diff --git a/src/lib/server/quote-assistant-service.test.ts b/src/lib/server/quote-assistant-service.test.ts
index 6124053..b5ff37b 100644
--- a/src/lib/server/quote-assistant-service.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/server/quote-assistant-service.test.ts
@@ -88,6 +88,14 @@ vi.mock("@/lib/server/audit-context", () => ({
   },
 }));
 
+// The intel step runs for real against PB in production; here it is
+// stubbed so the test can assert the anchor it was handed.
+const populateIntel = vi.fn(async () => ({}) as never);
+vi.mock("@/lib/server/item-intel-service", async (importOriginal) => ({
+  ...(await importOriginal<typeof import("@/lib/server/item-intel-service")>()),
+  populateItemIntel: (...args: unknown[]) => populateIntel(...(args as [])),
+}));
+
 const settings = {
   enabled: true,
   quote_assistant_enabled: true,
@@ -220,6 +228,8 @@ beforeEach(() => {
   actors.length = 0;
   seq = 0;
   recordRun.mockClear();
+  populateIntel.mockClear();
+  populateIntel.mockResolvedValue({} as never);
   Object.assign(settings, {
     enabled: true,
     quote_assistant_enabled: true,
@@ -265,6 +275,50 @@ describe("fillQuote", () => {
     expect((unmatched.ai_fill as { status: string }).status).toBe("no_match");
   });
 
+  it("populates the item intel for a filled line, anchored to the POS item the AI picked", async () => {
+    addQuote("q1");
+    const a = addItem("q1", { id: "a" });
+    const b = addItem("q1", { id: "b" });
+    const { deps } = makeDeps({
+      decisions: () => [decisionFor(a), decisionFor(b, { stock_item_id: null, confidence: null })],
+    });
+
+    await fillQuote("q1", { deps });
+
+    // Only the filled line gets intel.
+    expect(populateIntel).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(populateIntel).toHaveBeenCalledWith("a", "quote_items", {
+      write: true,
+      anchor: { stockItemId: "stk1", sku: "HB-1050" },
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("skips the item intel once the run's time budget is spent", async () => {
+    addQuote("q1");
+    const a = addItem("q1", { id: "a" });
+    const { deps } = makeDeps();
+
+    const r = await fillQuote("q1", { deps, deadlineMs: NOW.getTime() - 1 });
+
+    // The fill still happened — only the intel step was skipped.
+    expect(r.filled).toBe(1);
+    expect((store.items.get(a)!.ai_fill as { status: string }).status).toBe("filled");
+    expect(populateIntel).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("never fails the fill when the item intel step fails", async () => {
+    addQuote("q1");
+    const a = addItem("q1", { id: "a" });
+    const { deps } = makeDeps();
+    populateIntel.mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error("intel boom"));
+
+    const r = await fillQuote("q1", { deps });
+
+    expect(r).toEqual({ quoteId: "q1", filled: 1, unmatched: 0, skipped: 0, error: "" });
+    expect((store.items.get(a)!.ai_fill as { status: string }).status).toBe("filled");
+    expect(store.items.get(a)!.cost_price).toBe(10);
+  });
+
   it("marks a line with no shortlist candidates as no_candidates and does not send it to the AI", async () => {
     addQuote("q1");
     const a = addItem("q1", { id: "a", description: "matchable" });
diff --git a/src/lib/server/quote-assistant-service.ts b/src/lib/server/quote-assistant-service.ts
index f0950e7..32b2720 100644
--- a/src/lib/server/quote-assistant-service.ts
+++ b/src/lib/server/quote-assistant-service.ts
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ import {
   type StockCandidate,
 } from "@/lib/server/quote-assistant-shortlist";
 import { escapeForPbString } from "@/lib/server/price-list-match";
-import { loadSuppliersById } from "@/lib/server/item-intel-service";
+import { loadSuppliersById, populateItemIntel } from "@/lib/server/item-intel-service";
 import { isAiFillPending } from "@/lib/quote-assistant-review";
 import type { Quote, QuoteAssistantRunSummary, QuoteItem } from "@/lib/types";
 import type { AdminPb } from "@/lib/server/quote-assistant-shortlist";
@@ -124,6 +124,46 @@ export function boundRunErrors(errors: string[]): string[] {
     );
 }
 
+/**
+ * Compute the Item Intel for a line the AI just filled.
+ *
+ * Purely additive: the fill already succeeded by the time we get here,
+ * and a failure here must never turn a good fill into an error. It
+ * only means the ⓘ popover stays empty until someone hits Refresh.
+ *
+ * The anchor is the POS item the AI picked (`ai_fill.stock_item_id` /
+ * `ai_fill.stock_item_sku`), so the intel points at that exact
+ * catalogue row instead of a description-fuzzy guess.
+ *
+ * Skipped once the run's time budget is spent — the remaining lines
+ * keep their fills, they just get their intel on the next ⓘ / Refresh.
+ */
+async function populateIntelAfterFill(
+  lineId: string,
+  patch: Record<string, unknown>,
+  deadlineMs: number,
+  nowFn: () => Date,
+): Promise<void> {
+  const aiFill = patch.ai_fill as
+    | { stock_item_id?: string | null; stock_item_sku?: string | null }
+    | undefined;
+  const anchor = {
+    stockItemId: aiFill?.stock_item_id || undefined,
+    sku: aiFill?.stock_item_sku || undefined,
+  };
+  if (nowFn().getTime() >= deadlineMs) {
+    console.warn(
+      `[quote-assistant] time budget spent — skipping item intel for line ${lineId}`,
+    );
+    return;
+  }
+  try {
+    await populateItemIntel(lineId, "quote_items", { write: true, anchor });
+  } catch (e) {
+    console.error(`[quote-assistant] item intel failed for line ${lineId}:`, e);
+  }
+}
+
 /**
  * Fill the unpriced lines of one quote. Never throws for AI failures: they
  * are recorded on the lines (`status: "error"`) and in `result.error`.
@@ -135,6 +175,10 @@ export async function fillQuote(
     maxLines?: number;
     actorName?: string;
     deps?: AssistantDeps;
+    /** Epoch-ms deadline for the optional Item Intel step. Defaults to
+     *  `now + TICK_TIME_BUDGET_MS`. Once passed, lines still get their
+     *  fills — they just skip the intel computation. */
+    deadlineMs?: number;
   } = {},
 ): Promise<FillQuoteResult> {
   const decide = opts.deps?.decide ?? decideWithAi;
@@ -142,6 +186,7 @@ export async function fillQuote(
   const nowFn = opts.deps?.now ?? (() => new Date());
   const maxLines = opts.maxLines ?? QUOTE_MAX_LINES;
   const actorName = opts.actorName ? `${ACTOR_NAME} (run by ${opts.actorName})` : ACTOR_NAME;
+  const deadlineMs = opts.deadlineMs ?? nowFn().getTime() + TICK_TIME_BUDGET_MS;
 
   const result: FillQuoteResult = { quoteId, filled: 0, unmatched: 0, skipped: 0, error: "" };
 
@@ -257,6 +302,11 @@ export async function fillQuote(
         if (status === "filled") result.filled += 1;
         else if (status === "no_match" || status === "no_candidates") result.unmatched += 1;
         if (noAnswer) unanswered += 1;
+        // Give the line its price-check intel straight away so the blue
+        // marker on the Process page has something to show.
+        if (status === "filled") {
+          await populateIntelAfterFill(line.id, patch, deadlineMs, nowFn);
+        }
       } catch (e) {
         if (!result.error) result.error = `write failed for line ${line.id}: ${errMessage(e)}`;
       }
@@ -347,6 +397,9 @@ export async function runAssistantTick(
     }
 
     const startMs = now.getTime();
+    // One absolute deadline for the whole run: the per-quote intel step
+    // stops once the tick's time budget is spent.
+    const intelDeadlineMs = startMs + TICK_TIME_BUDGET_MS;
     for (const [quoteId, group] of perQuote) {
       // Time budget: never start another quote late in the run, so a run
       // finishes inside n8n's request timeout. Leftovers go next run.
@@ -357,6 +410,7 @@ export async function runAssistantTick(
         const r = await fillQuote(quoteId, {
           maxLines: Math.min(group.length, QUOTE_MAX_LINES),
           deps,
+          deadlineMs: intelDeadlineMs,
         });
         summary.lines_filled += r.filled;
         summary.lines_unmatched += r.unmatched;