diff --git a/surfsense_web/components/assistant-ui/thread.tsx b/surfsense_web/components/assistant-ui/thread.tsx
index 90d4e62a3..fb96e4d7a 100644
--- a/surfsense_web/components/assistant-ui/thread.tsx
+++ b/surfsense_web/components/assistant-ui/thread.tsx
@@ -409,6 +409,7 @@ const Composer: FC = () => {
 	const setMentionedDocumentIds = useSetAtom(mentionedDocumentIdsAtom);
 	const composerRuntime = useComposerRuntime();
 	const hasAutoFocusedRef = useRef(false);
+	const prevIsThreadEmptyRef = useRef(true);
 
 	// Check if thread is empty (new chat)
 	const isThreadEmpty = useAssistantState(({ thread }) => thread.isEmpty);
@@ -428,11 +429,20 @@ const Composer: FC = () => {
 		}
 	}, [isThreadEmpty]);
 
-	// Reset auto-focus flag when thread becomes non-empty (user sent a message)
+	// Auto-focus editor immediately after first message is sent (when thread transitions from empty to non-empty)
+	// This allows the user to start typing the second query right away
 	useEffect(() => {
-		if (!isThreadEmpty) {
-			hasAutoFocusedRef.current = false;
+		// Only focus when transitioning from empty to non-empty (first message sent)
+		if (prevIsThreadEmptyRef.current && !isThreadEmpty && editorRef.current) {
+			// Small delay to ensure the editor is ready after the message is sent
+			const timeoutId = setTimeout(() => {
+				editorRef.current?.focus();
+			}, 50);
+			prevIsThreadEmptyRef.current = isThreadEmpty;
+			return () => clearTimeout(timeoutId);
 		}
+		// Update the ref to track the previous state
+		prevIsThreadEmptyRef.current = isThreadEmpty;
 	}, [isThreadEmpty]);
 
 	// Sync mentioned document IDs to atom for use in chat request