diff --git a/interview-app/public/index.html b/interview-app/public/index.html
index f54fdf8..9b49dc9 100644
--- a/interview-app/public/index.html
+++ b/interview-app/public/index.html
@@ -2245,6 +2245,8 @@ <h3 id="parent-gate-title">Parent Supervision Required</h3>
   requiresUserApiKey: false,
   apiKeyHeader: 'x-anthropic-api-key',
   anthropicApiKey: '',
+  lastSpokenNormalized: '',
+  lastSpokenEndedAt: 0,
 };
 
 // ===== DOM refs =====
@@ -3387,7 +3389,8 @@ <h3 id="parent-gate-title">Parent Supervision Required</h3>
   // Strip markdown + emoji for speech (emoji still shows in chat, just not spoken)
   const clean = text
     .replace(/---BUILD_PHASE---[\s\S]*?---END_BUILD_PHASE---/g, '')
-    .replace(/---PREVIEW---[\s\S]*?---END_PREVIEW---/g, 'Check out this quick preview I made!')
+    // Avoid speaking preview boilerplate; STT can hear it and create loops.
+    .replace(/---PREVIEW---[\s\S]*?---END_PREVIEW---/g, '')
     .replace(/---INTERVIEW_COMPLETE---[\s\S]*---END_INTERVIEW---/g, 'I\'ve put together a summary of your app idea!')
     .replace(/[#*_`\[\]()>]/g, '')
     .replace(/[\p{Emoji_Presentation}\p{Extended_Pictographic}]/gu, '')
@@ -3397,6 +3400,7 @@ <h3 id="parent-gate-title">Parent Supervision Required</h3>
 
   // Chrome silently stops speaking long text. Split into sentences and chain them.
   const chunks = clean.match(/[^.!?]+[.!?]+|[^.!?]+$/g) || [clean];
+  const normalizedClean = clean.toLowerCase().replace(/[^a-z0-9\s]/g, ' ').replace(/\s+/g, ' ').trim();
 
   state.isSpeaking = true;
   setBartMood('talking');
@@ -3405,7 +3409,13 @@ <h3 id="parent-gate-title">Parent Supervision Required</h3>
     let i = 0;
     function speakNext() {
       if (i >= chunks.length) {
-        setTimeout(() => { state.isSpeaking = false; setBartMood('idle'); resolve(); }, 400);
+        setTimeout(() => {
+          state.lastSpokenNormalized = normalizedClean;
+          state.lastSpokenEndedAt = Date.now();
+          state.isSpeaking = false;
+          setBartMood('idle');
+          resolve();
+        }, 400);
         return;
       }
       const chunk = chunks[i].trim();
@@ -3426,6 +3436,21 @@ <h3 id="parent-gate-title">Parent Supervision Required</h3>
   });
 }
 
+function normalizeSpeechText(raw) {
+  return String(raw || '').toLowerCase().replace(/[^a-z0-9\s]/g, ' ').replace(/\s+/g, ' ').trim();
+}
+
+function looksLikeAssistantEcho(raw) {
+  const text = normalizeSpeechText(raw);
+  if (!text) return false;
+  if (text === 'check out this quick preview i made') return true;
+
+  const ageMs = Date.now() - (state.lastSpokenEndedAt || 0);
+  if (!state.lastSpokenNormalized || ageMs > 8000 || text.length < 12) return false;
+
+  return state.lastSpokenNormalized.includes(text) || text.includes(state.lastSpokenNormalized.slice(0, 40));
+}
+
 // ===== Speech Recognition (STT) =====
 function initRecognition() {
   const SpeechRecognition = window.SpeechRecognition || window.webkitSpeechRecognition;
@@ -3461,6 +3486,11 @@ <h3 id="parent-gate-title">Parent Supervision Required</h3>
       silenceTimer = setTimeout(() => {
         if (state.isListening) {
           const text = $input.value.trim();
+          if (looksLikeAssistantEcho(text)) {
+            $input.value = '';
+            $sendBtn.disabled = true;
+            return;
+          }
           stopListening();
           if (text) sendMessage(text);
         }
@@ -3473,6 +3503,27 @@ <h3 id="parent-gate-title">Parent Supervision Required</h3>
       const text = $input.value.trim();
       clearTimeout(silenceTimer);
       if (text) {
+        if (looksLikeAssistantEcho(text)) {
+          $input.value = '';
+          $sendBtn.disabled = true;
+          if (state.micActive && !state.isWaiting && !state.isSpeaking) {
+            try {
+              recog.start();
+              return;
+            } catch (e) {
+              setTimeout(() => {
+                if (state.micActive && !state.isWaiting && !state.isSpeaking) {
+                  try { recog.start(); } catch (e2) {}
+                }
+              }, 300);
+              return;
+            }
+          }
+          state.isListening = false;
+          $micBtn.classList.remove('recording');
+          $listeningLabel.classList.remove('visible');
+          return;
+        }
         // Got text — send it, mic will restart after AI responds
         state.isListening = false;
         $micBtn.classList.remove('recording');