diff --git a/Deployment/master.conf.template b/Deployment/master.conf.template
index cc1a4f4..95517d6 100644
--- a/Deployment/master.conf.template
+++ b/Deployment/master.conf.template
@@ -1622,7 +1622,11 @@
 # walk — an embedded secret cannot be rotated out of a vector.
     AI_INDEX_DB="$DATA_DIR/ai_index.db"
     AI_INDEX_BATCH=32               # chunks per embed request
-    AI_INDEX_ON_PULL=false          # re-index after a successful git pull once AI is in use
+# A pull is the only thing that changes tracked files on a server, so it is the only moment the
+# index can go stale — and staleness is invisible in the answers, which keep citing the old
+# text with full confidence. Incremental: unchanged files are skipped, a no-op run is ~66ms.
+# Also gated on AI_ENABLED, and ai_index.sh refuses on its own unless that is true.
+    AI_INDEX_ON_PULL=true           # re-index after a git pull that changed tracked files
     AI_SEARCH_K=8                   # chunks retrieved per query
     AI_SEARCH_PER_FILE=3            # cap per file so one document cannot fill the context
 
diff --git a/git_pull_execute.sh b/git_pull_execute.sh
index fe0d4ff..114a66f 100755
--- a/git_pull_execute.sh
+++ b/git_pull_execute.sh
@@ -357,6 +357,43 @@ elif [[ "$SYNC_SUCCESS" == true ]]; then
     fi
 fi
 
+# ==============================================================================================
+# ━━━ AI Index Refresh ━━━
+# ==============================================================================================
+#
+# A pull is the only thing that changes tracked files on a server — prod never edits them — so
+# it is the only moment the AI index can go stale. A timer would be the wrong shape: it would
+# do nothing 23 times a day and still drift from the pull that matters.
+#
+# Staleness is invisible in the answers themselves. The index keeps returning the old text with
+# full confidence and correct-looking citations, so a day of drift means the assistant quoting
+# code that no longer exists. That is why this runs here rather than being left to a human.
+#
+# Three gates, any of which skips it: the pull must have succeeded, AI_INDEX_ON_PULL must be
+# true, and AI_ENABLED must be true. ai_index.sh also refuses on its own unless AI_ENABLED is
+# exactly "true", so a node with AI off never pays for this even if the flags disagree.
+#
+# Never fatal. Indexing is an enhancement; a git pull must not be reported as failed because an
+# embedding call timed out.
+if [[ "$DRY_RUN" == true ]]; then
+    [[ "${AI_INDEX_ON_PULL:-false}" == "true" ]] && warn "DRY RUN — would refresh the AI index"
+elif [[ "$SYNC_SUCCESS" == true \
+        && "${AI_INDEX_ON_PULL:-false}" == "true" \
+        && "${AI_ENABLED:-false}" == "true" ]]; then
+
+    _AI_INDEX="$TARGET_DIR/AI/ai_index.sh"
+    if [[ -f "$_AI_INDEX" ]]; then
+        log "Refreshing AI index (incremental — unchanged files are skipped)..."
+        if bash "$_AI_INDEX" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            echo "  AI index refreshed"
+        else
+            warn "AI index refresh failed — answers may cite outdated code until it is rerun"
+        fi
+    else
+        warn "AI_INDEX_ON_PULL is true but $_AI_INDEX not found — skipping"
+    fi
+fi
+
 # ==============================================================================================
 # ━━━ Summary ━━━
 # ==============================================================================================