diff --git a/surfsense_web/components/layout/ui/sidebar/InboxSidebar.tsx b/surfsense_web/components/layout/ui/sidebar/InboxSidebar.tsx
index 03f2bc982..61eda2a88 100644
--- a/surfsense_web/components/layout/ui/sidebar/InboxSidebar.tsx
+++ b/surfsense_web/components/layout/ui/sidebar/InboxSidebar.tsx
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ import {
 } from "lucide-react";
 import { useParams, useRouter } from "next/navigation";
 import { useTranslations } from "next-intl";
-import { useCallback, useEffect, useMemo, useRef, useState } from "react";
+import { useCallback, useDeferredValue, useEffect, useMemo, useRef, useState } from "react";
 import { getDocumentTypeLabel } from "@/app/dashboard/[search_space_id]/documents/(manage)/components/DocumentTypeIcon";
 import { setTargetCommentIdAtom } from "@/atoms/chat/current-thread.atom";
 import { convertRenderedToDisplay } from "@/components/chat-comments/comment-item/comment-item";
@@ -289,15 +289,14 @@ export function InboxSidebarContent({
 		[activeFilter]
 	);
 
+	// Defer non-urgent list updates so the search input stays responsive.
+	// The deferred snapshot lags one render behind the live value intentionally.
+	const deferredTabItems = useDeferredValue(activeSource.items);
+	const deferredSearchItems = useDeferredValue(searchResponse?.items ?? []);
+
 	// Two data paths: search mode (API) or default (per-tab data source)
 	const filteredItems = useMemo(() => {
-		let tabItems: InboxItem[];
-
-		if (isSearchMode) {
-			tabItems = searchResponse?.items ?? [];
-		} else {
-			tabItems = activeSource.items;
-		}
+		const tabItems: InboxItem[] = isSearchMode ? deferredSearchItems : deferredTabItems;
 
 		let result = tabItems;
 		if (activeFilter !== "all") {
@@ -310,8 +309,8 @@ export function InboxSidebarContent({
 		return result;
 	}, [
 		isSearchMode,
-		searchResponse,
-		activeSource.items,
+		deferredSearchItems,
+		deferredTabItems,
 		activeTab,
 		activeFilter,
 		selectedSource,
diff --git a/surfsense_web/components/new-chat/document-mention-picker.tsx b/surfsense_web/components/new-chat/document-mention-picker.tsx
index ee053a9f5..9c6521f31 100644
--- a/surfsense_web/components/new-chat/document-mention-picker.tsx
+++ b/surfsense_web/components/new-chat/document-mention-picker.tsx
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import { keepPreviousData, useQuery } from "@tanstack/react-query";
 import {
 	forwardRef,
 	useCallback,
+	useDeferredValue,
 	useEffect,
 	useImperativeHandle,
 	useMemo,
@@ -81,6 +82,9 @@ export const DocumentMentionPicker = forwardRef<
 	// Debounced search value to minimize API calls and prevent race conditions
 	const search = externalSearch;
 	const debouncedSearch = useDebounced(search, DEBOUNCE_MS);
+	// Deferred snapshot of debouncedSearch — client-side filtering uses this so it
+	// is treated as a non-urgent update, keeping the input responsive.
+	const deferredSearch = useDeferredValue(debouncedSearch);
 	const [highlightedIndex, setHighlightedIndex] = useState(0);
 	const itemRefs = useRef<Map<number, HTMLButtonElement>>(new Map());
 	const scrollContainerRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
@@ -245,12 +249,14 @@ export const DocumentMentionPicker = forwardRef<
 	 * Client-side filtering for single character searches.
 	 * Filters cached documents locally for instant feedback without additional API calls.
 	 * Server-side search is reserved for 2+ character queries to leverage database indexing.
+	 * Uses deferredSearch (a deferred snapshot of debouncedSearch) so this memo is treated
+	 * as non-urgent — React can interrupt it to keep the input responsive.
 	 */
 	const clientFilteredDocs = useMemo(() => {
 		if (!isSingleCharSearch) return null;
-		const searchLower = debouncedSearch.trim().toLowerCase();
+		const searchLower = deferredSearch.trim().toLowerCase();
 		return accumulatedDocuments.filter((doc) => doc.title.toLowerCase().includes(searchLower));
-	}, [isSingleCharSearch, debouncedSearch, accumulatedDocuments]);
+	}, [isSingleCharSearch, deferredSearch, accumulatedDocuments]);
 
 	// Select data source based on search length: client-filtered for single char, server results for 2+
 	const actualDocuments = isSingleCharSearch ? (clientFilteredDocs ?? []) : accumulatedDocuments;
diff --git a/surfsense_web/components/new-chat/prompt-picker.tsx b/surfsense_web/components/new-chat/prompt-picker.tsx
index 9fc435111..3e6457b8c 100644
--- a/surfsense_web/components/new-chat/prompt-picker.tsx
+++ b/surfsense_web/components/new-chat/prompt-picker.tsx
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import { Plus, Zap } from "lucide-react";
 import {
 	forwardRef,
 	useCallback,
+	useDeferredValue,
 	useEffect,
 	useImperativeHandle,
 	useMemo,
@@ -41,15 +42,19 @@ export const PromptPicker = forwardRef<PromptPickerRef, PromptPickerProps>(funct
 	const shouldScrollRef = useRef(false);
 	const itemRefs = useRef<Map<number, HTMLButtonElement>>(new Map());
 
+	// Defer the search value so filtering is non-urgent and the input stays responsive
+	const deferredSearch = useDeferredValue(externalSearch);
+
 	const filtered = useMemo(() => {
 		const list = prompts ?? [];
-		if (!externalSearch) return list;
-		return list.filter((a) => a.name.toLowerCase().includes(externalSearch.toLowerCase()));
-	}, [prompts, externalSearch]);
+		if (!deferredSearch) return list;
+		return list.filter((a) => a.name.toLowerCase().includes(deferredSearch.toLowerCase()));
+	}, [prompts, deferredSearch]);
 
-	const prevSearchRef = useRef(externalSearch);
-	if (prevSearchRef.current !== externalSearch) {
-		prevSearchRef.current = externalSearch;
+	// Reset highlight when the deferred (filtered) search changes
+	const prevSearchRef = useRef(deferredSearch);
+	if (prevSearchRef.current !== deferredSearch) {
+		prevSearchRef.current = deferredSearch;
 		if (highlightedIndex !== 0) {
 			setHighlightedIndex(0);
 		}