diff --git a/js/chat/chat-core.js b/js/chat/chat-core.js
index 6f79dc8..15f1186 100644
--- a/js/chat/chat-core.js
+++ b/js/chat/chat-core.js
@@ -20,10 +20,29 @@ window.aiInstructions = "";
 window.aiInstructionPromise = fetch("prompts/ai-instruct.md")
     .then(res => res.text())
     .then(text => { window.aiInstructions = text; })
-    .catch(err => {
-        console.error("Failed to load AI instructions", err);
-        window.aiInstructions = "";
-    });
+    .catch(err => {
+        console.error("Failed to load AI instructions", err);
+        window.aiInstructions = "";
+    });
+
+// Ensure AI instructions are loaded before any polliLib calls
+window.ensureAIInstructions = async function ensureAIInstructions() {
+    if (window.aiInstructions) return window.aiInstructions;
+    try {
+        if (window.aiInstructionPromise) await window.aiInstructionPromise;
+    } catch (e) {
+        // fall through to re-fetch
+    }
+    if (window.aiInstructions) return window.aiInstructions;
+    try {
+        const res = await fetch("prompts/ai-instruct.md", { cache: "no-store" });
+        window.aiInstructions = await res.text();
+    } catch (e) {
+        console.error("Failed to fetch AI instructions", e);
+        window.aiInstructions = "";
+    }
+    return window.aiInstructions;
+};
 
 document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => {
 
@@ -463,19 +482,12 @@ document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => {
         chatBox.appendChild(loadingDiv);
         chatBox.scrollTop = chatBox.scrollHeight;
 
-        if (!window.aiInstructions) {
-            try {
-                const res = await fetch("prompts/ai-instruct.md", { cache: "no-store" });
-                window.aiInstructions = await res.text();
-            } catch (e) {
-                window.aiInstructions = "";
-            }
+        await window.ensureAIInstructions();
+
+        const messages = [];
+        if (window.aiInstructions) {
+            messages.push({ role: "system", content: window.aiInstructions });
         }
-
-        const messages = [];
-        if (window.aiInstructions) {
-            messages.push({ role: "system", content: window.aiInstructions });
-        }
         const memories = Memory.getMemories();
         if (memories?.length) {
             messages.push({ role: "system", content: `Relevant memory:\n${memories.join("\n")}\nUse it in your response.` });
diff --git a/js/ui/screensaver.js b/js/ui/screensaver.js
index 680317e..e24bd2e 100644
--- a/js/ui/screensaver.js
+++ b/js/ui/screensaver.js
@@ -191,11 +191,17 @@ document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => {
         const textModel = document.getElementById("model-select")?.value;
         const seed = generateSeed();
         try {
+            await window.ensureAIInstructions?.();
+            const messages = [];
+            if (window.aiInstructions) {
+                messages.push({ role: "system", content: window.aiInstructions });
+            }
+            messages.push({ role: "user", content: metaPrompt });
             // Use polliLib chat to generate a single short prompt
             const data = await (window.polliLib?.chat?.({
                 model: textModel || "openai",
                 seed,
-                messages: [{ role: "user", content: metaPrompt }]
+                messages
             }) ?? Promise.reject(new Error('polliLib not loaded')));
             const generatedPrompt = data?.choices?.[0]?.message?.content?.trim();
             if (!generatedPrompt) throw new Error("No fucking prompt returned from API");