diff --git a/messages/de.json b/messages/de.json
index a7340279a..9386be584 100644
--- a/messages/de.json
+++ b/messages/de.json
@@ -9579,7 +9579,8 @@
       "readDone": "Die KI hat dein Dokument gelesen.",
       "read": "Mit KI auslesen",
       "reread": "Erneut lesen",
-      "reading": "Liest…"
+      "reading": "Liest…",
+      "notReadYet": "Dieses Dokument wurde noch nicht gelesen."
     },
     "contentIndex": {
       "indexPrompt": "Dokumentinhalte durchsuchbar machen.",
diff --git a/messages/en.json b/messages/en.json
index 953e6a93d..18df41bfc 100644
--- a/messages/en.json
+++ b/messages/en.json
@@ -9579,7 +9579,8 @@
       "readDone": "The AI read your document.",
       "read": "Read with AI",
       "reread": "Read again",
-      "reading": "Reading…"
+      "reading": "Reading…",
+      "notReadYet": "This document has not been read yet."
     },
     "contentIndex": {
       "indexPrompt": "Make document contents searchable.",
diff --git a/messages/es.json b/messages/es.json
index 07bd9f645..5bc566a52 100644
--- a/messages/es.json
+++ b/messages/es.json
@@ -9579,7 +9579,8 @@
       "readDone": "La IA leyó tu documento.",
       "read": "Leer con IA",
       "reread": "Leer de nuevo",
-      "reading": "Leyendo…"
+      "reading": "Leyendo…",
+      "notReadYet": "Este documento aún no se ha leído."
     },
     "contentIndex": {
       "indexPrompt": "Haz que el contenido de los documentos sea buscable.",
diff --git a/messages/fr.json b/messages/fr.json
index d9d598454..def066936 100644
--- a/messages/fr.json
+++ b/messages/fr.json
@@ -9579,7 +9579,8 @@
       "readDone": "L’IA a lu votre document.",
       "read": "Lire avec l’IA",
       "reread": "Relire",
-      "reading": "Lecture…"
+      "reading": "Lecture…",
+      "notReadYet": "Ce document n’a pas encore été lu."
     },
     "contentIndex": {
       "indexPrompt": "Rendre le contenu des documents consultable.",
diff --git a/messages/it.json b/messages/it.json
index bc486c3f8..c3fe2cfe2 100644
--- a/messages/it.json
+++ b/messages/it.json
@@ -9579,7 +9579,8 @@
       "readDone": "L’IA ha letto il tuo documento.",
       "read": "Leggi con l’IA",
       "reread": "Leggi di nuovo",
-      "reading": "Lettura…"
+      "reading": "Lettura…",
+      "notReadYet": "Questo documento non è ancora stato letto."
     },
     "contentIndex": {
       "indexPrompt": "Rendi ricercabile il contenuto dei documenti.",
diff --git a/messages/pl.json b/messages/pl.json
index dcf8cf7b1..c8bf4c825 100644
--- a/messages/pl.json
+++ b/messages/pl.json
@@ -9579,7 +9579,8 @@
       "readDone": "AI odczytało Twój dokument.",
       "read": "Odczytaj z AI",
       "reread": "Odczytaj ponownie",
-      "reading": "Odczytywanie…"
+      "reading": "Odczytywanie…",
+      "notReadYet": "Ten dokument nie został jeszcze odczytany."
     },
     "contentIndex": {
       "indexPrompt": "Udostępnij treść dokumentów do wyszukiwania.",
diff --git a/src/components/documents/__tests__/document-ai-section.test.tsx b/src/components/documents/__tests__/document-ai-section.test.tsx
index e8768e73d..9eecdbefb 100644
--- a/src/components/documents/__tests__/document-ai-section.test.tsx
+++ b/src/components/documents/__tests__/document-ai-section.test.tsx
@@ -159,16 +159,50 @@ describe("<DocumentAiSection>", () => {
     expect(html).not.toContain('data-slot="document-read-ai"');
   });
 
-  it("hides the manual AI action row when auto-read is on, keeping status", () => {
-    const html = render(base({ aiEnabled: true, autoReadEnabled: true }));
-    // Auto-read reads on upload — the manual per-document actions are gone.
-    expect(html).not.toContain('data-slot="document-read-ai"');
+  it("collapses entirely when auto-read is on and the document is read", () => {
+    const html = render(
+      base({
+        aiEnabled: true,
+        autoReadEnabled: true,
+        hasContentIndex: true,
+        contentIndexSource: "vision",
+      }),
+    );
+    // v1.28.22 — with auto-read ON, the document read, and nothing pending
+    // the WHOLE block collapses: no chrome, no status pill; the sheet content
+    // starts straight with the document fields under the preview.
+    expect(html).toBe("");
+  });
+
+  it("keeps the read action for an unread document even with auto-read on", () => {
+    // Auto-read promises reading on upload — but a document with no content
+    // index never got that read (it may predate the preference, or the pass
+    // did not complete). Collapsing here would leave the document with no
+    // path to a read at all; the recovery action must stay visible.
+    const html = render(
+      base({ aiEnabled: true, autoReadEnabled: true, hasContentIndex: false }),
+    );
+    expect(html).toContain('data-slot="document-read-ai"');
+    expect(html).toContain("Read with AI");
+    expect(html).toContain('data-slot="document-unread-note"');
+    expect(html).toContain("This document has not been read yet.");
+    // The auto-read promise still covers the extras: no suggest / summarise.
     expect(html).not.toContain('data-slot="assist-suggest"');
     expect(html).not.toContain("Summarise");
     expect(html).not.toContain("Show extracted text");
-    // v1.28.22 — with auto-read ON and nothing pending the WHOLE block
-    // collapses: no chrome, no status pill; the sheet content starts straight
-    // with the document fields under the preview.
+  });
+
+  it("still collapses an unread document when indexing is unavailable", () => {
+    // No transport can index here, so there is no action to recover with —
+    // an empty chrome box would be the only thing left to render.
+    const html = render(
+      base({
+        aiEnabled: true,
+        autoReadEnabled: true,
+        hasContentIndex: false,
+        indexEnabled: false,
+      }),
+    );
     expect(html).toBe("");
   });
 
diff --git a/src/components/documents/document-ai-section.tsx b/src/components/documents/document-ai-section.tsx
index 7497ae834..0636fcc5e 100644
--- a/src/components/documents/document-ai-section.tsx
+++ b/src/components/documents/document-ai-section.tsx
@@ -17,8 +17,13 @@
  *   - "Suggest details" drafts a title / type / date to review before saving.
  *   - "Summarise" / "Show text" surface a transient, session-only read-out.
  *
- * With auto-read ON and nothing pending to review the block collapses entirely —
- * the sheet content starts straight with the document fields under the preview.
+ * With auto-read ON, the document already read, and nothing pending to review
+ * the block collapses entirely — the sheet content starts straight with the
+ * document fields under the preview. An UNREAD document keeps the read action
+ * visible whatever the preference says: auto-read is a promise that reading
+ * happens on upload, and a document the automatic pass never reached (it may
+ * predate the preference, or the pass did not complete) would otherwise have
+ * no path to a read at all.
  *
  * Presentational: the sheet owns the mutations + capability probe and passes
  * their state + handlers down. When `aiEnabled` is false the actions collapse to
@@ -117,12 +122,16 @@ export function DocumentAiSection({
 
   // v1.28.22 — the block carries NO header/status chrome any more (the
   // provenance pill moved to the vault card's meta row; auto-read makes an
-  // in-sheet "read by AI" banner redundant). With auto-read ON and nothing
-  // pending to review, nothing below would render — collapse the whole box so
-  // the content under the preview starts straight with the fields.
+  // in-sheet "read by AI" banner redundant). With auto-read ON, the document
+  // read, and nothing pending to review, nothing below would render —
+  // collapse the whole box so the content under the preview starts straight
+  // with the fields. An unindexed document does NOT collapse (unless indexing
+  // is unavailable on this transport): it still needs its read, and this
+  // section is the only place that action lives.
   if (
     aiEnabled &&
     autoReadEnabled &&
+    (hasContentIndex || !indexEnabled) &&
     !suggestErrorKey &&
     !suggestion &&
     !summaryOutput
@@ -191,6 +200,35 @@ export function DocumentAiSection({
                 {t("documents.summary.showText")}
               </Button>
             </div>
+          ) : !hasContentIndex && indexEnabled ? (
+            // Auto-read is ON but this document has no content index: the
+            // automatic pass never reached it or did not complete. The
+            // suggest / summarise extras stay hidden (auto-read's promise
+            // covers them), but the read itself must stay reachable.
+            <div className="space-y-2">
+              <p
+                data-slot="document-unread-note"
+                className="text-muted-foreground text-xs"
+              >
+                {t("documents.ai.notReadYet")}
+              </p>
+              <Button
+                type="button"
+                size="sm"
+                data-slot="document-read-ai"
+                onClick={onIndex}
+                disabled={indexPending || actionsDisabled}
+              >
+                <ScanText
+                  className={cn(
+                    "size-4",
+                    indexPending && "animate-pulse motion-reduce:animate-none",
+                  )}
+                  aria-hidden
+                />
+                {readLabel}
+              </Button>
+            </div>
           ) : null}
 
           {suggestErrorKey ? (