diff --git a/apps/client/src/app/components/ai-chat/ai-chat.component.html b/apps/client/src/app/components/ai-chat/ai-chat.component.html
index c80f28ea9..67a03a4dc 100644
--- a/apps/client/src/app/components/ai-chat/ai-chat.component.html
+++ b/apps/client/src/app/components/ai-chat/ai-chat.component.html
@@ -29,6 +29,20 @@
     <div class="ai-banner ai-banner--success">{{ successBanner }}</div>
   }
 
+  <!-- Empty portfolio seed banner -->
+  @if (showSeedBanner && !isSeeding) {
+    <div class="ai-banner ai-banner--seed">
+      <span>Your portfolio is empty. Load demo data to try the AI?</span>
+      <div class="ai-banner__actions">
+        <button class="ai-banner__btn ai-banner__btn--primary" (click)="seedPortfolio()">🌱 Load demo data</button>
+        <button class="ai-banner__btn ai-banner__btn--dismiss" (click)="showSeedBanner = false">Dismiss</button>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  }
+  @if (isSeeding) {
+    <div class="ai-banner ai-banner--seed">⏳ Loading demo portfolio…</div>
+  }
+
   <!-- Messages area -->
   <div class="ai-messages" #messagesContainer>
     @for (msg of messages; track $index) {
diff --git a/apps/client/src/app/components/ai-chat/ai-chat.component.scss b/apps/client/src/app/components/ai-chat/ai-chat.component.scss
index 8b8c76104..a619c41bb 100644
--- a/apps/client/src/app/components/ai-chat/ai-chat.component.scss
+++ b/apps/client/src/app/components/ai-chat/ai-chat.component.scss
@@ -159,6 +159,51 @@
       color: #a7f3d0;
     }
   }
+
+  &--seed {
+    background: #eff6ff;
+    color: #1e40af;
+    display: flex;
+    align-items: center;
+    justify-content: space-between;
+    flex-wrap: wrap;
+    gap: 0.5rem;
+    font-weight: 500;
+
+    :host-context(.theme-dark) & {
+      background: #1e3a5f;
+      color: #bfdbfe;
+    }
+  }
+
+  &__actions {
+    display: flex;
+    gap: 0.4rem;
+    flex-shrink: 0;
+  }
+
+  &__btn {
+    border: none;
+    border-radius: 6px;
+    padding: 0.25rem 0.65rem;
+    font-size: 0.8rem;
+    font-weight: 600;
+    cursor: pointer;
+    transition: opacity 0.15s;
+
+    &:hover { opacity: 0.85; }
+
+    &--primary {
+      background: #2563eb;
+      color: #fff;
+    }
+
+    &--dismiss {
+      background: transparent;
+      color: inherit;
+      opacity: 0.6;
+    }
+  }
 }
 
 @keyframes slideDown {
diff --git a/apps/client/src/app/components/ai-chat/ai-chat.component.ts b/apps/client/src/app/components/ai-chat/ai-chat.component.ts
index 97ba793f1..4555f5a5d 100644
--- a/apps/client/src/app/components/ai-chat/ai-chat.component.ts
+++ b/apps/client/src/app/components/ai-chat/ai-chat.component.ts
@@ -50,6 +50,8 @@ export class GfAiChatComponent implements OnDestroy {
   public inputValue = '';
   public messages: ChatMessage[] = [];
   public successBanner = '';
+  public showSeedBanner = false;
+  public isSeeding = false;
 
   // Write confirmation state
   private pendingWrite: Record<string, unknown> | null = null;
@@ -57,6 +59,7 @@ export class GfAiChatComponent implements OnDestroy {
 
   private readonly AGENT_URL: string;
   private readonly FEEDBACK_URL: string;
+  private readonly SEED_URL: string;
 
   public constructor(
     private changeDetectorRef: ChangeDetectorRef,
@@ -67,6 +70,7 @@ export class GfAiChatComponent implements OnDestroy {
     const base = (environment.agentUrl ?? '/agent').replace(/\/$/, '');
     this.AGENT_URL = `${base}/chat`;
     this.FEEDBACK_URL = `${base}/feedback`;
+    this.SEED_URL = `${base}/seed`;
   }
 
   public ngOnDestroy() {}
@@ -166,6 +170,15 @@ export class GfAiChatComponent implements OnDestroy {
         this.awaitingConfirmation = data.awaiting_confirmation;
         this.pendingWrite = data.pending_write;
 
+        // Detect an empty portfolio and offer to seed demo data
+        const emptyPortfolioHints = ['0 holdings', '0 positions', 'no holdings', 'no positions', 'empty portfolio', 'no transactions', '0.00 (0.0%)'];
+        const isEmptyPortfolio = emptyPortfolioHints.some((hint) =>
+          data.response.toLowerCase().includes(hint)
+        );
+        if (isEmptyPortfolio && !this.showSeedBanner) {
+          this.showSeedBanner = true;
+        }
+
         if (isWriteSuccess) {
           this.successBanner = '✅ Transaction recorded successfully';
           setTimeout(() => {
@@ -192,6 +205,39 @@ export class GfAiChatComponent implements OnDestroy {
     });
   }
 
+  public seedPortfolio(): void {
+    this.isSeeding = true;
+    this.showSeedBanner = false;
+    this.changeDetectorRef.markForCheck();
+
+    const body: { bearer_token?: string } = {};
+    const userToken = this.tokenStorageService.getToken();
+    if (userToken) {
+      body.bearer_token = userToken;
+    }
+
+    this.http.post<{ success: boolean; message: string }>(this.SEED_URL, body).subscribe({
+      next: (data) => {
+        this.isSeeding = false;
+        if (data.success) {
+          this.messages.push({
+            role: 'assistant',
+            content: `🌱 **Demo portfolio loaded!** I've added 18 transactions across AAPL, MSFT, NVDA, GOOGL, AMZN, and VTI spanning 2021–2024. Try asking "how is my portfolio doing?" to see your analysis.`
+          });
+        } else {
+          this.messages.push({ role: 'assistant', content: '⚠️ Could not load demo data. Please try again.' });
+        }
+        this.changeDetectorRef.markForCheck();
+        this.scrollToBottom();
+      },
+      error: () => {
+        this.isSeeding = false;
+        this.messages.push({ role: 'assistant', content: '⚠️ Could not reach the seeding endpoint. Make sure the agent is running.' });
+        this.changeDetectorRef.markForCheck();
+      }
+    });
+  }
+
   public giveFeedback(
     msgIndex: number,
     rating: 1 | -1