diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/copilot/chat/AIChatDisplay.svelte b/frontend/src/lib/components/copilot/chat/AIChatDisplay.svelte
index 5f31bd4272..c5fede3162 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/components/copilot/chat/AIChatDisplay.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/copilot/chat/AIChatDisplay.svelte
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@
 	import { getAiChatManager } from './aiChatManagerContext'
 	import ChatTypingIndicator from './ChatTypingIndicator.svelte'
 	import ToolGroupDisplay from './ToolGroupDisplay.svelte'
-	import { chatItemKey, groupToolRuns } from './toolGroups'
+	import { chatItemKey, createChatItemGrouper } from './toolGroups'
 	import AIChatInput from './AIChatInput.svelte'
 	import { STARTER_PLACEHOLDER, type ComposerSelection } from './composerBox'
 	import AttachedFilesBar from './files/AttachedFilesBar.svelte'
@@ -189,7 +189,8 @@
 	const mcpMenu = new McpMenu(aiChatManager, () => assistantSettings?.open('mcp'))
 	let plusMenuOpen = $state(false)
 	let editingMessageIndex = $state<number | null>(null)
-	const chatItems = $derived(groupToolRuns(messages))
+	const groupChatItems = createChatItemGrouper()
+	const chatItems = $derived(groupChatItems(messages))
 
 	// Escape stops the generation when focus is on the chat (or parked on
 	// body), but stays with other widgets (e.g. the session's Monaco editor).
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/copilot/chat/toolGroups.test.ts b/frontend/src/lib/components/copilot/chat/toolGroups.test.ts
index 4dd3b376fe..d0f14e1f52 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/components/copilot/chat/toolGroups.test.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/copilot/chat/toolGroups.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,12 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
 import type { DisplayMessage } from './shared'
-import { groupHeader, groupToolRuns, type GroupState, type ToolGroup } from './toolGroups'
+import {
+	createChatItemGrouper,
+	groupHeader,
+	groupToolRuns,
+	type GroupState,
+	type ToolGroup
+} from './toolGroups'
 
 let nextId = 0
 function tool(
@@ -274,3 +280,37 @@ describe('groupToolRuns', () => {
 		expect(header([mcp('list_issues'), other])).toBe('List issues, get issue')
 	})
 })
+
+describe('createChatItemGrouper', () => {
+	it('keeps the history rows while only the live answer changes', () => {
+		const group = createChatItemGrouper()
+		const history = [
+			assistant('done'),
+			tool('read_workspace_item'),
+			tool('list_runs'),
+			assistant('more')
+		]
+		const first = group([...history, assistant('a', { streaming: true })])
+		const second = group([...history, assistant('ab', { streaming: true })])
+		expect(second).toHaveLength(first.length)
+		second.slice(0, -1).forEach((item, i) => expect(item).toBe(first[i]))
+		expect(second.at(-1)).toMatchObject({ kind: 'message', index: 4, message: { content: 'ab' } })
+		expect(shape([...history, assistant('ab', { streaming: true })])).toEqual(
+			second.map((item) =>
+				item.kind === 'group' ? { [item.groupKind]: item.entries.map((e) => e.index) } : item.index
+			)
+		)
+	})
+
+	it('keeps every row but the one a tool status change replaced', () => {
+		const group = createChatItemGrouper()
+		const history = [assistant('done'), tool('run_script'), assistant('more')]
+		const first = group(history)
+		const updated = [history[0], { ...history[1], isLoading: false }, history[2]]
+		const second = group(updated)
+		expect(second[0]).toBe(first[0])
+		expect(second[1]).not.toBe(first[1])
+		expect(second[1]).toMatchObject({ message: updated[1] })
+		expect(second[2]).toBe(first[2])
+	})
+})
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/copilot/chat/toolGroups.ts b/frontend/src/lib/components/copilot/chat/toolGroups.ts
index f3e3ad0aa9..5c0a8c2e1e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/components/copilot/chat/toolGroups.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/copilot/chat/toolGroups.ts
@@ -295,6 +295,49 @@ export function groupToolRuns(messages: DisplayMessage[]): ChatItem[] {
 	return items
 }
 
+function sameChatItem(a: ChatItem, b: ChatItem): boolean {
+	if (a.kind === 'message') {
+		return b.kind === 'message' && a.message === b.message && a.index === b.index
+	}
+	return (
+		b.kind === 'group' &&
+		a.groupKind === b.groupKind &&
+		a.key === b.key &&
+		a.target === b.target &&
+		a.entries.length === b.entries.length &&
+		a.entries.every((e, i) => e.message === b.entries[i].message && e.index === b.entries[i].index)
+	)
+}
+
+/** `groupToolRuns` for a transcript that is re-sent whole on every streamed chunk and on every
+ * tool status change: a row whose messages did not change keeps its previous item object. A
+ * fresh item per row re-renders the whole history each time (every answer re-parsing its
+ * markdown, every tool row its result), which freezes the tab on long sessions.
+ *
+ * A changed message is told apart by identity alone, so a row must be replaced, never mutated
+ * in place, for its grouping to update. */
+export function createChatItemGrouper(): (messages: DisplayMessage[]) => ChatItem[] {
+	let settled: DisplayMessage[] = []
+	let settledItems: ChatItem[] = []
+	return (messages) => {
+		// The live answer only ever comes last, and it can neither join nor end a group
+		// differently than the end of the transcript does, so it is grouped on its own and the
+		// rows before it are not regrouped while it streams.
+		const last = messages.at(-1)
+		const live = last?.role === 'assistant' && last.streaming ? last : undefined
+		const n = live ? messages.length - 1 : messages.length
+		if (n !== settled.length || settled.some((m, i) => m !== messages[i])) {
+			const previous = new Map(settledItems.map((item) => [chatItemKey(item), item]))
+			settled = messages.slice(0, n)
+			settledItems = groupToolRuns(settled).map((item) => {
+				const before = previous.get(chatItemKey(item))
+				return before && sameChatItem(before, item) ? before : item
+			})
+		}
+		return live ? [...settledItems, { kind: 'message', message: live, index: n }] : settledItems
+	}
+}
+
 // The server's full resource path: two servers can share a last segment (u/alice/github,
 // f/team/github), so only the display shortens it.
 function mcpServerPath(call: ToolDisplayMessage): string | undefined {