diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/copilot/AskAiButton.svelte b/frontend/src/lib/components/copilot/AskAiButton.svelte
index a141ee3125..95ff47fb52 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/components/copilot/AskAiButton.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/copilot/AskAiButton.svelte
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 	import { AIBtnClasses } from './chat/AIButtonStyle'
 	import { prefersSessionHandoff } from './chat/global/gate'
 	import { startSessionWithPrompt } from '$lib/components/sessions/sessionSwitch.svelte'
+	import { userStore } from '$lib/stores'
 	interface Props {
 		label?: string
 		initialInput?: string
@@ -15,7 +16,7 @@
 
 	// The label stays short ("Ask AI") for the search bar's inline row; the hover
 	// text is where "new AI session" fits.
-	const handsOffToSession = $derived(prefersSessionHandoff())
+	const handsOffToSession = $derived(prefersSessionHandoff($userStore?.operator))
 
 	export function onClick() {
 		// No item to preview here — this carries a question, not a target — so the
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/copilot/chat/global/gate.ts b/frontend/src/lib/components/copilot/chat/global/gate.ts
index e389283d8a..506f230027 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/components/copilot/chat/global/gate.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/copilot/chat/global/gate.ts
@@ -25,13 +25,35 @@ export function isGlobalAiEnabled(): boolean {
 	}
 }
 
+const OPERATOR_SESSIONS_KEY = 'wm_operator_ai_sessions'
+
+/**
+ * Operators get AI sessions only in a browser that opted in, until the operator experience
+ * has been tested; everywhere else they keep the docked chat and `/sessions` refuses them.
+ * Set with `localStorage.setItem('wm_operator_ai_sessions', '1')` and reload. To ship it,
+ * delete this and `sessionsAllowedFor`, and drop the `isOperator` argument from every caller.
+ */
+function operatorSessionsEnabled(): boolean {
+	if (typeof localStorage === 'undefined') return false
+	try {
+		return localStorage.getItem(OPERATOR_SESSIONS_KEY) === '1'
+	} catch {
+		return false
+	}
+}
+
+/** Whether this user's role may use AI sessions at all. */
+export function sessionsAllowedFor(isOperator: boolean | undefined): boolean {
+	return !isOperator || operatorSessionsEnabled()
+}
+
 /**
  * Whether an AI entry point hands off to a session instead of driving the docked
  * chat. Deliberately the same condition as the root layout's `disableAi`, so a
  * caller falling back on `false` always has a mounted pane to fall back to.
  */
-export function prefersSessionHandoff(): boolean {
-	return isGlobalAiEnabled()
+export function prefersSessionHandoff(isOperator: boolean | undefined): boolean {
+	return isGlobalAiEnabled() && sessionsAllowedFor(isOperator)
 }
 
 /** Clear the opt-out, then hard-reload so every gated site re-reads it. */
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/flows/FlowEditor.svelte b/frontend/src/lib/components/flows/FlowEditor.svelte
index 9d98d0535e..a9c3a40e8a 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/components/flows/FlowEditor.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/flows/FlowEditor.svelte
@@ -40,9 +40,14 @@
 	import FlowPanelPlacementPicker from './common/FlowPanelPlacementPicker.svelte'
 	import { prefersSessionHandoff } from '../copilot/chat/global/gate'
 	import { openSourceInSession } from '$lib/components/sessions/sessionSwitch.svelte'
-	import { useOperatingWorkspace } from '$lib/components/operatingWorkspace.svelte'
+	import {
+		useOperatingUser,
+		useOperatingWorkspace
+	} from '$lib/components/operatingWorkspace.svelte'
 
 	const operatingWorkspace = useOperatingWorkspace()
+	const operatingUser = useOperatingUser()
+	const actingUser = $derived(operatingUser.current)
 	const { flowStore, selectionManager, pathStore, opWorkspace } =
 		getContext<FlowEditorContext>('FlowEditorContext')
 	// Flow paths repeat across workspaces, and a session keeps every tab it has visited alive, so two
@@ -403,7 +408,11 @@
 							// contain. Hand it to a session opened on that step rather than the
 							// docked chat, which sessions leave unmounted. Sent on arrival: the
 							// user already said what they wanted in the description field.
-							if (!sessionScopedManager && sessionOpen && prefersSessionHandoff()) {
+							if (
+								!sessionScopedManager &&
+								sessionOpen &&
+								prefersSessionHandoff(actingUser?.operator)
+							) {
 								void openSourceInSession(sessionOpen, {
 									previewParams: { selected: detail.moduleId },
 									seedPrompt: stepInstructionsPrompt(detail.moduleId, detail.instructions),
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/home/HomeAIChat.svelte b/frontend/src/lib/components/home/HomeAIChat.svelte
index c04265dba9..503b4c2dca 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/components/home/HomeAIChat.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/home/HomeAIChat.svelte
@@ -156,10 +156,13 @@
 	// unlocked, so the far commoner unlocked workspace never pops the composer in mid-load.
 	let runOnlyWorkspace = $derived(isRuleActive('DisableDirectDeployment'))
 
-	// The composer hands off to /sessions, so users opted out of the sessions beta don't get it
-	// (the prompt would be silently dropped) while the AI-independent CLI/MCP row below stays.
+	// The composer hands off to /sessions, which refuses operators and users opted out of the
+	// sessions beta — so hide it from them (the prompt would be silently dropped) while the
+	// AI-independent CLI/MCP row below stays.
 	let showComposer = $derived(
-		prefersSessionHandoff() && !runOnlyWorkspace && !$copilotInfo.workspaceDisabled
+		prefersSessionHandoff($userStore?.operator) &&
+			!runOnlyWorkspace &&
+			!$copilotInfo.workspaceDisabled
 	)
 
 	// The hero's margins and centered column are for the full block. The lone button row left
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/sessions/OpenInSessionButton.svelte b/frontend/src/lib/components/sessions/OpenInSessionButton.svelte
index 01db5984d3..00b784138f 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/components/sessions/OpenInSessionButton.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/sessions/OpenInSessionButton.svelte
@@ -43,6 +43,10 @@
 	import { copilotInfo } from '$lib/aiStore'
 	import { sendUserToast } from '$lib/toast'
 	import { openSourceInSession } from './sessionSwitch.svelte'
+	import { useOperatingUser } from '$lib/components/operatingWorkspace.svelte'
+
+	const operatingUser = useOperatingUser()
+	const actingUser = $derived(operatingUser.current)
 
 	let {
 		source,
@@ -76,8 +80,13 @@
 	// SessionEditorTarget / the session wrapper); iframe preview tabs are not
 	// the top window.
 	const inSessionPanel = !!getContext('aiChatManager') || (BROWSER && window.self !== window.top)
+	// prefersSessionHandoff carries the operator clause: the sessions page refuses
+	// them, so an entry point on a page they can reach (Runs, the trigger lists)
+	// would only route them into that refusal.
 	const show = $derived(
-		!inSessionPanel && !!(source?.target || source?.page) && prefersSessionHandoff()
+		!inSessionPanel &&
+			!!(source?.target || source?.page) &&
+			prefersSessionHandoff(actingUser?.operator)
 	)
 
 	// Not $state: only read inside open() as a re-entrancy latch, never rendered.
diff --git a/frontend/src/routes/(root)/(logged)/+layout.svelte b/frontend/src/routes/(root)/(logged)/+layout.svelte
index 2873ed0f84..10a4d2d0ef 100644
--- a/frontend/src/routes/(root)/(logged)/+layout.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/routes/(root)/(logged)/+layout.svelte
@@ -68,10 +68,7 @@
 		getFavoriteHref,
 		getFavoriteLabel
 	} from '$lib/components/sidebar/FavoriteMenu.svelte'
-	import {
-		parseSuperadminSettingsHash,
-		USER_SETTINGS_HASH
-	} from '$lib/components/sidebar/settings'
+	import { parseSuperadminSettingsHash, USER_SETTINGS_HASH } from '$lib/components/sidebar/settings'
 	import { isCloudHosted } from '$lib/cloud'
 	import {
 		PanelLeft,
@@ -111,7 +108,7 @@
 	import AiChatLayout from '$lib/components/copilot/chat/AiChatLayout.svelte'
 	import SessionPicker from '$lib/components/sessions/SessionPicker.svelte'
 	import SessionModeSwitch from '$lib/components/sessions/SessionModeSwitch.svelte'
-	import { isGlobalAiEnabled } from '$lib/components/copilot/chat/global/gate'
+	import { isGlobalAiEnabled, sessionsAllowedFor } from '$lib/components/copilot/chat/global/gate'
 	import { copilotInfo } from '$lib/aiStore'
 	import {
 		isPageItemListPath,
@@ -303,7 +300,10 @@
 	// Session mode is route-derived: the rail shows the sessions sidebar on the
 	// /sessions page and the workspace navigation everywhere else. The switch
 	// (SessionModeSwitch) just navigates in and out of that route.
-	let sessionMode = $derived(page.url.pathname.startsWith(base + '/sessions'))
+	// An operator without the opt-in (`gate.ts`) is refused by /sessions, so their sidebar is not
+	// handed over to a session list the page behind it declines, and they keep the docked chat.
+	const sessionsAllowed = $derived(sessionsAllowedFor($userStore?.operator))
+	let sessionMode = $derived(page.url.pathname.startsWith(base + '/sessions') && sessionsAllowed)
 	// Session mode points the bottom settings entry at the open session's own
 	// workspace. An unsent draft hasn't committed one yet, so it falls back to
 	// the family root.
@@ -324,8 +324,12 @@
 	const globalAiEnabled = isGlobalAiEnabled()
 	// A workspace that hid the assistant (`ai_config.copilot_disabled`) loses both entry
 	// points: the Workspace ⇄ Sessions switch and the legacy Ask-AI button.
-	const sessionsSwitchShown = $derived(globalAiEnabled && !$copilotInfo.workspaceDisabled)
-	const askAiShown = $derived(!globalAiEnabled && !$copilotInfo.workspaceDisabled)
+	const sessionsSwitchShown = $derived(
+		globalAiEnabled && sessionsAllowed && !$copilotInfo.workspaceDisabled
+	)
+	const askAiShown = $derived(
+		(!globalAiEnabled || !sessionsAllowed) && !$copilotInfo.workspaceDisabled
+	)
 
 	if (page.status == 404) {
 		goto('/user/login')
@@ -884,7 +888,7 @@
 	$effect(() => {
 		const ws = $workspaceStore
 		const ready = sessionState.hydrated && $usersWorkspaceStore !== undefined
-		if (globalAiEnabled && ready && ws) {
+		if (globalAiEnabled && sessionsAllowed && ready && ws) {
 			untrack(() => restoreSessionBackups(ws))
 		}
 	})
@@ -1481,9 +1485,9 @@
 			<AiChatLayout
 				{children}
 				noPadding={devOnly || menuHidden}
-				disableAi={globalAiEnabled ? true : sessionMode}
+				disableAi={globalAiEnabled && sessionsAllowed ? true : sessionMode}
 				loadAiConfig={!sessionMode}
-				showSessionsBetaBanner
+				showSessionsBetaBanner={sessionsAllowed}
 				sidebarWidth={railWidth}
 				transitionClass={sidebarTransitionClass}
 				isMobile={useDrawer}
diff --git a/frontend/src/routes/(root)/(logged)/apps_raw/add/+page.ts b/frontend/src/routes/(root)/(logged)/apps_raw/add/+page.ts
index 1f2d079ae9..8bd1ba1ba3 100644
--- a/frontend/src/routes/(root)/(logged)/apps_raw/add/+page.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/routes/(root)/(logged)/apps_raw/add/+page.ts
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ async function newAppSessionHref(url: URL): Promise<string | undefined> {
 	const user = get(userStore)
 	const workspace = get(workspaceStore)
 	// Neither is known yet on a cold load of this URL, which then opens the editor.
-	if (!user || !workspace || !prefersSessionHandoff()) return undefined
+	if (!user || !workspace || !prefersSessionHandoff(user.operator)) return undefined
 	if ((url.searchParams.get('workspace') ?? workspace) !== workspace) return undefined
 	if (get(copilotWorkspace) !== workspace) await loadCopilot(workspace)
 	if (get(copilotWorkspace) !== workspace || !get(copilotInfo).enabled) return undefined
diff --git a/frontend/src/routes/(root)/(logged)/apps_raw/edit/[...path]/+page.svelte b/frontend/src/routes/(root)/(logged)/apps_raw/edit/[...path]/+page.svelte
index d4aa97b2b4..9ed2ca296a 100644
--- a/frontend/src/routes/(root)/(logged)/apps_raw/edit/[...path]/+page.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/routes/(root)/(logged)/apps_raw/edit/[...path]/+page.svelte
@@ -529,7 +529,7 @@
 			policy: result.policy
 		}
 		const workspace = $workspaceStore
-		if (mode === 'ai' && prefersSessionHandoff() && workspace) {
+		if (mode === 'ai' && prefersSessionHandoff($userStore?.operator) && workspace) {
 			// The session loads the app by path, so the picked setup is saved before it
 			// opens. `new_draft` tells it the app is still the starter template.
 			try {
diff --git a/frontend/src/routes/(root)/(logged)/sessions/+page.svelte b/frontend/src/routes/(root)/(logged)/sessions/+page.svelte
index ef358378f2..54a93ec19f 100644
--- a/frontend/src/routes/(root)/(logged)/sessions/+page.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/routes/(root)/(logged)/sessions/+page.svelte
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@
 	import { withWorkspaceParam } from '$lib/components/sessions/sessionMode.svelte'
 	import { enterSessionMode } from '$lib/components/sessions/sessionSwitch.svelte'
 	import type { SessionPreviewTabs } from '$lib/components/sessions/sessionPreviewTabs.svelte'
-	import { userWorkspaces, usersWorkspaceStore, workspaceStore } from '$lib/stores'
+	import { userStore, userWorkspaces, usersWorkspaceStore, workspaceStore } from '$lib/stores'
 	import {
 		getOrCreateRuntime,
 		getRuntime,
@@ -54,7 +54,8 @@
 	import { markSessionRecovered } from '$lib/components/sessions/sessionRecoveryNotice.svelte'
 	import {
 		isGlobalAiEnabled,
-		clearSessionsBetaOptOut
+		clearSessionsBetaOptOut,
+		sessionsAllowedFor
 	} from '$lib/components/copilot/chat/global/gate'
 	import { setToolCompletionListener } from '$lib/components/copilot/chat/shared'
 	import { registerToolDisplayActionHandler } from '$lib/components/copilot/chat/createdResourceActions.svelte'
@@ -205,7 +206,7 @@
 	// load. `recovering` also guards re-entry: recovery mutates the session list
 	// this effect tracks, while the URL that would stop it only updates on `goto`.
 	$effect(() => {
-		if (embedded || !globalEnabled) return
+		if (embedded || !globalEnabled || !sessionsAllowedFor($userStore?.operator)) return
 		if (!sessionState.hydrated || recovering) return
 		// A deliberate delete removes the open session ahead of its own navigation.
 		// Claiming that gap would take over the URL and tell the user the session
@@ -1021,6 +1022,24 @@
 				}}>Open sessions</Button
 			>
 		</div>
+	{:else if !sessionsAllowedFor($userStore?.operator)}
+		<!-- Operators without the opt-in keep the legacy docked chat (see `gate.ts`); a direct
+		     URL must not bypass that. -->
+		<div class="p-8 flex flex-col items-start gap-3 text-secondary text-sm">
+			<p class="text-primary font-medium">AI Sessions are not available for operators</p>
+			<p>Use the Ask AI chat instead.</p>
+			<Button
+				unifiedSize="xs"
+				onclick={() => {
+					try {
+						localStorage.setItem('ai-chat-open', 'true')
+					} catch {}
+					window.location.href = `${base}/`
+				}}
+			>
+				Open Ask AI chat
+			</Button>
+		</div>
 	{:else if !globalEnabled}
 		<!-- Direct navigation (bookmark, shared link) while the user has opted out
 		     of the beta: offer the way back in instead of a dead end. -->