diff --git a/internal/anime/handler/handler.go b/internal/anime/handler/handler.go
index 4da2405..167c828 100644
--- a/internal/anime/handler/handler.go
+++ b/internal/anime/handler/handler.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package handler
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"mal/internal/db"
 	"mal/internal/domain"
@@ -8,6 +9,7 @@ import (
 	"net/url"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
 )
@@ -458,7 +460,10 @@ func (h *AnimeHandler) commandPaletteNavigationItems(query string) []commandPale
 }
 
 func (h *AnimeHandler) commandPaletteAnimeResults(c *gin.Context, query string) []commandPaletteItem {
-	res, err := h.svc.SearchAdvanced(c.Request.Context(), query, "", "", "", "", nil, true, 1, 5)
+	searchCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(c.Request.Context(), 1500*time.Millisecond)
+	defer cancel()
+
+	res, err := h.svc.SearchAdvanced(searchCtx, query, "", "", "", "", nil, true, 1, 5)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil
 	}
diff --git a/static/search.ts b/static/search.ts
index b3c826b..c42da88 100644
--- a/static/search.ts
+++ b/static/search.ts
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ let selectedIndex = 0;
 let fetchTimeout: number | undefined;
 let lastQuery = '';
 let continueExpanded = false;
+let activeRequestController: AbortController | undefined;
 const responseCache = new Map<string, CommandPaletteItem[]>();
 
 const iconPaths: Record<string, string> = {
@@ -71,6 +72,15 @@ const clearResults = (): void => {
   paletteResults?.replaceChildren();
 };
 
+const buildSearchActionItem = (query: string): CommandPaletteItem => ({
+  id: 'search:' + query.toLowerCase(),
+  type: 'search',
+  label: `Search anime for "${query}"`,
+  subtitle: 'Browse',
+  href: '/browse?q=' + encodeURIComponent(query),
+  icon: 'search',
+});
+
 const buildIcon = (item: CommandPaletteItem): HTMLElement => {
   if (isSafeImageUrl(item.image)) {
     const img = document.createElement('img');
@@ -315,16 +325,34 @@ const renderItems = (items: CommandPaletteItem[]): void => {
   selectItem(0);
 };
 
+const renderPendingQuery = (query: string): void => {
+  if (!query) {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  renderItems([buildSearchActionItem(query)]);
+};
+
 const fetchPaletteItems = (query: string): void => {
   lastQuery = query;
 
+  if (activeRequestController) {
+    activeRequestController.abort();
+    activeRequestController = undefined;
+  }
+
   const cached = responseCache.get(query);
   if (cached) {
     renderItems(cached);
     return;
   }
 
-  fetch('/api/command-palette?q=' + encodeURIComponent(query))
+  renderPendingQuery(query);
+
+  const controller = new AbortController();
+  activeRequestController = controller;
+
+  fetch('/api/command-palette?q=' + encodeURIComponent(query), { signal: controller.signal })
     .then((res: Response) => {
       if (!res.ok) {
         return [];
@@ -332,13 +360,18 @@ const fetchPaletteItems = (query: string): void => {
       return res.json();
     })
     .then((items: CommandPaletteItem[]) => {
-      if (query !== lastQuery) {
+      if (controller.signal.aborted || query !== lastQuery) {
         return;
       }
+      activeRequestController = undefined;
       responseCache.set(query, items);
       renderItems(items);
     })
     .catch((err: unknown) => {
+      if (controller.signal.aborted) {
+        return;
+      }
+      activeRequestController = undefined;
       console.error('Command palette error:', err);
       renderItems([]);
     });
@@ -350,7 +383,7 @@ const scheduleFetch = (): void => {
   }
 
   const query = paletteInput?.value.trim() || '';
-  fetchTimeout = window.setTimeout(() => fetchPaletteItems(query), query.length >= 2 ? 180 : 0);
+  fetchTimeout = window.setTimeout(() => fetchPaletteItems(query), query.length >= 2 ? 300 : 120);
 };
 
 const openPalette = (): void => {
@@ -375,6 +408,10 @@ const closePalette = (): void => {
   paletteDialog.classList.add('hidden');
   paletteDialog.classList.remove('flex');
   paletteDialog.setAttribute('aria-hidden', 'true');
+  if (activeRequestController) {
+    activeRequestController.abort();
+    activeRequestController = undefined;
+  }
   paletteInput.value = '';
   allPaletteItems = [];
   paletteItems = [];
diff --git a/templates/components/filter_bar.gohtml b/templates/components/filter_bar.gohtml
index eadcc61..e01268a 100644
--- a/templates/components/filter_bar.gohtml
+++ b/templates/components/filter_bar.gohtml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 {{$selectedCount := len $selectedGenreIDs}}
 <div class="flex flex-wrap items-center gap-3" hx-boost="true" hx-target="#browse-content" hx-swap="outerHTML" hx-push-url="true">
   <div class="min-w-50 flex-1">
-    <form action="/browse" method="GET" id="browse-search-form" hx-get="/browse" hx-trigger="submit, keyup changed delay:120ms from:#search">
+    <form action="/browse" method="GET" id="browse-search-form" hx-get="/browse" hx-trigger="submit, input changed delay:350ms from:#search, search from:#search" hx-sync="this:replace">
       <input
         id="search"
         name="q"