diff --git a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/ChatHistory/ChatDetailPanel.tsx b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/ChatHistory/ChatDetailPanel.tsx
index 2eefff85..33e369ec 100644
--- a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/ChatHistory/ChatDetailPanel.tsx
+++ b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/ChatHistory/ChatDetailPanel.tsx
@@ -108,6 +108,11 @@ function DetailBar({
 
   return (
     <div className="shrink-0 flex items-center px-4 py-2 border-b border-border bg-background/60">
+      {/* Left, away from the connection dot and the end-session plug. It is a setting, not a status: it
+          says what this chat WILL do, while everything on the right reports what it is doing now. */}
+      <div className="flex items-center">
+        {sessionId && <NotifyMenu preference={notifyPreference ?? 'none'} onChange={commitNotifyPreference} />}
+      </div>
       <div className="flex-1 min-w-0 px-3 text-center">
         <EditableTitle
           value={sessionTitle ?? 'New chat'}
@@ -133,7 +138,6 @@ function DetailBar({
           <span className="inline-block h-2 w-2 rounded-full bg-green-500" />
         )}
         <span>{!isConnected ? 'Disconnected' : isGenerating ? 'Working...' : ''}</span>
-        {sessionId && <NotifyMenu preference={notifyPreference ?? 'none'} onChange={commitNotifyPreference} />}
         {isConnected && onDisconnect && (
           <button
             type="button"
diff --git a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/ChatHistory/NotifyMenu.tsx b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/ChatHistory/NotifyMenu.tsx
index 237b07a6..2026696e 100644
--- a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/ChatHistory/NotifyMenu.tsx
+++ b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/ChatHistory/NotifyMenu.tsx
@@ -10,6 +10,23 @@ const OPTIONS: { value: NotifyPreference; label: string }[] = [
   { value: 'none', label: 'None' },
 ];
 
+/**
+ * The bell says what it will do without being opened.
+ *
+ * Green is `green-500` on purpose rather than `text-success` — it has to be the SAME green as the
+ * connection dot two elements away, and a semantic token that drifted from it would leave two greens in
+ * one header meaning two different things.
+ *
+ * Amber for `input_needed` because it is the conditional setting: it will speak, but only sometimes.
+ * Muted for `none`, which is also the only state that draws a struck-through bell — colour alone is not
+ * a state anyone should have to learn.
+ */
+const BELL_TONE: Record<NotifyPreference, string> = {
+  every_turn: 'text-green-500',
+  input_needed: 'text-warning',
+  none: 'text-muted-foreground',
+};
+
 type NotifyMenuProps = {
   preference: NotifyPreference;
   onChange: (preference: NotifyPreference) => void;
@@ -40,7 +57,7 @@ export const NotifyMenu = ({ preference, onChange }: NotifyMenuProps) => {
           type="button"
           title={`Notifications: ${OPTIONS.find((o) => o.value === preference)?.label ?? 'None'}`}
           aria-label="Notification preference"
-          className="p-1 rounded hover:bg-muted transition-colors cursor-pointer"
+          className={`rounded p-1 transition-colors hover:bg-muted cursor-pointer ${BELL_TONE[preference]}`}
         >
           {preference === 'none' ? <BellOff className="h-3.5 w-3.5" /> : <Bell className="h-3.5 w-3.5" />}
         </button>