diff --git a/apps/web/src/services/ai/design-validation-fixes.ts b/apps/web/src/services/ai/design-validation-fixes.ts
index 105a3c5c1..561ef426f 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/services/ai/design-validation-fixes.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/services/ai/design-validation-fixes.ts
@@ -53,6 +53,11 @@ export interface ValidationResult {
   structuralFixes: StructuralFix[];
   qualityScore: number;
   skipped?: boolean;
+  /** Human-readable reason when `skipped` — surfaced in the chat panel
+   * status line so users can tell "no vision provider" apart from
+   * "request timed out". Empty when the skip is transient.
+   */
+  skippedReason?: string;
 }
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/apps/web/src/services/ai/design-validation.ts b/apps/web/src/services/ai/design-validation.ts
index 89879d150..3e150b511 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/services/ai/design-validation.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/services/ai/design-validation.ts
@@ -173,7 +173,14 @@ Cross-reference visual issues with the node IDs above. Return JSON fixes using r
 
     if (!response.ok) {
       console.warn(`[Validation] HTTP ${response.status}: ${response.statusText}`);
-      return { issues: [], fixes: [], structuralFixes: [], qualityScore: 0, skipped: true };
+      return {
+        issues: [],
+        fixes: [],
+        structuralFixes: [],
+        qualityScore: 0,
+        skipped: true,
+        skippedReason: `HTTP ${response.status} ${response.statusText}`,
+      };
     }
 
     const data = (await response.json()) as { text?: string; skipped?: boolean; error?: string };
@@ -186,7 +193,14 @@ Cross-reference visual issues with the node IDs above. Return JSON fixes using r
         provider,
         model,
       });
-      return { issues: [], fixes: [], structuralFixes: [], qualityScore: 0, skipped: true };
+      return {
+        issues: [],
+        fixes: [],
+        structuralFixes: [],
+        qualityScore: 0,
+        skipped: true,
+        skippedReason: data.error,
+      };
     }
 
     const parsed = parseValidationResponse(data.text);
@@ -381,8 +395,13 @@ export async function runPostGenerationValidation(options?: {
       console.log(
         `[Validation] Round ${round}: skipped (see warnings above for details; provider=${options?.provider}, model=${options?.model})`,
       );
-      // Replace "Analyzing..." with skipped reason
-      log[log.length - 1] = '[error] Analysis skipped (timeout or provider error)';
+      // Replace "Analyzing..." with skipped reason. Prefer the
+      // server-provided explanation when present so the chat shows
+      // "(no vision provider)" instead of the generic timeout text.
+      const reasonShort = result.skippedReason
+        ? result.skippedReason.slice(0, 120)
+        : 'timeout or provider error';
+      log[log.length - 1] = `[error] Analysis skipped (${reasonShort})`;
       if (isFirstRound) {
         clearVisualReference();
         emit('done');