diff --git a/src/client/features/onboarding/OnboardingChatConversation.tsx b/src/client/features/onboarding/OnboardingChatConversation.tsx
index f20abb8f..52f05564 100644
--- a/src/client/features/onboarding/OnboardingChatConversation.tsx
+++ b/src/client/features/onboarding/OnboardingChatConversation.tsx
@@ -1,13 +1,14 @@
 import { useAgent } from "agents/react";
 import { useAgentChat } from "@cloudflare/ai-chat/react";
 import { useCustomer } from "autumn-js/react";
-import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
+import { useEffect, useState } from "react";
 import {
   ChatMessage,
   messageHasVisibleContent,
   type ResolveToolLabel,
 } from "@/client/components/chat/ChatMessage";
 import { captureClientEvent } from "@/client/lib/posthog";
+import { useStickToBottom } from "@/client/hooks/useStickToBottom";
 import { AUTUMN_PAID_PLAN_ID } from "@/shared/billing";
 import { FREE_ONBOARDING_QUESTION_LIMIT } from "@/shared/onboardingChat";
 import {
@@ -131,11 +132,10 @@ export function OnboardingChatConversation({
 
   // Pin to the bottom while the user is following along; the strategy doc plus
   // a streaming reply quickly grows past the viewport.
-  const scrollRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
+  const { scrollRef, onScroll, stickToBottom } = useStickToBottom();
   useEffect(() => {
-    const el = scrollRef.current;
-    if (el) el.scrollTop = el.scrollHeight;
-  }, [messages, status]);
+    stickToBottom();
+  }, [messages, status, stickToBottom]);
 
   const lastMessage = messages[messages.length - 1];
   const suggestionPool = [
@@ -172,7 +172,11 @@ export function OnboardingChatConversation({
       />
 
       <div className="flex min-w-0 flex-1 flex-col">
-        <div ref={scrollRef} className="flex-1 overflow-y-auto px-5 py-6">
+        <div
+          ref={scrollRef}
+          onScroll={onScroll}
+          className="flex-1 overflow-y-auto px-5 py-6"
+        >
           <div className="mx-auto max-w-2xl space-y-6">
             <WelcomeMessage
               domain={domain}
diff --git a/src/client/features/sam/SamConversation.tsx b/src/client/features/sam/SamConversation.tsx
index ed27bf49..b733ae17 100644
--- a/src/client/features/sam/SamConversation.tsx
+++ b/src/client/features/sam/SamConversation.tsx
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import { useAgentChat } from "@cloudflare/think/react";
 import { useEffect, useRef } from "react";
 import { ChatComposer } from "@/client/features/onboarding/OnboardingChatParts";
 import { invalidateSamSessions } from "@/client/features/sam/samQueries";
+import { useStickToBottom } from "@/client/hooks/useStickToBottom";
 import {
   ChatMessage,
   humanizeToolLabel,
@@ -74,11 +75,10 @@ export function SamConversation({
   }, [isBusy, projectId]);
 
   // Pin to the bottom while the user follows along.
-  const scrollRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
+  const { scrollRef, onScroll, stickToBottom } = useStickToBottom();
   useEffect(() => {
-    const el = scrollRef.current;
-    if (el) el.scrollTop = el.scrollHeight;
-  }, [messages, status]);
+    stickToBottom();
+  }, [messages, status, stickToBottom]);
 
   const lastMessage = messages[messages.length - 1];
   const showTyping =
@@ -101,7 +101,11 @@ export function SamConversation({
           Clear history (dev)
         </button>
       ) : null}
-      <div ref={scrollRef} className="flex-1 overflow-y-auto px-5 py-6">
+      <div
+        ref={scrollRef}
+        onScroll={onScroll}
+        className="flex-1 overflow-y-auto px-5 py-6"
+      >
         <div className="mx-auto max-w-2xl space-y-6">
           {messages.length === 0 ? (
             <div className="space-y-2 text-sm text-base-content/80">
diff --git a/src/client/hooks/useStickToBottom.test.ts b/src/client/hooks/useStickToBottom.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4647c637
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/client/hooks/useStickToBottom.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { isFollowingBottom } from "@/client/hooks/useStickToBottom";
+
+const viewport = (scrollTop: number) => ({
+  scrollHeight: 1000,
+  clientHeight: 400,
+  scrollTop,
+});
+
+describe("isFollowingBottom", () => {
+  it("follows when pinned to the bottom", () => {
+    expect(isFollowingBottom(viewport(600))).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("still follows within the threshold", () => {
+    // A streaming reply can grow a few pixels between the scroll event and the
+    // next render, so being just short of the bottom still counts.
+    expect(isFollowingBottom(viewport(560))).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("stops following once the reader scrolls away", () => {
+    expect(isFollowingBottom(viewport(200))).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("stops following one pixel past the threshold", () => {
+    // Bottom sits at scrollTop 600, so the default 48px threshold ends at 552.
+    expect(isFollowingBottom(viewport(552))).toBe(true);
+    expect(isFollowingBottom(viewport(551))).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("honours a custom threshold", () => {
+    expect(isFollowingBottom(viewport(551), 100)).toBe(true);
+    expect(isFollowingBottom(viewport(551), 10)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("treats overscroll as following", () => {
+    // Elastic scrolling can push scrollTop past the resting bottom.
+    expect(isFollowingBottom(viewport(620))).toBe(true);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/client/hooks/useStickToBottom.ts b/src/client/hooks/useStickToBottom.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f7a588b6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/client/hooks/useStickToBottom.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+import { useCallback, useRef } from "react";
+
+/**
+ * How far from the bottom still counts as "following along". Wide enough to
+ * survive fractional scroll positions and the few pixels a growing reply adds
+ * between a scroll event and the next render.
+ */
+const FOLLOW_THRESHOLD_PX = 48;
+
+type ScrollMetrics = Pick<
+  HTMLElement,
+  "scrollHeight" | "scrollTop" | "clientHeight"
+>;
+
+/** Whether the viewport is close enough to the bottom to keep pinning it. */
+export function isFollowingBottom(
+  { scrollHeight, scrollTop, clientHeight }: ScrollMetrics,
+  threshold: number = FOLLOW_THRESHOLD_PX,
+): boolean {
+  return scrollHeight - scrollTop - clientHeight <= threshold;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Keeps a scroll container pinned to the bottom while new content arrives, but
+ * only for as long as the reader stays there. Scrolling up during a streaming
+ * reply releases the pin; scrolling back down re-arms it.
+ *
+ * Wire `scrollRef` and `onScroll` to the container, then call `stickToBottom`
+ * from an effect keyed on whatever grows the content. The caller keeps that
+ * dependency list so it stays statically checkable.
+ */
+export function useStickToBottom() {
+  const scrollRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
+  const isFollowingRef = useRef(true);
+
+  const onScroll = useCallback(() => {
+    const el = scrollRef.current;
+    if (el) isFollowingRef.current = isFollowingBottom(el);
+  }, []);
+
+  const stickToBottom = useCallback(() => {
+    const el = scrollRef.current;
+    if (el && isFollowingRef.current) el.scrollTop = el.scrollHeight;
+  }, []);
+
+  return { scrollRef, onScroll, stickToBottom };
+}