diff --git a/surfsense_web/app/(home)/free/layout.tsx b/surfsense_web/app/(home)/free/layout.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9447d34dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/surfsense_web/app/(home)/free/layout.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+import type { ReactNode } from "react";
+import { AdSenseScript } from "@/components/ads/adsense-script";
+
+/**
+ * Wraps the /free hub and all /free/[model_slug] subpages. Mounting
+ * <AdSenseScript /> here loads adsbygoogle.js across the entire /free route
+ * tree, which is what powers both the manual <AdUnit /> slots and AdSense
+ * Auto ads. Because the script lives here (not in the root layout), Auto ads
+ * is naturally scoped to /free and its subpages only.
+ */
+export default function FreeSectionLayout({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
+	return (
+		<>
+			<AdSenseScript />
+			{children}
+		</>
+	);
+}
diff --git a/surfsense_web/app/(home)/free/page.tsx b/surfsense_web/app/(home)/free/page.tsx
index 5cea9b6d2..89a4735ae 100644
--- a/surfsense_web/app/(home)/free/page.tsx
+++ b/surfsense_web/app/(home)/free/page.tsx
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ import type { Metadata } from "next";
 import Link from "next/link";
 import { AdUnit } from "@/components/ads/ad-unit";
 import { ADSENSE_SLOTS } from "@/components/ads/adsense-config";
-import { AdSenseScript } from "@/components/ads/adsense-script";
 import { BreadcrumbNav } from "@/components/seo/breadcrumb-nav";
 import { FAQJsonLd, JsonLd } from "@/components/seo/json-ld";
 import { Badge } from "@/components/ui/badge";
@@ -160,7 +159,6 @@ export default async function FreeHubPage() {
 
 	return (
 		<div className="min-h-screen pt-20">
-			<AdSenseScript />
 			<JsonLd
 				data={{
 					"@context": "https://schema.org",
diff --git a/surfsense_web/app/api/zero/query/route.ts b/surfsense_web/app/api/zero/query/route.ts
index 34a977f22..6cbe3a5e9 100644
--- a/surfsense_web/app/api/zero/query/route.ts
+++ b/surfsense_web/app/api/zero/query/route.ts
@@ -5,12 +5,16 @@ import type { Context } from "@/types/zero";
 import { queries } from "@/zero/queries";
 import { schema } from "@/zero/schema";
 
-function getBackendBaseUrl() {
-	const base = process.env.FASTAPI_BACKEND_INTERNAL_URL || "http://localhost:8000";
-	return base.endsWith("/") ? base.slice(0, -1) : base;
-}
-
-const backendURL = getBackendBaseUrl();
+// This route is invoked server-to-server by zero-cache (via ZERO_QUERY_URL),
+// so it must reach the backend over the internal Docker network
+// (e.g. http://backend:8000). The browser-facing NEXT_PUBLIC_FASTAPI_BACKEND_URL
+// (e.g. http://localhost:8929) does NOT resolve from inside the frontend
+// container and would make every authenticated Zero query fail with a 503.
+const backendURL = (
+	process.env.FASTAPI_BACKEND_INTERNAL_URL ||
+	BACKEND_URL ||
+	"http://localhost:8000"
+).replace(/\/$/, "");
 
 async function authenticateRequest(
 	request: Request
diff --git a/surfsense_web/components/assistant-ui/thread.tsx b/surfsense_web/components/assistant-ui/thread.tsx
index f56503969..89e830ace 100644
--- a/surfsense_web/components/assistant-ui/thread.tsx
+++ b/surfsense_web/components/assistant-ui/thread.tsx
@@ -254,13 +254,15 @@ const ThreadWelcome: FC = () => {
 
 	return (
 		<div className="aui-thread-welcome-root mx-auto flex w-full max-w-(--thread-max-width) grow flex-col items-center px-4 relative">
-			<div className="aui-thread-welcome-message absolute bottom-[calc(50%+5rem)] left-0 right-0 flex flex-col items-center text-center">
-				<h1 className="aui-thread-welcome-message-inner text-3xl md:text-[2.625rem] select-none">
-					{greeting}
-				</h1>
-			</div>
-			<div className="w-full flex items-start justify-center absolute top-[calc(50%-3.5rem)] left-0 right-0">
-				<Composer />
+			<div className="my-auto flex w-full flex-col items-center gap-6 py-6 sm:contents sm:my-0 sm:gap-0 sm:py-0">
+				<div className="aui-thread-welcome-message flex flex-col items-center text-center sm:absolute sm:bottom-[calc(50%+5rem)] sm:left-0 sm:right-0">
+					<h1 className="aui-thread-welcome-message-inner text-3xl md:text-[2.625rem] select-none">
+						{greeting}
+					</h1>
+				</div>
+				<div className="w-full flex items-start justify-center sm:absolute sm:top-[calc(50%-3.5rem)] sm:left-0 sm:right-0">
+					<Composer />
+				</div>
 			</div>
 		</div>
 	);
diff --git a/surfsense_web/components/free-chat/free-chat-page.tsx b/surfsense_web/components/free-chat/free-chat-page.tsx
index 2ee026cc3..b28b1e0a1 100644
--- a/surfsense_web/components/free-chat/free-chat-page.tsx
+++ b/surfsense_web/components/free-chat/free-chat-page.tsx
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ import { BACKEND_URL } from "@/lib/env-config";
 import { trackAnonymousChatMessageSent } from "@/lib/posthog/events";
 import { FreeModelSelector } from "./free-model-selector";
 import { FreeThread } from "./free-thread";
+import { RemoveAdsBanner } from "./remove-ads-banner";
 
 // Render all tool calls via ToolFallback; backend keeps persisted
 // payloads bounded by summarising / truncating outputs.
@@ -135,7 +136,7 @@ export function FreeChatPage() {
 		pendingRetryRef.current = null;
 	}, [resetKey, modelSlug, tokenUsageStore]);
 
-	const cancelRun = useCallback(() => {
+	const cancelRun = useCallback(async () => {
 		if (abortControllerRef.current) {
 			abortControllerRef.current.abort();
 			abortControllerRef.current = null;
@@ -487,6 +488,8 @@ export function FreeChatPage() {
 						<FreeModelSelector />
 					</div>
 
+					<RemoveAdsBanner />
+
 					{captchaRequired && TURNSTILE_SITE_KEY && (
 						<div className="flex justify-center border-b bg-muted/30 px-4 py-4">
 							<Alert className="w-auto max-w-md">
diff --git a/surfsense_web/components/free-chat/remove-ads-banner.tsx b/surfsense_web/components/free-chat/remove-ads-banner.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..143609c6b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/surfsense_web/components/free-chat/remove-ads-banner.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+"use client";
+
+import { Sparkles, X } from "lucide-react";
+import Link from "next/link";
+import { useEffect, useState } from "react";
+import { Alert, AlertDescription, AlertTitle } from "@/components/ui/alert";
+import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button";
+import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";
+
+const ADSENSE_CLIENT_ID = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_GOOGLE_ADSENSE_CLIENT_ID;
+
+// Versioned key so the copy can change later without resurfacing for users who
+// already dismissed an older variant (bump the version to re-show).
+const DISMISS_KEY = "surfsense:remove-ads-banner-dismissed:v1";
+
+/**
+ * Dismissible promo shown on the free /free/[model_slug] chat pages, nudging
+ * anonymous users to sign up to remove ads. Dismissal is persisted in
+ * localStorage so it stays hidden across reloads and navigations. The free
+ * chat keeps working whether or not the banner is dismissed.
+ *
+ * Renders nothing when AdSense is not configured (dev/preview), since there are
+ * no ads to remove in that case.
+ */
+export function RemoveAdsBanner({ className }: { className?: string }) {
+	// Default hidden so dismissed users never see a flash before the stored
+	// value is read on the client (avoids a hydration/flicker mismatch).
+	const [dismissed, setDismissed] = useState(true);
+
+	useEffect(() => {
+		try {
+			setDismissed(localStorage.getItem(DISMISS_KEY) === "1");
+		} catch {
+			// localStorage can throw in private browsing / when disabled.
+			setDismissed(false);
+		}
+	}, []);
+
+	const handleDismiss = () => {
+		setDismissed(true);
+		try {
+			localStorage.setItem(DISMISS_KEY, "1");
+		} catch {
+			// Ignore: dismissal just won't persist across reloads.
+		}
+	};
+
+	if (!ADSENSE_CLIENT_ID || dismissed) return null;
+
+	return (
+		<div className={cn("shrink-0 border-b bg-muted/30 px-4 py-3", className)}>
+			<Alert className="relative mx-auto w-full max-w-2xl pr-10">
+				<Sparkles />
+				<AlertTitle>Go ad-free with a free account</AlertTitle>
+				<AlertDescription>
+					<p>
+						Create a free SurfSense account to remove ads, unlock $5 of premium credit, and save
+						your chat history. You can keep chatting for free either way.
+					</p>
+					<Button asChild size="sm" className="mt-1">
+						<Link href="/login">Create Free Account</Link>
+					</Button>
+				</AlertDescription>
+				<Button
+					type="button"
+					variant="ghost"
+					size="icon"
+					onClick={handleDismiss}
+					aria-label="Dismiss"
+					className="absolute top-2 right-2 size-6"
+				>
+					<X />
+				</Button>
+			</Alert>
+		</div>
+	);
+}
diff --git a/surfsense_web/components/new-chat/chat-example-prompts.tsx b/surfsense_web/components/new-chat/chat-example-prompts.tsx
index f969aa61b..ee2e86daf 100644
--- a/surfsense_web/components/new-chat/chat-example-prompts.tsx
+++ b/surfsense_web/components/new-chat/chat-example-prompts.tsx
@@ -76,36 +76,24 @@ export function ChatExamplePrompts({ onSelect }: ChatExamplePromptsProps) {
 						})}
 					</div>
 				</div>
-			)}
-
-			{activeCategory ? (
-				<div className="overflow-hidden rounded-lg border border-input bg-muted shadow-sm shadow-black/5 dark:shadow-black/10 sm:rounded-xl">
-					<div className="flex items-center justify-between gap-2 px-3 py-2 sm:gap-3 sm:px-4 sm:py-3">
-						<div className="flex min-w-0 items-center gap-2 text-xs font-medium text-foreground sm:text-sm">
-							<span className="truncate">{activeCategory.label}</span>
-						</div>
-						<Button
-							type="button"
-							variant="ghost"
-							size="icon"
-							onClick={() => setActiveCategoryId(null)}
-							aria-label="Close example prompts"
-							className="size-7 shrink-0 rounded-full text-muted-foreground hover:bg-foreground/10 hover:text-foreground sm:size-8"
-						>
-							<X aria-hidden="true" className="size-3.5 sm:size-4" />
-						</Button>
-					</div>
-					<ScrollArea className="max-h-52 sm:max-h-64">
-						<ul className="divide-y px-2 pb-2 sm:px-3 sm:pb-3">
-							{activeCategory.prompts.map((prompt) => (
-								<li key={prompt} className="py-0.5 sm:py-1">
-									<ExamplePromptButton prompt={prompt} onSelect={onSelect} />
-								</li>
-							))}
-						</ul>
-					</ScrollArea>
-				</div>
-			) : null}
+				{CHAT_EXAMPLE_CATEGORIES.map((category) => (
+					<TabsContent
+						key={category.id}
+						value={category.id}
+						className="mt-3 focus-visible:outline-none"
+					>
+						<ScrollArea className="h-[clamp(7.5rem,26vh,12rem)]">
+							<ul className="flex flex-col gap-2 pr-3">
+								{category.prompts.map((prompt) => (
+									<li key={prompt}>
+										<ExamplePromptButton prompt={prompt} onSelect={onSelect} />
+									</li>
+								))}
+							</ul>
+						</ScrollArea>
+					</TabsContent>
+				))}
+			</Tabs>
 		</div>
 	);
 }
\ No newline at end of file