diff --git a/app/(chat)/layout.tsx b/app/(chat)/layout.tsx
index 8ea30ecf77..f71b1b52d6 100644
--- a/app/(chat)/layout.tsx
+++ b/app/(chat)/layout.tsx
@@ -26,6 +26,33 @@ export default function Layout({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
 }
 
 async function SidebarShell({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
+  const isDbConfigured = Boolean(process.env.POSTGRES_URL);
+
+  if (!isDbConfigured) {
+    return (
+      <div className="flex min-h-dvh w-full flex-col items-center justify-center bg-zinc-950 text-zinc-100 p-6 font-sans selection:bg-zinc-800">
+        <div className="w-full max-w-md rounded-xl border border-zinc-800 bg-zinc-900 p-6 shadow-xl">
+          <div className="flex items-center gap-2.5">
+            <span className="flex size-7 items-center justify-center rounded-lg bg-zinc-800 border border-zinc-700 text-xs font-mono text-zinc-400">⚠️</span>
+            <h1 className="text-sm font-semibold tracking-tight text-zinc-100">
+              Database Connection Required
+            </h1>
+          </div>
+          <p className="mt-3 text-xs text-zinc-400 leading-relaxed">
+            This chatbot requires a database connection to persist conversation history and manage active sessions.
+          </p>
+          <div className="mt-4 rounded-lg bg-zinc-950 border border-zinc-800 p-4 font-mono text-[11px] text-zinc-400">
+            <p className="font-semibold text-zinc-200 mb-1.5">To fix this, create a <span className="text-zinc-100 font-mono">.env.local</span> file in the root:</p>
+            <pre className="overflow-x-auto whitespace-pre-wrap select-all bg-zinc-900/50 p-2.5 rounded border border-zinc-800/80 leading-relaxed">POSTGRES_URL="postgres://username:password@host:port/database"</pre>
+          </div>
+          <p className="mt-4 text-[10px] text-zinc-500 leading-relaxed">
+            Once you've configured your <span className="font-mono">.env.local</span> file, restart the development server. You can provision a free Postgres database using Neon, Vercel Postgres, or run a local instance via Docker.
+          </p>
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    );
+  }
+
   const [session, cookieStore] = await Promise.all([auth(), cookies()]);
   const isCollapsed = cookieStore.get("sidebar_state")?.value !== "true";
 
diff --git a/components/chat/greeting.tsx b/components/chat/greeting.tsx
index 9878bad75d..0f1af1a87d 100644
--- a/components/chat/greeting.tsx
+++ b/components/chat/greeting.tsx
@@ -1,24 +1,36 @@
 import { motion } from "framer-motion";
+import { SparklesIcon } from "lucide-react";
 
 export const Greeting = () => {
   return (
-    <div className="flex flex-col items-center px-4" key="overview">
+    <div className="flex flex-col items-center px-6 text-center select-none" key="overview">
       <motion.div
+        animate={{ opacity: 1, scale: 1 }}
+        className="mb-4 rounded-xl border border-border/50 bg-card/45 p-2.5 text-muted-foreground/80 shadow-[0_1px_2px_rgba(0,0,0,0.02)]"
+        initial={{ opacity: 0, scale: 0.95 }}
+        transition={{ duration: 0.45, ease: [0.22, 1, 0.36, 1] }}
+      >
+        <SparklesIcon className="size-4.5" />
+      </motion.div>
+
+      <motion.h1
         animate={{ opacity: 1, y: 0 }}
-        className="text-center font-semibold text-2xl tracking-tight text-foreground md:text-3xl"
-        initial={{ opacity: 0, y: 10 }}
-        transition={{ delay: 0.35, duration: 0.5, ease: [0.22, 1, 0.36, 1] }}
+        className="text-2xl font-semibold tracking-tight text-foreground md:text-3xl"
+        initial={{ opacity: 0, y: 8 }}
+        transition={{ delay: 0.1, duration: 0.5, ease: [0.22, 1, 0.36, 1] }}
       >
         What can I help with?
-      </motion.div>
-      <motion.div
+      </motion.h1>
+
+      <motion.p
         animate={{ opacity: 1, y: 0 }}
-        className="mt-3 text-center text-muted-foreground/80 text-sm"
-        initial={{ opacity: 0, y: 10 }}
-        transition={{ delay: 0.5, duration: 0.5, ease: [0.22, 1, 0.36, 1] }}
+        className="mt-2.5 max-w-[280px] text-muted-foreground/65 text-[13px] leading-relaxed md:max-w-sm"
+        initial={{ opacity: 0, y: 8 }}
+        transition={{ delay: 0.2, duration: 0.5, ease: [0.22, 1, 0.36, 1] }}
       >
-        Ask a question, write code, or explore ideas.
-      </motion.div>
+        Ask a question, write and analyze code, or brainstorm ideas.
+      </motion.p>
     </div>
   );
 };
+
diff --git a/components/chat/suggested-actions.tsx b/components/chat/suggested-actions.tsx
index 5da7c29e9e..26cbf3a5c4 100644
--- a/components/chat/suggested-actions.tsx
+++ b/components/chat/suggested-actions.tsx
@@ -3,7 +3,12 @@
 import type { UseChatHelpers } from "@ai-sdk/react";
 import { motion } from "framer-motion";
 import { memo } from "react";
-import { suggestions } from "@/lib/constants";
+import { 
+  GlobeIcon, 
+  Code2Icon, 
+  BookOpenIcon, 
+  CloudSunIcon 
+} from "lucide-react";
 import type { ChatMessage } from "@/lib/types";
 import { Suggestion } from "../ai-elements/suggestion";
 import type { VisibilityType } from "./visibility-selector";
@@ -14,9 +19,34 @@ type SuggestedActionsProps = {
   selectedVisibilityType: VisibilityType;
 };
 
-function PureSuggestedActions({ chatId, sendMessage }: SuggestedActionsProps) {
-  const suggestedActions = suggestions;
+const curatedActions = [
+  {
+    title: "Explain Next.js",
+    description: "Learn about Server Components & the App Router.",
+    prompt: "What are the advantages of using Next.js?",
+    icon: <GlobeIcon className="size-3.5" />,
+  },
+  {
+    title: "Dijkstra's Algorithm",
+    description: "Generate a clean implementation in Python.",
+    prompt: "Write code to demonstrate Dijkstra's algorithm",
+    icon: <Code2Icon className="size-3.5" />,
+  },
+  {
+    title: "Silicon Valley Essay",
+    description: "Outline a historical analysis of technology hubs.",
+    prompt: "Help me write an essay about Silicon Valley",
+    icon: <BookOpenIcon className="size-3.5" />,
+  },
+  {
+    title: "Weather in San Francisco",
+    description: "Check current meteorological conditions.",
+    prompt: "What is the weather in San Francisco?",
+    icon: <CloudSunIcon className="size-3.5" />,
+  },
+];
 
+function PureSuggestedActions({ chatId, sendMessage }: SuggestedActionsProps) {
   return (
     <div
       className="flex w-full gap-2.5 overflow-x-auto pb-1 sm:grid sm:grid-cols-2 sm:overflow-visible"
@@ -27,21 +57,21 @@ function PureSuggestedActions({ chatId, sendMessage }: SuggestedActionsProps) {
         msOverflowStyle: "none",
       }}
     >
-      {suggestedActions.map((suggestedAction, index) => (
+      {curatedActions.map((action, index) => (
         <motion.div
           animate={{ opacity: 1, y: 0 }}
-          className="min-w-[200px] shrink-0 sm:min-w-0 sm:shrink"
-          exit={{ opacity: 0, y: 16 }}
-          initial={{ opacity: 0, y: 16 }}
-          key={suggestedAction}
+          className="min-w-[220px] shrink-0 sm:min-w-0 sm:shrink"
+          exit={{ opacity: 0, y: 12 }}
+          initial={{ opacity: 0, y: 12 }}
+          key={action.title}
           transition={{
-            delay: 0.06 * index,
-            duration: 0.4,
+            delay: 0.05 * index,
+            duration: 0.45,
             ease: [0.22, 1, 0.36, 1],
           }}
         >
           <Suggestion
-            className="h-auto w-full whitespace-nowrap rounded-xl border border-border/50 bg-card/30 px-4 py-3 text-left text-[12px] leading-relaxed text-muted-foreground transition-all duration-200 sm:whitespace-normal sm:p-4 sm:text-[13px] hover:-translate-y-0.5 hover:bg-card/60 hover:text-foreground hover:shadow-[var(--shadow-card)]"
+            className="h-auto w-full flex flex-row items-start gap-3 rounded-xl border border-border/50 bg-card/35 px-3.5 py-3 text-left transition-all duration-200 hover:-translate-y-0.5 hover:bg-card/65 hover:border-border/80 hover:shadow-[0_1.5px_6px_rgba(0,0,0,0.02)] dark:hover:shadow-[0_1.5px_6px_rgba(0,0,0,0.15)] group"
             onClick={(suggestion) => {
               window.history.pushState(
                 {},
@@ -53,9 +83,19 @@ function PureSuggestedActions({ chatId, sendMessage }: SuggestedActionsProps) {
                 parts: [{ type: "text", text: suggestion }],
               });
             }}
-            suggestion={suggestedAction}
+            suggestion={action.prompt}
           >
-            {suggestedAction}
+            <div className="flex size-7 shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-lg border border-border/50 bg-background/50 text-muted-foreground/75 transition-colors group-hover:text-foreground/90 group-hover:border-border/80">
+              {action.icon}
+            </div>
+            <div className="flex flex-col gap-0.5 min-w-0 pr-1">
+              <span className="font-medium text-[13px] text-foreground/90 tracking-tight leading-normal">
+                {action.title}
+              </span>
+              <span className="text-[11px] text-muted-foreground/60 leading-normal truncate sm:whitespace-normal">
+                {action.description}
+              </span>
+            </div>
           </Suggestion>
         </motion.div>
       ))}