diff --git a/application/single_app/config.py b/application/single_app/config.py
index 30cb1b95f..b3419b568 100644
--- a/application/single_app/config.py
+++ b/application/single_app/config.py
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@
 EXECUTOR_TYPE = 'thread'
 EXECUTOR_MAX_WORKERS = 30
 SESSION_TYPE = 'filesystem'
-VERSION = "0.241.007"
+VERSION = "0.241.008"
 
 SECRET_KEY = os.getenv('SECRET_KEY', 'dev-secret-key-change-in-production')
 
diff --git a/application/single_app/static/js/chat/chat-global.js b/application/single_app/static/js/chat/chat-global.js
index 0cb42f724..7ea874a46 100644
--- a/application/single_app/static/js/chat/chat-global.js
+++ b/application/single_app/static/js/chat/chat-global.js
@@ -9,9 +9,71 @@ let groupPrompts = [];
 let publicPrompts = [];
 let currentlyEditingId = null;
 
+function getChatScrollContainer() {
+  return (
+    document.getElementById("chat-messages-container") ||
+    document.getElementById("chatbox") ||
+    null
+  );
+}
+
+function isChatNearBottom(threshold = 40) {
+  const container = getChatScrollContainer();
+  if (!container) return true;
+
+  const distanceFromBottom =
+    container.scrollHeight - (container.scrollTop + container.clientHeight);
+  return distanceFromBottom <= threshold;
+}
+
 function scrollChatToBottom() {
-  const chatbox = document.getElementById("chatbox");
-  if (chatbox) {
-    chatbox.scrollTop = chatbox.scrollHeight;
+  const container = getChatScrollContainer();
+  if (container) {
+    container.scrollTop = container.scrollHeight;
   }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
+
+function showScrollToBottomButton() {
+  const btn = document.getElementById("scroll-to-bottom-btn");
+  if (!btn) return;
+  btn.classList.remove("d-none");
+}
+
+function hideScrollToBottomButton() {
+  const btn = document.getElementById("scroll-to-bottom-btn");
+  if (!btn) return;
+  btn.classList.add("d-none");
+}
+
+function initializeChatScrollBehavior() {
+  const container = getChatScrollContainer();
+  const btn = document.getElementById("scroll-to-bottom-btn");
+
+  if (!container) return;
+
+  // Initial state
+  if (isChatNearBottom()) {
+    hideScrollToBottomButton();
+  } else {
+    showScrollToBottomButton();
+  }
+
+  container.addEventListener("scroll", () => {
+    if (isChatNearBottom()) {
+      hideScrollToBottomButton();
+    } else {
+      showScrollToBottomButton();
+    }
+  });
+
+  if (btn) {
+    btn.addEventListener("click", () => {
+      scrollChatToBottom();
+      hideScrollToBottomButton();
+    });
+  }
+}
+
+window.addEventListener("load", () => {
+  initializeChatScrollBehavior();
+});
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/application/single_app/static/js/chat/chat-messages.js b/application/single_app/static/js/chat/chat-messages.js
index c904639d6..7a6bb7586 100644
--- a/application/single_app/static/js/chat/chat-messages.js
+++ b/application/single_app/static/js/chat/chat-messages.js
@@ -1036,7 +1036,14 @@ export function appendMessage(
       });
     }
 
-    scrollChatToBottom();
+    // For AI messages, only auto-scroll if the user is currently near
+    // the bottom. This prevents a final jump after a long answer if
+    // the user has scrolled up to read earlier content.
+    if (typeof isChatNearBottom === 'function' && typeof scrollChatToBottom === 'function') {
+      if (isChatNearBottom()) {
+        scrollChatToBottom();
+      }
+    }
     return; // <<< EXIT EARLY FOR AI MESSAGES
 
     // --- Handle ALL OTHER message types ---
@@ -1106,7 +1113,10 @@ export function appendMessage(
       
       // Validate image URL before creating img tag
       if (messageContent && messageContent !== 'null' && messageContent.trim() !== '') {
-        messageContentHtml = `<img src="${messageContent}" alt="${isUserUpload ? 'Uploaded' : 'Generated'} Image" class="generated-image" style="width: 170px; height: 170px; cursor: pointer;" data-image-src="${messageContent}" onload="scrollChatToBottom()" onerror="this.src='/static/images/image-error.png'; this.alt='Failed to load image';" />`;
+        // Use a placeholder container; the actual <img> element will be
+        // created with DOM APIs after insertion to avoid string-based
+        // attribute interpolation in src/data-*.
+        messageContentHtml = '<span class="generated-image-placeholder"></span>';
       } else {
         messageContentHtml = `<div class="alert alert-warning"><i class="bi bi-exclamation-triangle me-2"></i>Failed to ${isUserUpload ? 'load' : 'generate'} image - invalid response from image service</div>`;
       }
@@ -1256,6 +1266,28 @@ export function appendMessage(
     // Append and scroll (common actions for non-AI)
     chatbox.appendChild(messageDiv);
 
+    // Attach safe image element and error handler for generated/uploaded images
+    if (sender === "image") {
+      const placeholder = messageDiv.querySelector('.generated-image-placeholder');
+      if (placeholder && messageContent && messageContent !== 'null' && messageContent.trim() !== '') {
+        const imgEl = document.createElement('img');
+        imgEl.className = 'generated-image';
+        imgEl.style.width = '170px';
+        imgEl.style.height = '170px';
+        imgEl.style.cursor = 'pointer';
+        imgEl.src = messageContent;
+        imgEl.alt = isUserUpload ? 'Uploaded Image' : 'Generated Image';
+        imgEl.dataset.imageSrc = messageContent;
+
+        imgEl.addEventListener('error', () => {
+          imgEl.src = '/static/images/image-error.png';
+          imgEl.alt = 'Failed to load image';
+        });
+
+        placeholder.replaceWith(imgEl);
+      }
+    }
+
     // Highlight code blocks in the messages
     messageDiv.querySelectorAll('pre code[class^="language-"]').forEach((block) => {
       const match = block.className.match(/language-([a-zA-Z0-9]+)/);
@@ -1378,7 +1410,16 @@ export function appendMessage(
       }
     }
 
-    scrollChatToBottom();
+    // For new user/file/image messages, scroll to bottom once so the
+    // user sees what they just sent. For history loads, only scroll
+    // if they are already near the bottom.
+    if (isNewMessage && typeof scrollChatToBottom === 'function') {
+      scrollChatToBottom();
+    } else if (typeof isChatNearBottom === 'function' && typeof scrollChatToBottom === 'function') {
+      if (isChatNearBottom()) {
+        scrollChatToBottom();
+      }
+    }
   } // End of the large 'else' block for non-AI messages
 }
 
@@ -1436,7 +1477,7 @@ export function actuallySendMessage(finalMessageToSend) {
   const tempUserMessageId = `temp_user_${Date.now()}`;
   
   // Append user message first with temporary ID
-  appendMessage("You", finalMessageToSend, null, tempUserMessageId);
+  appendMessage("You", finalMessageToSend, null, tempUserMessageId, false, [], [], [], null, null, null, true);
   userInput.value = "";
   userInput.style.height = "";
   // Update send button visibility after clearing input
diff --git a/application/single_app/templates/chats.html b/application/single_app/templates/chats.html
index dfcb11385..fd4ac4d3e 100644
--- a/application/single_app/templates/chats.html
+++ b/application/single_app/templates/chats.html
@@ -267,8 +267,20 @@ <h5 id="current-conversation-title" class="mb-0 flex-grow-1 text-truncate">
                 </div>
             </div>
 
-            <div id="chatbox" class="flex-grow-1 p-3" style="overflow-y: auto;">
-                <!-- Chat messages will be dynamically loaded here -->
+            <div id="chat-messages-container" class="position-relative flex-grow-1" style="overflow-y: auto;">
+                <div id="chatbox" class="flex-grow-1 p-3">
+                    <!-- Chat messages will be dynamically loaded here -->
+                </div>
+                <button
+                    id="scroll-to-bottom-btn"
+                    type="button"
+                    class="btn btn-primary rounded-circle position-sticky d-none"
+                    style="margin-left: auto; bottom: 1rem; width: 40px; height: 40px; display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center;"
+                    aria-label="Scroll to latest message"
+                    title="Scroll to latest message"
+                >
+                    <i class="bi bi-arrow-down"></i>
+                </button>
             </div>
 
             <div class="p-3 border-top flex-shrink-0">
diff --git a/docs/explanation/release_notes.md b/docs/explanation/release_notes.md
index db17633db..8e93d98f6 100644
--- a/docs/explanation/release_notes.md
+++ b/docs/explanation/release_notes.md
@@ -4,6 +4,16 @@ This page tracks notable Simple Chat releases and organizes the detailed change
 
 For feature-focused and fix-focused drill-downs by version, see [Features by Version](/explanation/features/) and [Fixes by Version](/explanation/fixes/).
 
+### **(v0.241.008)**
+
+#### User Interface Enhancements
+
+*   **Chat Scroll Behavior and 508 Usability**
+    *   Updated chat message rendering so the viewport no longer jumps to the very bottom of long assistant responses when they finish loading while the user is reading near the top.
+    *   Auto-scroll now only occurs when the user is already near the bottom of the conversation, and a floating "scroll to latest message" button appears when new content arrives below the current view.
+    *   This aligns the chat experience more closely with other AI chat tools and reduces unexpected motion for 508 testers and keyboard users.
+    *   (Ref: `chats.html`, `chat-global.js`, `chat-messages.js`)
+
 ### **(v0.241.007)**
 
 ## New Feature