diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ExpertButton.vue b/frontend/src/components/ExpertButton.vue
index 52dca479db..bf9117809d 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/ExpertButton.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ExpertButton.vue
@@ -24,13 +24,16 @@ export default {
     computed: {
         ...mapState(useUxDrawersStore, ['rightDrawer']),
         isExpertDrawerOpen () {
-            return this.rightDrawer.state && this.rightDrawer.component?.name === 'ExpertDrawer'
+            return (this.rightDrawer.state || this.rightDrawer.fixed)
         }
     },
     methods: {
         ...mapActions('product/expert', ['openAssistantDrawer']),
         onClick () {
-            this.openAssistantDrawer()
+            const openOptions = {
+                openPinned: this.rightDrawer.expertState.pinned
+            }
+            this.openAssistantDrawer(openOptions)
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/drawers/RightDrawer.vue b/frontend/src/components/drawers/RightDrawer.vue
index 7a592200c9..376907ce09 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/drawers/RightDrawer.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/components/drawers/RightDrawer.vue
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
     <section
         id="right-drawer"
         v-click-outside="{handler: closeDrawer, exclude: ['right-drawer']}"
-        :class="{open: rightDrawer.state, wider: rightDrawer.wider, fixed: rightDrawer.fixed, resizing: isResizing, 'manually-resized': hasManuallyResized, pinning: isPinning, opening: isOpening, closing: isClosing}"
+        :class="{open: rightDrawer.state, wider: rightDrawer.wider, fixed: rightDrawer.fixed, resizing: isResizing, 'manually-resized': hasManuallyResized, pinning: isPinning, opening: isOpening && !isPinning, closing: isClosing}"
         :style="drawerStyle"
         data-el="right-drawer"
     >
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@
 
 <script>
 import { mapActions, mapState } from 'pinia'
+import { mapActions as mapVuexActions } from 'vuex'
 
 import { useUxDrawersStore } from '@/stores/ux-drawers.js'
 
@@ -105,10 +106,18 @@ export default {
     watch: {
         'rightDrawer.state': {
             handler (isOpen, wasOpen) {
+                let reopenExpert = false
+                const isExpertDrawer = this.rightDrawer.component?.name === 'ExpertDrawer'
+                if (!isOpen && wasOpen && !isExpertDrawer) {
+                    // non expert drawer is closing - check if we need to re-open expert drawer
+                    reopenExpert = this.rightDrawer.expertState.pinned && this.rightDrawer.expertState.open
+                }
+
                 // Set opening flag when drawer opens
                 if (isOpen && !wasOpen) {
                     this.isOpening = true
                     this.isClosing = false
+                    this.isPinning = isExpertDrawer && this.rightDrawer.fixed // no animation if drawer is to open pinned
                     // Clear opening flag after slide animation completes
                     setTimeout(() => {
                         this.isOpening = false
@@ -121,6 +130,10 @@ export default {
                     // Clear closing flag after slide animation completes
                     setTimeout(() => {
                         this.isClosing = false
+                        // Re-open Expert drawer if needed after other drawer closes
+                        if (reopenExpert) {
+                            this.openAssistantDrawer({ openPinned: true })
+                        }
                     }, 350)
                 }
 
@@ -166,6 +179,20 @@ export default {
     mounted () {
         // Add viewport resize listener
         window.addEventListener('resize', this.onViewportResize)
+
+        const openPinned = this.rightDrawer.expertState.open && this.rightDrawer.expertState.pinned
+
+        if (openPinned && this.shouldAllowPinning) {
+            this.isPinning = true
+            setTimeout(() => {
+                this.openAssistantDrawer({ openPinned: true })
+                setTimeout(() => {
+                    this.isPinning = false
+                }, 200)
+            }, 25)
+        } else {
+            this.isPinning = false
+        }
     },
     beforeUnmount () {
         // Clean up resize listeners
@@ -177,6 +204,7 @@ export default {
         }
     },
     methods: {
+        ...mapVuexActions('product/expert', ['openAssistantDrawer']),
         ...mapActions(useUxDrawersStore, ['closeRightDrawer', 'togglePinDrawer']),
         closeDrawer () {
             if (this.rightDrawer.state && this.rightDrawer.closeOnClickOutside) {
diff --git a/frontend/src/store/modules/product/expert/index.js b/frontend/src/store/modules/product/expert/index.js
index 4f92ea1954..16e22aa1cc 100644
--- a/frontend/src/store/modules/product/expert/index.js
+++ b/frontend/src/store/modules/product/expert/index.js
@@ -350,12 +350,17 @@ const actions = {
         return expertApi.chat(payload)
     },
 
-    openAssistantDrawer ({ dispatch, rootGetters }) {
+    openAssistantDrawer ({ dispatch, rootGetters }, options = {}) {
         if (rootGetters['account/featuresCheck'].isExpertAssistantFeatureEnabled === false) return
 
         dispatch(`product/expert/${OPERATOR_AGENT}/getCapabilities`, null, { root: true })
 
-        return useUxDrawersStore().openRightDrawer({ component: markRaw(ExpertDrawer) })
+        const openOptions = {
+            component: markRaw(ExpertDrawer),
+            fixed: options?.openPinned === true,
+            closeOnClickOutside: options?.openPinned !== true
+        }
+        return useUxDrawersStore().openRightDrawer(openOptions)
     },
 
     addWelcomeMessageIfNeeded ({ dispatch, state }) {
diff --git a/frontend/src/stores/ux-drawers.js b/frontend/src/stores/ux-drawers.js
index b3325a8ce1..9bf6e45529 100644
--- a/frontend/src/stores/ux-drawers.js
+++ b/frontend/src/stores/ux-drawers.js
@@ -21,6 +21,10 @@ export const useUxDrawersStore = defineStore('ux-drawers', {
         },
         rightDrawer: {
             state: false,
+            expertState: {
+                pinned: true,
+                open: true
+            },
             component: null,
             header: null,
             wider: false,
@@ -59,6 +63,11 @@ export const useUxDrawersStore = defineStore('ux-drawers', {
             if (this.rightDrawer.state && component.name === this.rightDrawer.component?.name) return
 
             const openDrawer = () => {
+                if (component.name === 'ExpertDrawer') {
+                    // save the ExpertDrawer pinned/open state (expertState is persistent)
+                    this.rightDrawer.expertState.pinned = fixed
+                    this.rightDrawer.expertState.open = true
+                }
                 this.rightDrawer.state = true
                 this.rightDrawer.wider = wider
                 this.rightDrawer.fixed = fixed
@@ -84,6 +93,11 @@ export const useUxDrawersStore = defineStore('ux-drawers', {
         },
 
         closeRightDrawer () {
+            if (this.rightDrawer.component?.name === 'ExpertDrawer') {
+                // save the ExpertDrawer pinned/open state (expertState is persistent)
+                this.rightDrawer.expertState.open = false
+                this.rightDrawer.expertState.pinned = this.rightDrawer.fixed
+            }
             // Set closing flag to prevent reopens during transition
             this.rightDrawer.closing = true
 
@@ -167,8 +181,12 @@ export const useUxDrawersStore = defineStore('ux-drawers', {
             const newFixedState = !this.rightDrawer.fixed
             this.rightDrawer.fixed = newFixedState
             this.rightDrawer.pinned = newFixedState
-            // When fixed, prevent close on click outside
             this.rightDrawer.closeOnClickOutside = !newFixedState
+            if (this.rightDrawer.component?.name === 'ExpertDrawer') {
+                // save the ExpertDrawer pinned/open state (expertState is persistent)
+                this.rightDrawer.expertState.open = this.rightDrawer.state
+                this.rightDrawer.expertState.pinned = newFixedState
+            }
 
             // Always close overlay when toggling (whether fixing or unfixing)
             const uxStore = useUxStore()
@@ -192,5 +210,9 @@ export const useUxDrawersStore = defineStore('ux-drawers', {
         setLeftDrawer (component) {
             this.leftDrawer.component = component ? markRaw(component) : null
         }
+    },
+    persist: {
+        pick: ['rightDrawer.expertState'],
+        storage: localStorage
     }
 })
diff --git a/test/unit/frontend/stores/ux-drawers.spec.js b/test/unit/frontend/stores/ux-drawers.spec.js
index 518052426b..69c62783aa 100644
--- a/test/unit/frontend/stores/ux-drawers.spec.js
+++ b/test/unit/frontend/stores/ux-drawers.spec.js
@@ -74,6 +74,10 @@ describe('ux-drawers store', () => {
             expect(store.rightDrawer.props).toEqual({})
             expect(store.rightDrawer.on).toEqual({})
             expect(store.rightDrawer.bind).toEqual({})
+            expect(store.rightDrawer.expertState).toEqual({
+                pinned: true,
+                open: true
+            })
         })
 
         it('passes through all options', () => {