diff --git a/src/auto-reply/reply/agent-runner-execution.ts b/src/auto-reply/reply/agent-runner-execution.ts
index a428aa6da..47c45b09d 100644
--- a/src/auto-reply/reply/agent-runner-execution.ts
+++ b/src/auto-reply/reply/agent-runner-execution.ts
@@ -179,6 +179,17 @@ export async function runAgentTurnWithFallback(params: {
               images: params.opts?.images,
             })
               .then((result) => {
+                // CLI backends don't emit streaming assistant events, so we need to
+                // emit one with the final text so server-chat can populate its buffer
+                // and send the response to TUI/WebSocket clients.
+                const cliText = result.payloads?.[0]?.text?.trim();
+                if (cliText) {
+                  emitAgentEvent({
+                    runId,
+                    stream: "assistant",
+                    data: { text: cliText },
+                  });
+                }
                 emitAgentEvent({
                   runId,
                   stream: "lifecycle",