diff --git a/packages/ai/src/utils/retry.ts b/packages/ai/src/utils/retry.ts
index f0b349310fda..a82426b9290a 100644
--- a/packages/ai/src/utils/retry.ts
+++ b/packages/ai/src/utils/retry.ts
@@ -139,6 +139,19 @@ export function retryDelayMs(policy: Pick<RetryPolicy, "baseDelayMs" | "maxAgent
 	return Math.min(safeDelay, policy.maxAgentDelayMs ?? DEFAULT_MAX_AGENT_RETRY_DELAY_MS);
 }
 
+/**
+ * {@link retryDelayMs} with "equal jitter": half the delay is kept, the other half is random.
+ * Sessions that failed together then retry spread out instead of all at once.
+ */
+export function jitteredRetryDelayMs(
+	policy: Pick<RetryPolicy, "baseDelayMs" | "maxAgentDelayMs">,
+	attempt: number,
+	random: () => number = Math.random,
+): number {
+	const delay = retryDelayMs(policy, attempt);
+	return Math.round(delay / 2 + (delay / 2) * random());
+}
+
 /** Optional callbacks emitted by {@link retryAssistantCall} around each retry. */
 export interface RetryCallbacks {
 	/** Emitted before the backoff sleep of each retry attempt (1-indexed). */
diff --git a/packages/ai/test/retry.test.ts b/packages/ai/test/retry.test.ts
index 3b2be23c11dc..715009d766b7 100644
--- a/packages/ai/test/retry.test.ts
+++ b/packages/ai/test/retry.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,12 @@
 import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import { fauxAssistantMessage } from "../src/providers/faux.ts";
-import { isRetryableAssistantError, type RetryPolicy, retryAssistantCall, retryDelayMs } from "../src/utils/retry.ts";
+import {
+	isRetryableAssistantError,
+	jitteredRetryDelayMs,
+	type RetryPolicy,
+	retryAssistantCall,
+	retryDelayMs,
+} from "../src/utils/retry.ts";
 
 const openAIExplicitRetryMessage =
 	"An error occurred while processing your request. You can retry your request, or contact us through our help center at help.openai.com if the error persists. Please include the request ID req_******** in your message.";
@@ -151,6 +157,18 @@ describe("retryDelayMs", () => {
 	});
 });
 
+describe("jitteredRetryDelayMs", () => {
+	it("keeps the delay between half and all of the unjittered one", () => {
+		expect(jitteredRetryDelayMs({ baseDelayMs: 2000 }, 3, () => 0)).toBe(4000);
+		expect(jitteredRetryDelayMs({ baseDelayMs: 2000 }, 3, () => 1)).toBe(8000);
+		expect(jitteredRetryDelayMs({ baseDelayMs: 2000 }, 3, () => 0.5)).toBe(6000);
+	});
+
+	it("still respects the cap", () => {
+		expect(jitteredRetryDelayMs({ baseDelayMs: 2000, maxAgentDelayMs: 5000 }, 5, () => 1)).toBe(5000);
+	});
+});
+
 describe("retryAssistantCall", () => {
 	const disabled: RetryPolicy = { enabled: false, maxRetries: 3, baseDelayMs: 0 };
 	const enabled: RetryPolicy = { enabled: true, maxRetries: 3, baseDelayMs: 0 };