/surfsense_web/contracts/types/chat-messages.types.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import { z } from "zod";
 export const rawMessage = z.object({
 	id: z.number(),
 	thread_id: z.number(),
-	role: z.enum(["user", "assistant", "system"]),
+	role: z.string(),
 	content: z.unknown(),
 	author_id: z.string().nullable(),
 	created_at: z.string(),
diff --git a/surfsense_web/hooks/use-chat-messages-live.ts b/surfsense_web/hooks/use-chat-messages-live.ts
index 39341d479..4a8ae97e6 100644
--- a/surfsense_web/hooks/use-chat-messages-live.ts
+++ b/surfsense_web/hooks/use-chat-messages-live.ts
@@ -55,10 +55,15 @@ export function useChatMessagesLive(threadId: number | null) {
 		// Transform raw messages to MessageRecord with author info
 		return [...messagesData].map((msg): MessageRecord => {
 			const author = msg.author_id ? memberMap.get(msg.author_id) : null;
+
+			const role = (typeof msg.role === "string" ? msg.role.toLowerCase() : msg.role) as
+				| "user"
+				| "assistant"
+				| "system";
 			return {
 				id: msg.id,
 				thread_id: msg.thread_id,
-				role: msg.role,
+				role,
 				content: msg.content,
 				created_at: msg.created_at,
 				author_id: msg.author_id,