diff --git a/src/components/workspace-shell.tsx b/src/components/workspace-shell.tsx
index 204f79f..4e2af57 100644
--- a/src/components/workspace-shell.tsx
+++ b/src/components/workspace-shell.tsx
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import type {
   ChatMessageView,
   ChatThreadView,
 } from "@/domains/chat/types"
+import type { ParsedChunkView } from "@/domains/chunks/types"
 import type { SourceView } from "@/domains/sources/types"
 
 export type { PanelId } from "@/components/workspace-shell-layout"
@@ -41,6 +42,7 @@ export type WorkspaceShellProps = {
   activeChatThreadId?: string | null
   chatMessages?: ChatMessageView[]
   dashboardUrl?: string
+  initialPrefetchedChunksBySourceId?: Record<string, ParsedChunkView[]>
   isGuest?: boolean
   loginUrl?: string
 }
@@ -68,6 +70,7 @@ function WorkspaceShellContent({
   activeChatThreadId,
   chatMessages: initialChatMessages,
   dashboardUrl,
+  initialPrefetchedChunksBySourceId,
   isGuest = false,
   loginUrl,
 }: WorkspaceShellProps): ReactElement {
@@ -80,6 +83,8 @@ function WorkspaceShellContent({
   })
   const citationFocus = useWorkspaceCitationFocus({
     fetchChunks: workspaceClient.fetchChunks,
+    initialPrefetchedChunksBySourceId:
+      initialPrefetchedChunksBySourceId ?? undefined,
     onSelectSource: sourceWorkflow.setSelectedSourceId,
     selectedSourceId: sourceWorkflow.selectedSourceId,
     sources: sourceWorkflow.sources,
diff --git a/src/domains/workspace/initial-state.ts b/src/domains/workspace/initial-state.ts
index 39f2fc5..d11e1fb 100644
--- a/src/domains/workspace/initial-state.ts
+++ b/src/domains/workspace/initial-state.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 import "server-only"
 
+import { unstable_cache } from "next/cache"
 import { Effect } from "effect"
 
 import type { ChatMessageView } from "@/domains/chat/types"
+import type { ParsedChunkView } from "@/domains/chunks/types"
 import { demoView } from "@/domains/demo/view"
 import {
   getMaterializedDemoSourceViewOptionsBySourceId,
@@ -33,6 +35,7 @@ type WorkspaceShellInitialState = {
   readonly chatMessages?: ChatMessageView[]
   readonly chatThreads?: ReturnType<typeof toChatThreadView>[]
   readonly dashboardUrl?: string
+  readonly initialPrefetchedChunksBySourceId?: Record<string, ParsedChunkView[]>
   readonly isGuest?: boolean
   readonly loginUrl?: string
   readonly sources?: SourceView[]
@@ -47,6 +50,38 @@ type WorkspaceShellInitialState = {
   }
 }
 
+const getCachedDemoChunksForSource = (demoSourceId: string) =>
+  unstable_cache(
+    async (): Promise<ParsedChunkView[]> => {
+      const chunkPage = await knowhereDemoApi.fetchChunkPage({
+        demoSourceId,
+        page: 1,
+        pageSize: 100,
+      })
+      const sourceView = demoView.toSourceView({
+        demoSourceId: chunkPage.demoSourceId,
+        canonicalDocumentId: chunkPage.canonicalDocumentId,
+        title: chunkPage.title,
+        mimeType: chunkPage.mimeType,
+        sizeBytes: 0,
+        status: "ready",
+        chunkCount: chunkPage.pagination.total,
+        originalFile: {
+          url: "",
+          mimeType: "",
+          sizeBytes: 0,
+          canDownload: false,
+        },
+        examples: [],
+      })
+      return chunkPage.chunks.map((chunk) =>
+        demoView.toParsedChunkView(sourceView, chunk),
+      )
+    },
+    ["demo-chunks", demoSourceId],
+    { revalidate: false },
+  )()
+
 type WorkspaceShellInitialStateClient =
   Parameters<typeof getSourceViewOptionsBySourceId>[1]
 
@@ -117,11 +152,32 @@ export const loadWorkspaceShellInitialStateEffect = (
         deps.fetchDemoCatalog(),
       )
       const guestContext = yield* Effect.tryPromise(() => deps.getGuest())
+
+      const firstDemoSource = demoCatalog.sources[0]
+      let initialPrefetchedChunksBySourceId: Record<
+        string,
+        ParsedChunkView[]
+      > = {}
+      if (firstDemoSource) {
+        const chunks = yield* Effect.catchAll(
+          Effect.tryPromise(() =>
+            getCachedDemoChunksForSource(firstDemoSource.demoSourceId),
+          ),
+          () => Effect.succeed([] as ParsedChunkView[]),
+        )
+        if (chunks.length > 0) {
+          initialPrefetchedChunksBySourceId = {
+            [firstDemoSource.demoSourceId]: chunks,
+          }
+        }
+      }
+
       return {
         isGuest: true,
         sources: demoCatalog.sources.map(demoView.toSourceView),
         chatMessages: demoView.toChatMessages(demoCatalog),
         dashboardUrl: resolveDashboardUrl(),
+        initialPrefetchedChunksBySourceId,
         loginUrl: guestContext.loginUrl,
       }
     }