diff --git a/autogpt_platform/frontend/src/app/(platform)/build/components/BuilderChatPanel/BuilderChatPanel.tsx b/autogpt_platform/frontend/src/app/(platform)/build/components/BuilderChatPanel/BuilderChatPanel.tsx
index e17f2c49ff..e6042e02bb 100644
--- a/autogpt_platform/frontend/src/app/(platform)/build/components/BuilderChatPanel/BuilderChatPanel.tsx
+++ b/autogpt_platform/frontend/src/app/(platform)/build/components/BuilderChatPanel/BuilderChatPanel.tsx
@@ -26,17 +26,11 @@ interface Props {
   isGraphLoaded?: boolean;
 }
 
-/**
- * BuilderChatPanel renders a collapsible AI chat panel for the flow builder.
- * All business logic lives in `useBuilderChatPanel`.
- *
- * `isGraphLoaded` controls when the seed message is sent to the AI — pass
- * `true` only once the graph has finished loading so the AI receives full context.
- */
 export function BuilderChatPanel({ className, isGraphLoaded }: Props) {
   const {
     isOpen,
     handleToggle,
+    retrySession,
     messages,
     stop,
     error,
@@ -99,7 +93,7 @@ export function BuilderChatPanel({ className, isGraphLoaded }: Props) {
             parsedActions={parsedActions}
             appliedActionKeys={appliedActionKeys}
             onApplyAction={handleApplyAction}
-            onRetry={handleToggle}
+            onRetry={retrySession}
             seedMessageId={seedMessageId}
             messagesEndRef={messagesEndRef}
           />
@@ -220,11 +214,7 @@ function MessageList({
         <div className="rounded-lg border border-red-100 bg-red-50 px-3 py-2 text-xs text-red-600">
           <p>Failed to start chat session.</p>
           <button
-            onClick={() => {
-              onRetry();
-              // Toggle twice: close then reopen to re-trigger session creation
-              setTimeout(onRetry, 50);
-            }}
+            onClick={onRetry}
             className="mt-1 underline hover:no-underline"
           >
             Retry
@@ -305,18 +295,21 @@ function MessageList({
           <p className="text-xs font-medium text-violet-700">
             Suggested changes
           </p>
-          {parsedActions.map((action) => {
-            const key = getActionKey(action);
-            return (
-              <ActionItem
-                key={key}
-                action={action}
-                nodes={nodes}
-                isApplied={appliedActionKeys.has(key)}
-                onApply={onApplyAction}
-              />
-            );
-          })}
+          {(() => {
+            const nodeMap = new Map(nodes.map((n) => [n.id, n]));
+            return parsedActions.map((action) => {
+              const key = getActionKey(action);
+              return (
+                <ActionItem
+                  key={key}
+                  action={action}
+                  nodeMap={nodeMap}
+                  isApplied={appliedActionKeys.has(key)}
+                  onApply={onApplyAction}
+                />
+              );
+            });
+          })()}
         </div>
       )}
 
@@ -327,17 +320,15 @@ function MessageList({
 
 function ActionItem({
   action,
-  nodes,
+  nodeMap,
   isApplied,
   onApply,
 }: {
   action: GraphAction;
-  nodes: CustomNode[];
+  nodeMap: Map<string, CustomNode>;
   isApplied: boolean;
   onApply: (action: GraphAction) => void;
 }) {
-  const nodeMap = new Map(nodes.map((n) => [n.id, n]));
-
   const label =
     action.type === "update_node_input"
       ? `Set "${getNodeDisplayName(nodeMap.get(action.nodeId), action.nodeId)}" "${action.key}" = ${JSON.stringify(action.value)}`
diff --git a/autogpt_platform/frontend/src/app/(platform)/build/components/BuilderChatPanel/__tests__/BuilderChatPanel.test.tsx b/autogpt_platform/frontend/src/app/(platform)/build/components/BuilderChatPanel/__tests__/BuilderChatPanel.test.tsx
index 2005c4dde0..ca66bf827d 100644
--- a/autogpt_platform/frontend/src/app/(platform)/build/components/BuilderChatPanel/__tests__/BuilderChatPanel.test.tsx
+++ b/autogpt_platform/frontend/src/app/(platform)/build/components/BuilderChatPanel/__tests__/BuilderChatPanel.test.tsx
@@ -32,10 +32,9 @@ function makeMockHook(
   return {
     isOpen: false,
     handleToggle: vi.fn(),
+    retrySession: vi.fn(),
     messages: [],
-    sendMessage: vi.fn(),
     stop: vi.fn(),
-    status: "ready",
     error: undefined,
     isCreatingSession: false,
     sessionError: false,
@@ -335,12 +334,15 @@ describe("BuilderChatPanel", () => {
   });
 
   it("shows session error message with Retry when sessionError is true", () => {
+    const retrySession = vi.fn();
     mockUseBuilderChatPanel.mockReturnValue(
-      makeMockHook({ isOpen: true, sessionError: true }),
+      makeMockHook({ isOpen: true, sessionError: true, retrySession }),
     );
     render(<BuilderChatPanel />);
     expect(screen.getByText(/Failed to start chat session/i)).toBeDefined();
     expect(screen.getByText("Retry")).toBeDefined();
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByText("Retry"));
+    expect(retrySession).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
   });
 
   it("renders the panel with role=dialog and message list with role=log", () => {
@@ -751,9 +753,15 @@ describe("buildSeedPrompt", () => {
     expect(result).toContain('"action": "connect_nodes"');
   });
 
-  it("ends with a question to prompt an AI response", () => {
+  it("ends with a prompt inviting the user to interact", () => {
     const result = buildSeedPrompt("");
-    expect(result.trim().endsWith("What does this agent do?")).toBe(true);
+    expect(
+      result
+        .trim()
+        .endsWith(
+          "Ask me what you'd like to know about or change in this agent.",
+        ),
+    ).toBe(true);
   });
 });
 
diff --git a/autogpt_platform/frontend/src/app/(platform)/build/components/BuilderChatPanel/__tests__/useBuilderChatPanel.test.ts b/autogpt_platform/frontend/src/app/(platform)/build/components/BuilderChatPanel/__tests__/useBuilderChatPanel.test.ts
index 5ba08e617e..56a9833ce1 100644
--- a/autogpt_platform/frontend/src/app/(platform)/build/components/BuilderChatPanel/__tests__/useBuilderChatPanel.test.ts
+++ b/autogpt_platform/frontend/src/app/(platform)/build/components/BuilderChatPanel/__tests__/useBuilderChatPanel.test.ts
@@ -60,12 +60,14 @@ vi.mock("@/components/molecules/Toast/use-toast", () => ({
 
 const mockSendMessage = vi.fn();
 const mockStop = vi.fn();
+let mockChatMessages: unknown[] = [];
+let mockChatStatus = "ready";
 vi.mock("@ai-sdk/react", () => ({
   useChat: () => ({
-    messages: [],
+    messages: mockChatMessages,
     sendMessage: mockSendMessage,
     stop: mockStop,
-    status: "ready",
+    status: mockChatStatus,
     error: undefined,
   }),
 }));
@@ -91,6 +93,8 @@ beforeEach(() => {
   mockFlowID = null;
   mockNodes.length = 0;
   mockEdges.length = 0;
+  mockChatMessages = [];
+  mockChatStatus = "ready";
   mockUpdateNodeData.mockClear();
   mockAddEdge.mockClear();
   mockRemoveEdge.mockClear();
@@ -306,8 +310,8 @@ describe("useBuilderChatPanel – flowID reset", () => {
   });
 });
 
-describe("useBuilderChatPanel – cache invalidation", () => {
-  it("invalidates graph query cache after applying an update_node_input action", () => {
+describe("useBuilderChatPanel – apply does not trigger cache refetch", () => {
+  it("does NOT call invalidateQueries after applying an update_node_input action (prevents refetch overwriting local state)", () => {
     mockNodes.push({
       id: "n1",
       data: { hardcodedValues: { existing: "val" } },
@@ -325,44 +329,6 @@ describe("useBuilderChatPanel – cache invalidation", () => {
       });
     });
 
-    expect(mockInvalidateQueries).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
-      queryKey: ["graphs", "flow-cache"],
-    });
-  });
-
-  it("invalidates graph query cache after applying a connect_nodes action", () => {
-    mockNodes.push({ id: "src", data: {} }, { id: "tgt", data: {} });
-    mockFlowID = "flow-edges";
-
-    const { result } = renderHook(() => useBuilderChatPanel());
-
-    act(() => {
-      result.current.handleApplyAction({
-        type: "connect_nodes",
-        source: "src",
-        target: "tgt",
-        sourceHandle: "out",
-        targetHandle: "in",
-      });
-    });
-
-    expect(mockInvalidateQueries).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
-      queryKey: ["graphs", "flow-edges"],
-    });
-  });
-
-  it("does NOT invalidate cache when validation fails (node not found)", () => {
-    const { result } = renderHook(() => useBuilderChatPanel());
-
-    act(() => {
-      result.current.handleApplyAction({
-        type: "update_node_input",
-        nodeId: "nonexistent",
-        key: "query",
-        value: "test",
-      });
-    });
-
     expect(mockInvalidateQueries).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 });
@@ -693,3 +659,162 @@ describe("useBuilderChatPanel – undo", () => {
     expect(result.current.appliedActionKeys.size).toBe(0);
   });
 });
+
+describe("useBuilderChatPanel – parsedActions integration", () => {
+  it("returns parsed actions from assistant messages when status is ready", () => {
+    mockChatMessages = [
+      {
+        id: "msg-1",
+        role: "assistant",
+        parts: [
+          {
+            type: "text",
+            text: '```json\n{"action":"update_node_input","node_id":"n1","key":"query","value":"AI news"}\n```',
+          },
+        ],
+      },
+    ];
+    mockChatStatus = "ready";
+
+    const { result } = renderHook(() => useBuilderChatPanel());
+
+    expect(result.current.parsedActions).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(result.current.parsedActions[0]).toEqual({
+      type: "update_node_input",
+      nodeId: "n1",
+      key: "query",
+      value: "AI news",
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("returns empty parsedActions when status is streaming", () => {
+    mockChatMessages = [
+      {
+        id: "msg-1",
+        role: "assistant",
+        parts: [
+          {
+            type: "text",
+            text: '```json\n{"action":"update_node_input","node_id":"n1","key":"query","value":"AI news"}\n```',
+          },
+        ],
+      },
+    ];
+    mockChatStatus = "streaming";
+
+    const { result } = renderHook(() => useBuilderChatPanel());
+
+    expect(result.current.parsedActions).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  it("deduplicates identical actions from multiple assistant messages", () => {
+    const actionBlock =
+      '```json\n{"action":"update_node_input","node_id":"n1","key":"query","value":"AI news"}\n```';
+    mockChatMessages = [
+      {
+        id: "msg-1",
+        role: "assistant",
+        parts: [{ type: "text", text: actionBlock }],
+      },
+      {
+        id: "msg-2",
+        role: "assistant",
+        parts: [{ type: "text", text: actionBlock }],
+      },
+    ];
+    mockChatStatus = "ready";
+
+    const { result } = renderHook(() => useBuilderChatPanel());
+
+    expect(result.current.parsedActions).toHaveLength(1);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("useBuilderChatPanel – Escape key handler", () => {
+  it("closes the panel when Escape is pressed while open", () => {
+    const { result } = renderHook(() => useBuilderChatPanel());
+
+    act(() => {
+      result.current.handleToggle();
+    });
+    expect(result.current.isOpen).toBe(true);
+
+    act(() => {
+      document.dispatchEvent(new KeyboardEvent("keydown", { key: "Escape" }));
+    });
+    expect(result.current.isOpen).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("does not error when Escape is pressed while panel is closed", () => {
+    const { result } = renderHook(() => useBuilderChatPanel());
+    expect(result.current.isOpen).toBe(false);
+
+    act(() => {
+      document.dispatchEvent(new KeyboardEvent("keydown", { key: "Escape" }));
+    });
+
+    expect(result.current.isOpen).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("useBuilderChatPanel – retrySession", () => {
+  it("clears sessionError so the session-creation effect can re-run", async () => {
+    mockPostV2CreateSession.mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error("network error"));
+
+    const { result } = renderHook(() => useBuilderChatPanel());
+
+    await openAndFlush(() => result.current.handleToggle());
+    expect(result.current.sessionError).toBe(true);
+
+    mockPostV2CreateSession.mockResolvedValue({
+      status: 200,
+      data: { id: "sess-retry" },
+    });
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      result.current.retrySession();
+      await new Promise<void>((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 0));
+    });
+
+    expect(result.current.sessionError).toBe(false);
+    expect(result.current.sessionId).toBe("sess-retry");
+  });
+});
+
+describe("useBuilderChatPanel – handleSend", () => {
+  it("clears inputValue after sending when session is ready", async () => {
+    mockPostV2CreateSession.mockResolvedValue({
+      status: 200,
+      data: { id: "sess-send" },
+    });
+
+    const { result } = renderHook(() => useBuilderChatPanel());
+
+    await openAndFlush(() => result.current.handleToggle());
+
+    act(() => {
+      result.current.setInputValue("hello world");
+    });
+
+    act(() => {
+      result.current.handleSend();
+    });
+
+    expect(result.current.inputValue).toBe("");
+    expect(mockSendMessage).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ text: "hello world" });
+  });
+
+  it("does not send when inputValue is whitespace only", () => {
+    const { result } = renderHook(() => useBuilderChatPanel());
+
+    act(() => {
+      result.current.setInputValue("   ");
+    });
+
+    act(() => {
+      result.current.handleSend();
+    });
+
+    expect(mockSendMessage).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/autogpt_platform/frontend/src/app/(platform)/build/components/BuilderChatPanel/helpers.ts b/autogpt_platform/frontend/src/app/(platform)/build/components/BuilderChatPanel/helpers.ts
index 1763b7c64d..fc1593028e 100644
--- a/autogpt_platform/frontend/src/app/(platform)/build/components/BuilderChatPanel/helpers.ts
+++ b/autogpt_platform/frontend/src/app/(platform)/build/components/BuilderChatPanel/helpers.ts
@@ -124,8 +124,8 @@ export function buildSeedPrompt(summary: string): string {
     `To add a connection between nodes:\n` +
     `\`\`\`json\n{"action": "connect_nodes", "source": "<source node id>", "target": "<target node id>", "source_handle": "<output handle name>", "target_handle": "<input handle name>"}\n\`\`\`\n\n` +
     `Rules: the "action" key is required and must be exactly "update_node_input" or "connect_nodes". ` +
-    `Do not use any other field names (e.g. "block", "change", "field", "from", "to" are NOT valid).\n\n` +
-    `What does this agent do?`
+    `Do not use any other field names (e.g. "block", "change", "field", "from", "to" are NOT valid). ` +
+    `Ask me what you'd like to know about or change in this agent.`
   );
 }
 
diff --git a/autogpt_platform/frontend/src/app/(platform)/build/components/BuilderChatPanel/useBuilderChatPanel.ts b/autogpt_platform/frontend/src/app/(platform)/build/components/BuilderChatPanel/useBuilderChatPanel.ts
index a7283a5b1d..86e28a5b5a 100644
--- a/autogpt_platform/frontend/src/app/(platform)/build/components/BuilderChatPanel/useBuilderChatPanel.ts
+++ b/autogpt_platform/frontend/src/app/(platform)/build/components/BuilderChatPanel/useBuilderChatPanel.ts
@@ -1,14 +1,11 @@
 import { postV2CreateSession } from "@/app/api/__generated__/endpoints/chat/chat";
-import { getGetV1GetSpecificGraphQueryKey } from "@/app/api/__generated__/endpoints/graphs/graphs";
 import { getWebSocketToken } from "@/lib/supabase/actions";
 import { environment } from "@/services/environment";
 import { useToast } from "@/components/molecules/Toast/use-toast";
-import { useQueryClient } from "@tanstack/react-query";
 import { useChat } from "@ai-sdk/react";
 import { DefaultChatTransport } from "ai";
 import {
   type KeyboardEvent,
-  useCallback,
   useEffect,
   useMemo,
   useRef,
@@ -41,15 +38,6 @@ interface UseBuilderChatPanelArgs {
   isGraphLoaded?: boolean;
 }
 
-/**
- * useBuilderChatPanel manages all business logic for the collapsible AI chat
- * panel in the flow builder. It owns session lifecycle, streaming transport,
- * graph context serialization, action parsing, apply/undo, and input handling.
- *
- * @param isGraphLoaded - When true the seed message is sent automatically.
- *   Pass false (the default) until the graph has finished loading to avoid
- *   sending an empty context to the AI.
- */
 export function useBuilderChatPanel({
   isGraphLoaded = false,
 }: UseBuilderChatPanelArgs = {}) {
@@ -72,7 +60,6 @@ export function useBuilderChatPanel({
   const isCreatingSessionRef = useRef(false);
 
   const [{ flowID }] = useQueryStates({ flowID: parseAsString });
-  const queryClient = useQueryClient();
   const { toast } = useToast();
 
   const nodes = useNodeStore(useShallow((s) => s.nodes));
@@ -233,13 +220,16 @@ export function useBuilderChatPanel({
     Boolean(sessionId) && !isCreatingSession && !sessionError && !isStreaming;
 
   function handleToggle() {
-    // Reset session error when reopening so the panel can retry session creation
-    if (!isOpen && !sessionId) {
-      setSessionError(false);
-    }
     setIsOpen((o) => !o);
   }
 
+  // Resets session error state so the session-creation effect re-runs on
+  // the next render without toggling the panel closed and back open.
+  function retrySession() {
+    setSessionError(false);
+    isCreatingSessionRef.current = false;
+  }
+
   function handleSend() {
     const text = inputValue.trim();
     if (!text || !canSend) return;
@@ -276,8 +266,10 @@ export function useBuilderChatPanel({
         });
         return;
       }
-      // Capture a snapshot before mutating so we can undo.
-      const prevHardcoded = node.data.hardcodedValues;
+      // Deep-clone before mutating so sequential applies to the same node
+      // each capture an independent snapshot — without this, the reference
+      // would point to the same object after mutation.
+      const prevHardcoded = structuredClone(node.data.hardcodedValues);
       const key = getActionKey(action);
       setUndoStack((prev) => [
         ...prev,
@@ -361,29 +353,23 @@ export function useBuilderChatPanel({
       return _;
     }
     setAppliedActionKeys((prev) => new Set([...prev, getActionKey(action)]));
-    if (flowID) {
-      queryClient.invalidateQueries({
-        queryKey: getGetV1GetSpecificGraphQueryKey(flowID),
-      });
-    }
   }
 
-  const handleUndoLastAction = useCallback(() => {
+  function handleUndoLastAction() {
     setUndoStack((prev) => {
       if (prev.length === 0) return prev;
       const last = prev[prev.length - 1];
       last.restore();
       return prev.slice(0, -1);
     });
-  }, []);
+  }
 
   return {
     isOpen,
     handleToggle,
+    retrySession,
     messages,
-    sendMessage,
     stop,
-    status,
     error,
     isCreatingSession,
     sessionError,