diff --git a/apps/web/src/app.css b/apps/web/src/app.css
index fd8d5180c..2aab04de8 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/app.css
+++ b/apps/web/src/app.css
@@ -3783,6 +3783,46 @@ tr.insights-row-clickable:hover {
   font-weight: var(--font-weight-medium);
   line-height: 1.55;
 }
+.chat-thread-message[data-author="me"] {
+  justify-content: flex-end;
+}
+.chat-thread-message[data-author="me"] .chat-thread-body {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  align-items: flex-end;
+  max-width: min(76ch, 78%);
+}
+.chat-thread-own-bubble {
+  background: var(--surface-sunk);
+  box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 1px var(--border);
+  padding: 0.625rem 0.875rem;
+  border-radius: 1rem 1rem 0.25rem 1rem;
+  overflow-wrap: anywhere;
+}
+.chat-thread-head {
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: baseline;
+  gap: 0.5rem;
+  margin-bottom: 0.125rem;
+}
+.chat-thread-head b {
+  font-size: 0.875rem;
+  font-weight: 800;
+}
+.chat-thread-head time {
+  font-size: 0.75rem;
+  color: var(--muted-foreground);
+  font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums;
+}
+.chat-system-line {
+  margin: 0 0 0.5rem 2.75rem;
+  font-size: 0.8125rem;
+  line-height: 1.5;
+  color: var(--muted-foreground);
+}
+.chat-system-line b {
+  font-weight: 700;
+}
 .chat-thread-error {
   margin: 0.5rem 0;
   font-size: 0.82rem;
diff --git a/apps/web/src/chat/styles.css b/apps/web/src/chat/styles.css
index a37227496..967e72126 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/chat/styles.css
+++ b/apps/web/src/chat/styles.css
@@ -1035,8 +1035,7 @@
 /* The owner asked for own messages back on the right, evaluated
    per viewer (`isOwn` in timeline.tsx already keys off `currentUser`, never
    a fixed account) — reversing flat, no-alignment timeline. Still
-   no bubble, no border, no background fill: only the row mirrors, so the
-   avatar sits on the right and the header/text shrink to their own content
+   the row mirrors, so the avatar sits on the right and the header/text shrink to their own content
    width against that same edge instead of stretching the full row. `.chat-
    block` (approve/connect-service/connect-github/poll/form/steps) and
    `.chat-trace` rows render as siblings of the bubble, not inside
diff --git a/apps/web/src/chat/system-line.tsx b/apps/web/src/chat/system-line.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..fe939fe1c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/web/src/chat/system-line.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+import type { ReactNode } from "react";
+
+// A quiet line between messages, e.g. "Voice with X · 3 turns". Wrap names in <b>.
+export function SystemLine({ children }: { readonly children: ReactNode }) {
+  return <p className="chat-system-line">{children}</p>;
+}
diff --git a/apps/web/src/pages/workbench-page.tsx b/apps/web/src/pages/workbench-page.tsx
index dfefdf878..a64eb60be 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/pages/workbench-page.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/pages/workbench-page.tsx
@@ -69,6 +69,34 @@ function WorkbenchMessageRow({
   // see echoed back at them.
   const body = message.author === "me" ? stripRoster(message.body) : message.body;
   const { pkg, renderedBody } = resolveMessagePackage(message.attachments, body);
+  const own = message.author === "me";
+  const time = new Date(message.at);
+  const content = (
+    <>
+      <Markdown text={renderedBody} />
+      <MessageAttachments
+        tenantId={workbenchTenantId}
+        attachments={message.attachments}
+        pkg={pkg}
+      />
+    </>
+  );
+  const reply =
+    onReply === undefined ? null : (
+      <button type="button" className="workbench-replies-link" onClick={() => onReply(message)}>
+        Reply
+      </button>
+    );
+  if (own) {
+    return (
+      <div className="chat-thread-message" data-author="me">
+        <div className="chat-thread-body">
+          <div className="chat-thread-own-bubble">{content}</div>
+          {reply}
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    );
+  }
   return (
     <div className="chat-thread-message" data-author={message.author}>
       <span className="shell-ch-avatar">
@@ -79,17 +107,16 @@ function WorkbenchMessageRow({
         />
       </span>
       <div className="chat-thread-body">
-        <Markdown text={renderedBody} />
-        <MessageAttachments
-          tenantId={workbenchTenantId}
-          attachments={message.attachments}
-          pkg={pkg}
-        />
-        {onReply === undefined ? null : (
-          <button type="button" className="workbench-replies-link" onClick={() => onReply(message)}>
-            Reply
-          </button>
-        )}
+        <div className="chat-thread-head">
+          <b>{avatarName}</b>
+          {Number.isNaN(time.getTime()) ? null : (
+            <time dateTime={message.at}>
+              {time.toLocaleTimeString([], { hour: "numeric", minute: "2-digit" })}
+            </time>
+          )}
+        </div>
+        {content}
+        {reply}
       </div>
     </div>
   );