diff --git a/src/gateway/rpc-methods.ts b/src/gateway/rpc-methods.ts
index 807308a6..4acf6264 100644
--- a/src/gateway/rpc-methods.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/rpc-methods.ts
@@ -2244,6 +2244,17 @@ export function createRpcMethods(
       }
     }
 
+    // Save steer message to DB (like chat.send saves the initial user message)
+    if (chatRepo) {
+      const effectiveSessionId = sessionId ?? stream.sessionId;
+      await chatRepo.appendMessage({
+        sessionId: effectiveSessionId,
+        role: "user",
+        content: text,
+      });
+      await chatRepo.incrementMessageCount(effectiveSessionId);
+    }
+
     const client = new AgentBoxClient(stream.endpoint, 30000, agentBoxTlsOptions);
     await client.steerSession(stream.sessionId, text);
     return { status: "steered" };
diff --git a/src/gateway/web/src/hooks/usePilot.ts b/src/gateway/web/src/hooks/usePilot.ts
index 423c7b3f..310941da 100644
--- a/src/gateway/web/src/hooks/usePilot.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/web/src/hooks/usePilot.ts
@@ -789,7 +789,13 @@ export function usePilot() {
         if (isLoading) {
             try {
                 await sendRpc('chat.steer', { text, sessionId: currentSessionKeyRef.current });
-                setPendingMessages(prev => [...prev, text]);
+                // Show steer message in chat immediately (same as normal send)
+                setMessages(prev => [...prev, {
+                    id: `user-${Date.now()}`,
+                    role: 'user' as const,
+                    content: text,
+                    timestamp: new Date().toLocaleTimeString([], { hour: '2-digit', minute: '2-digit' }),
+                }]);
             } catch (err) {
                 console.error('Failed to steer:', err);
             }