diff --git a/src/ai/ai_client.c b/src/ai/ai_client.c
index b5adde4f..3d6f41b8 100644
--- a/src/ai/ai_client.c
+++ b/src/ai/ai_client.c
@@ -1419,10 +1419,10 @@ _ai_request_thread(gpointer data)
      * list modifications).  We must snapshot all fields atomically.
      * ===================================================================== */
     pthread_mutex_lock(&session->lock);
-    gchar* local_provider_name = g_strdup(session->provider_name);
+    auto_gchar gchar* local_provider_name = g_strdup(session->provider_name);
     AIProvider* local_provider = ai_provider_ref(session->provider);
-    gchar* local_model = g_strdup(session->model);
-    gchar* local_api_key = g_strdup(session->api_key ? session->api_key : "");
+    auto_gchar gchar* local_model = g_strdup(session->model);
+    auto_gchar gchar* local_api_key = g_strdup(session->api_key ? session->api_key : "");
     pthread_mutex_unlock(&session->lock);
 
     log_debug("[AI-THREAD] Session: %s/%s", local_provider_name, local_model);
@@ -1434,6 +1434,8 @@ _ai_request_thread(gpointer data)
                                                       local_provider_name, local_provider_name);
         log_error("AI request failed for %s/%s: %s", local_provider_name, local_model, error_msg);
         _aiwin_display_error(user_data, error_msg);
+        ai_provider_unref(local_provider);
+        ai_session_unref(session);
         g_free(args);
         return NULL;
     }
@@ -1444,6 +1446,8 @@ _ai_request_thread(gpointer data)
         log_error("AI request failed for %s/%s: Failed to initialize curl",
                   local_provider_name, local_model);
         _aiwin_display_error(user_data, "Failed to initialize curl.");
+        ai_provider_unref(local_provider);
+        ai_session_unref(session);
         g_free(args);
         return NULL;
     }
@@ -1492,6 +1496,7 @@ _ai_request_thread(gpointer data)
     long http_code = 0;
     curl_easy_getinfo(curl, CURLINFO_RESPONSE_CODE, &http_code);
     log_debug("[AI-THREAD] HTTP response code: %ld", http_code);
+    auto_gchar gchar* response_data = g_steal_pointer(&response.data);
 
     if (res != CURLE_OK) {
         auto_gchar gchar* error_msg = g_strdup(curl_easy_strerror(res));
@@ -1500,17 +1505,14 @@ _ai_request_thread(gpointer data)
     } else if (http_code >= 400) {
         /* Handle HTTP errors */
         log_debug("[AI-THREAD] HTTP error response body (%zu bytes): %s",
-                  response.size, response.data ? response.data : "NULL");
+                  response.size, response_data);
         /* Try to extract the actual error message from the JSON response */
-        auto_gchar gchar* parsed_error = ai_parse_error_message(response.data);
-        auto_gchar gchar* error_msg = parsed_error ? g_strdup_printf("HTTP %ld: %s", http_code, parsed_error) : g_strdup_printf("HTTP %ld: %s", http_code, response.data && strlen(response.data) > 0 ? response.data : "Unknown error");
+        auto_gchar gchar* parsed_error = ai_parse_error_message(response_data);
+        auto_gchar gchar* error_msg = parsed_error ? g_strdup_printf("HTTP %ld: %s", http_code, parsed_error) : g_strdup_printf("HTTP %ld: %s", http_code, response_data && strlen(response_data) > 0 ? response_data : "Unknown error");
         log_error("AI request failed for %s/%s: %s", local_provider_name, local_model, error_msg);
         _aiwin_display_error(user_data, error_msg);
     } else {
-        /* Parse response - transfer ownership to auto_gchar for cleanup */
-        log_debug("[AI-THREAD] Raw API response (%zu bytes): %s", response.size, response.data ? response.data : "NULL");
-        auto_gchar gchar* response_data = response.data;
-        response.data = NULL;
+        log_debug("[AI-THREAD] Raw API response (%zu bytes): %s", response.size, response_data);
         auto_gchar gchar* content = ai_parse_response(response_data);
         if (content) {
             /* Add assistant response to history (under lock) */
@@ -1531,12 +1533,9 @@ _ai_request_thread(gpointer data)
     curl_slist_free_all(headers);
     curl_easy_cleanup(curl);
 
-    /* Cleanup local copies */
-    g_free(local_provider_name);
     ai_provider_unref(local_provider);
-    g_free(local_model);
-    g_free(local_api_key);
 
+    ai_session_unref(session);
     g_free(args);
 
     return NULL;
diff --git a/src/command/cmd_funcs.c b/src/command/cmd_funcs.c
index 184b88b9..1600078c 100644
--- a/src/command/cmd_funcs.c
+++ b/src/command/cmd_funcs.c
@@ -8516,7 +8516,8 @@ _cmd_execute_default(ProfWin* window, const char* inp)
     case WIN_AI:
     {
         ProfAiWin* aiwin = (ProfAiWin*)window;
-        cl_ev_send_ai_msg(aiwin, inp, connection_create_stanza_id());
+        auto_gchar gchar* stanza_id = connection_create_stanza_id();
+        cl_ev_send_ai_msg(aiwin, inp, stanza_id);
         break;
     }
     default:
@@ -10980,6 +10981,9 @@ cmd_ai_start(ProfWin* window, const char* const command, gchar** args)
     }
     log_debug("[AI-CMD] wins_new_ai() returned successfully, window type: %d", ai_win->type);
 
+    // Release the reference held by cmd_ai_start, since the window now holds one
+    ai_session_unref(session);
+
     // Add welcome message to the AI window
     log_debug("[AI-CMD] Adding welcome messages...");
     win_println(ai_win, THEME_DEFAULT, "-", "AI Chat: %s/%s", provider_name, model);