diff --git a/src/components/clients/contact-picker-popover.tsx b/src/components/clients/contact-picker-popover.tsx
index 9717edc..e3072d3 100644
--- a/src/components/clients/contact-picker-popover.tsx
+++ b/src/components/clients/contact-picker-popover.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { useEffect, useMemo, useState } from "react";
+import { useEffect, useState } from "react";
 import { Popover, PopoverContent, PopoverTrigger } from "@/components/ui/popover";
 import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button";
 import { Input } from "@/components/ui/input";
@@ -30,29 +30,44 @@ export function ContactPickerPopover({
   const [open, setOpen] = useState(false);
   const [q, setQ] = useState("");
   const [rows, setRows] = useState<PickResult[]>([]);
+  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(false);
 
   useEffect(() => {
     if (!open) return;
     setQ("");
-    supabase
-      .from("contacts")
-      .select("id, name, email, phone, title, company, contact_type")
-      .is("archived_at", null)
-      .order("name")
-      .limit(200)
-      .then(({ data }) => setRows((data ?? []) as PickResult[]));
   }, [open]);
 
-  const filtered = useMemo(() => {
-    const term = q.trim().toLowerCase();
-    if (!term) return rows;
-    return rows.filter(
-      (r) =>
-        r.name.toLowerCase().includes(term) ||
-        (r.company ?? "").toLowerCase().includes(term) ||
-        (r.email ?? "").toLowerCase().includes(term),
-    );
-  }, [rows, q]);
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!open) return;
+    let cancelled = false;
+    const term = q.trim();
+    setLoading(true);
+    const handle = setTimeout(async () => {
+      let query = supabase
+        .from("contacts")
+        .select("id, name, email, phone, title, company, contact_type")
+        .is("archived_at", null)
+        .order("name")
+        .limit(50);
+      if (term) {
+        const esc = term.replace(/[%,]/g, " ");
+        query = query.or(
+          `name.ilike.%${esc}%,company.ilike.%${esc}%,email.ilike.%${esc}%`,
+        );
+      }
+      const { data } = await query;
+      if (!cancelled) {
+        setRows((data ?? []) as PickResult[]);
+        setLoading(false);
+      }
+    }, 200);
+    return () => {
+      cancelled = true;
+      clearTimeout(handle);
+    };
+  }, [open, q]);
+
+  const filtered = rows;
 
   return (
     <Popover open={open} onOpenChange={setOpen}>
@@ -76,7 +91,9 @@ export function ContactPickerPopover({
           </div>
         </div>
         <div className="max-h-72 overflow-auto">
-          {filtered.length === 0 ? (
+          {loading ? (
+            <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground p-3">Searching…</p>
+          ) : filtered.length === 0 ? (
             <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground p-3">No matching contacts.</p>
           ) : (
             <ul className="divide-y">
diff --git a/src/components/contacts/contacts-link-tab.tsx b/src/components/contacts/contacts-link-tab.tsx
index 9de612c..44f5eec 100644
--- a/src/components/contacts/contacts-link-tab.tsx
+++ b/src/components/contacts/contacts-link-tab.tsx
@@ -172,32 +172,47 @@ function ContactPickerDialog({
 }) {
   const [q, setQ] = useState("");
   const [rows, setRows] = useState<any[]>([]);
+  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(false);
 
   useEffect(() => {
     if (!open) return;
     setQ("");
-    supabase
-      .from("contacts")
-      .select("id, name, company, contact_type, email")
-      .is("archived_at", null)
-      .order("name")
-      .limit(200)
-      .then(({ data }) => setRows(data ?? []));
   }, [open]);
 
-  const filtered = useMemo(() => {
-    const term = q.trim().toLowerCase();
-    return rows
-      .filter((r) => !excludeIds.has(r.id))
-      .filter((r) => {
-        if (!term) return true;
-        return (
-          r.name.toLowerCase().includes(term) ||
-          (r.company ?? "").toLowerCase().includes(term) ||
-          (r.email ?? "").toLowerCase().includes(term)
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!open) return;
+    let cancelled = false;
+    const term = q.trim();
+    setLoading(true);
+    const handle = setTimeout(async () => {
+      let query = supabase
+        .from("contacts")
+        .select("id, name, company, contact_type, email")
+        .is("archived_at", null)
+        .order("name")
+        .limit(50);
+      if (term) {
+        const esc = term.replace(/[%,]/g, " ");
+        query = query.or(
+          `name.ilike.%${esc}%,company.ilike.%${esc}%,email.ilike.%${esc}%`,
         );
-      });
-  }, [rows, q, excludeIds]);
+      }
+      const { data } = await query;
+      if (!cancelled) {
+        setRows(data ?? []);
+        setLoading(false);
+      }
+    }, 200);
+    return () => {
+      cancelled = true;
+      clearTimeout(handle);
+    };
+  }, [open, q]);
+
+  const filtered = useMemo(
+    () => rows.filter((r) => !excludeIds.has(r.id)),
+    [rows, excludeIds],
+  );
 
   return (
     <Dialog open={open} onOpenChange={onOpenChange}>
@@ -210,7 +225,9 @@ function ContactPickerDialog({
           <Input className="pl-9" placeholder="Search by name, company, email…" value={q} onChange={(e) => setQ(e.target.value)} autoFocus />
         </div>
         <div className="max-h-[400px] overflow-auto -mx-2">
-          {filtered.length === 0 ? (
+          {loading ? (
+            <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground p-3">Searching…</p>
+          ) : filtered.length === 0 ? (
             <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground p-3">No matching contacts.</p>
           ) : (
             <ul className="divide-y">