diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 1c3dcf2..e607889 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -4,6 +4,14 @@
 
 Household Telegram bot + mini app monorepo for shared rent/utilities/purchase accounting.
 
+## Project phase
+
+- Current phase: `pre-1.0`
+- Optimize for clarity, cohesion, and codebase freshness over backward compatibility
+- Remove legacy fields, tables, env vars, code paths, and transitional structures by default unless the user explicitly asks to preserve them
+- When implementing new features, it is acceptable to refactor or delete nearby obsolete code so the resulting system stays small and coherent
+- Before `1.0` release, replace this policy with a compatibility-first policy for production evolution and migrations
+
 ## Core stack
 
 - Runtime/tooling: Bun
@@ -49,6 +57,7 @@ Boundary rules:
 - Run manual checks selectively for targeted validation or when hooks do not cover the relevant risk
 - After push: add a Linear comment with branch/commit and validation status
 - After merge to `main`: move the Linear ticket to `Done` unless the user says otherwise
+- Treat removal of fresh legacy code and config as normal pre-1.0 cleanup, not as a risky exception
 - Run Codex review before merge (`codex review --base origin/main`)
 
 ## Communication
diff --git a/apps/bot/src/assistant-state.ts b/apps/bot/src/assistant-state.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fc9aea1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/bot/src/assistant-state.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,180 @@
+export interface AssistantConversationTurn {
+  role: 'user' | 'assistant'
+  text: string
+}
+
+interface AssistantConversationState {
+  summary: string | null
+  turns: AssistantConversationTurn[]
+}
+
+const MEMORY_SUMMARY_MAX_CHARS = 1200
+
+export interface AssistantConversationMemoryStore {
+  get(key: string): AssistantConversationState
+  appendTurn(key: string, turn: AssistantConversationTurn): AssistantConversationState
+}
+
+export interface AssistantRateLimitResult {
+  allowed: boolean
+  retryAfterMs: number
+}
+
+export interface AssistantRateLimiter {
+  consume(key: string): AssistantRateLimitResult
+}
+
+export interface AssistantUsageSnapshot {
+  householdId: string
+  telegramUserId: string
+  displayName: string
+  requestCount: number
+  inputTokens: number
+  outputTokens: number
+  totalTokens: number
+  updatedAt: string
+}
+
+export interface AssistantUsageTracker {
+  record(input: {
+    householdId: string
+    telegramUserId: string
+    displayName: string
+    usage: {
+      inputTokens: number
+      outputTokens: number
+      totalTokens: number
+    }
+  }): void
+  listHouseholdUsage(householdId: string): readonly AssistantUsageSnapshot[]
+}
+
+function summarizeTurns(
+  summary: string | null,
+  turns: readonly AssistantConversationTurn[]
+): string {
+  const next = [summary, ...turns.map((turn) => `${turn.role}: ${turn.text}`)]
+    .filter(Boolean)
+    .join('\n')
+
+  return next.length <= MEMORY_SUMMARY_MAX_CHARS
+    ? next
+    : next.slice(next.length - MEMORY_SUMMARY_MAX_CHARS)
+}
+
+export function conversationMemoryKey(input: {
+  telegramUserId: string
+  telegramChatId: string
+  isPrivateChat: boolean
+}): string {
+  return input.isPrivateChat
+    ? input.telegramUserId
+    : `group:${input.telegramChatId}:${input.telegramUserId}`
+}
+
+export function createInMemoryAssistantConversationMemoryStore(
+  maxTurns: number
+): AssistantConversationMemoryStore {
+  const memory = new Map<string, AssistantConversationState>()
+
+  return {
+    get(key) {
+      return memory.get(key) ?? { summary: null, turns: [] }
+    },
+
+    appendTurn(key, turn) {
+      const current = memory.get(key) ?? { summary: null, turns: [] }
+      const nextTurns = [...current.turns, turn]
+
+      if (nextTurns.length <= maxTurns) {
+        const nextState = {
+          summary: current.summary,
+          turns: nextTurns
+        }
+        memory.set(key, nextState)
+        return nextState
+      }
+
+      const overflowCount = nextTurns.length - maxTurns
+      const overflow = nextTurns.slice(0, overflowCount)
+      const retained = nextTurns.slice(overflowCount)
+      const nextState = {
+        summary: summarizeTurns(current.summary, overflow),
+        turns: retained
+      }
+      memory.set(key, nextState)
+      return nextState
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+export function createInMemoryAssistantRateLimiter(config: {
+  burstLimit: number
+  burstWindowMs: number
+  rollingLimit: number
+  rollingWindowMs: number
+}): AssistantRateLimiter {
+  const timestamps = new Map<string, number[]>()
+
+  return {
+    consume(key) {
+      const now = Date.now()
+      const events = (timestamps.get(key) ?? []).filter(
+        (timestamp) => now - timestamp < config.rollingWindowMs
+      )
+      const burstEvents = events.filter((timestamp) => now - timestamp < config.burstWindowMs)
+
+      if (burstEvents.length >= config.burstLimit) {
+        const oldestBurstEvent = burstEvents[0] ?? now
+        return {
+          allowed: false,
+          retryAfterMs: Math.max(1, config.burstWindowMs - (now - oldestBurstEvent))
+        }
+      }
+
+      if (events.length >= config.rollingLimit) {
+        const oldestEvent = events[0] ?? now
+        return {
+          allowed: false,
+          retryAfterMs: Math.max(1, config.rollingWindowMs - (now - oldestEvent))
+        }
+      }
+
+      events.push(now)
+      timestamps.set(key, events)
+
+      return {
+        allowed: true,
+        retryAfterMs: 0
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+export function createInMemoryAssistantUsageTracker(): AssistantUsageTracker {
+  const usage = new Map<string, AssistantUsageSnapshot>()
+
+  return {
+    record(input) {
+      const key = `${input.householdId}:${input.telegramUserId}`
+      const current = usage.get(key)
+
+      usage.set(key, {
+        householdId: input.householdId,
+        telegramUserId: input.telegramUserId,
+        displayName: input.displayName,
+        requestCount: (current?.requestCount ?? 0) + 1,
+        inputTokens: (current?.inputTokens ?? 0) + input.usage.inputTokens,
+        outputTokens: (current?.outputTokens ?? 0) + input.usage.outputTokens,
+        totalTokens: (current?.totalTokens ?? 0) + input.usage.totalTokens,
+        updatedAt: new Date().toISOString()
+      })
+    },
+
+    listHouseholdUsage(householdId) {
+      return [...usage.values()]
+        .filter((entry) => entry.householdId === householdId)
+        .sort((left, right) => right.totalTokens - left.totalTokens)
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/apps/bot/src/config.ts b/apps/bot/src/config.ts
index 1074964..31752d6 100644
--- a/apps/bot/src/config.ts
+++ b/apps/bot/src/config.ts
@@ -15,9 +15,9 @@ export interface BotRuntimeConfig {
   schedulerOidcAllowedEmails: readonly string[]
   reminderJobsEnabled: boolean
   openaiApiKey?: string
-  parserModel: string
   purchaseParserModel: string
   assistantModel: string
+  assistantRouterModel: string
   assistantTimeoutMs: number
   assistantMemoryMaxTurns: number
   assistantRateLimitBurst: number
@@ -127,10 +127,9 @@ export function getBotRuntimeConfig(env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process.env): BotRu
     miniAppAuthEnabled,
     schedulerOidcAllowedEmails,
     reminderJobsEnabled,
-    parserModel: env.PARSER_MODEL?.trim() || 'gpt-4o-mini',
-    purchaseParserModel:
-      env.PURCHASE_PARSER_MODEL?.trim() || env.PARSER_MODEL?.trim() || 'gpt-4o-mini',
+    purchaseParserModel: env.PURCHASE_PARSER_MODEL?.trim() || 'gpt-4o-mini',
     assistantModel: env.ASSISTANT_MODEL?.trim() || 'gpt-4o-mini',
+    assistantRouterModel: env.ASSISTANT_ROUTER_MODEL?.trim() || 'gpt-5-nano',
     assistantTimeoutMs: parsePositiveInteger(
       env.ASSISTANT_TIMEOUT_MS,
       20_000,
diff --git a/apps/bot/src/dm-assistant.test.ts b/apps/bot/src/dm-assistant.test.ts
index 0b88ee7..a8f128d 100644
--- a/apps/bot/src/dm-assistant.test.ts
+++ b/apps/bot/src/dm-assistant.test.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,10 @@ import {
   createInMemoryAssistantUsageTracker,
   registerDmAssistant
 } from './dm-assistant'
-import type { PurchaseMessageIngestionRepository } from './purchase-topic-ingestion'
+import {
+  registerConfiguredPurchaseTopicIngestion,
+  type PurchaseMessageIngestionRepository
+} from './purchase-topic-ingestion'
 
 function createTestBot() {
   const bot = createTelegramBot('000000:test-token')
@@ -264,6 +267,22 @@ function createHouseholdRepository(): HouseholdConfigurationRepository {
   }
 }
 
+function createBoundHouseholdRepository(
+  role: 'purchase' | 'payments'
+): HouseholdConfigurationRepository {
+  const repository = createHouseholdRepository()
+
+  return {
+    ...repository,
+    findHouseholdTopicByTelegramContext: async () => ({
+      householdId: 'household-1',
+      role,
+      telegramThreadId: '777',
+      topicName: role === 'purchase' ? 'Purchases' : 'Payments'
+    })
+  }
+}
+
 function createFinanceService(): FinanceCommandService {
   return {
     getMemberByTelegramUserId: async () => ({
@@ -1243,6 +1262,186 @@ Confirm or cancel below.`,
     })
   })
 
+  test('uses the shared router for playful addressed topic replies without calling the full assistant', async () => {
+    const bot = createTestBot()
+    const calls: Array<{ method: string; payload: unknown }> = []
+    let assistantCalls = 0
+
+    bot.api.config.use(async (_prev, method, payload) => {
+      calls.push({ method, payload })
+
+      if (method === 'sendMessage') {
+        return {
+          ok: true,
+          result: {
+            message_id: calls.length,
+            date: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000),
+            chat: {
+              id: -100123,
+              type: 'supergroup'
+            },
+            text: (payload as { text?: string }).text ?? 'ok'
+          }
+        } as never
+      }
+
+      return {
+        ok: true,
+        result: true
+      } as never
+    })
+
+    registerDmAssistant({
+      bot,
+      assistant: {
+        async respond() {
+          assistantCalls += 1
+          return {
+            text: 'Should not be called.',
+            usage: {
+              inputTokens: 10,
+              outputTokens: 2,
+              totalTokens: 12
+            }
+          }
+        }
+      },
+      topicRouter: async () => ({
+        route: 'chat_reply',
+        replyText: 'Тут. Если что-то реально купили, подключусь.',
+        helperKind: null,
+        shouldStartTyping: false,
+        shouldClearWorkflow: false,
+        confidence: 96,
+        reason: 'smalltalk'
+      }),
+      purchaseRepository: createPurchaseRepository(),
+      purchaseInterpreter: async () => null,
+      householdConfigurationRepository: createHouseholdRepository(),
+      promptRepository: createPromptRepository(),
+      financeServiceForHousehold: () => createFinanceService(),
+      memoryStore: createInMemoryAssistantConversationMemoryStore(12),
+      rateLimiter: createInMemoryAssistantRateLimiter({
+        burstLimit: 5,
+        burstWindowMs: 60_000,
+        rollingLimit: 50,
+        rollingWindowMs: 86_400_000
+      }),
+      usageTracker: createInMemoryAssistantUsageTracker()
+    })
+
+    await bot.handleUpdate(topicMentionUpdate('@household_test_bot А ты тут?') as never)
+
+    expect(assistantCalls).toBe(0)
+    expect(calls).toHaveLength(1)
+    expect(calls[0]).toMatchObject({
+      method: 'sendMessage',
+      payload: {
+        text: 'Тут. Если что-то реально купили, подключусь.'
+      }
+    })
+  })
+
+  test('reuses the purchase-topic route instead of calling the shared router twice', async () => {
+    const bot = createTestBot()
+    const calls: Array<{ method: string; payload: unknown }> = []
+    let assistantCalls = 0
+    let routerCalls = 0
+    const householdConfigurationRepository = createBoundHouseholdRepository('purchase')
+    const topicRouter = async () => {
+      routerCalls += 1
+
+      return {
+        route: 'topic_helper' as const,
+        replyText: null,
+        helperKind: 'assistant' as const,
+        shouldStartTyping: true,
+        shouldClearWorkflow: false,
+        confidence: 96,
+        reason: 'question'
+      }
+    }
+
+    bot.api.config.use(async (_prev, method, payload) => {
+      calls.push({ method, payload })
+
+      if (method === 'sendMessage') {
+        return {
+          ok: true,
+          result: {
+            message_id: calls.length,
+            date: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000),
+            chat: {
+              id: -100123,
+              type: 'supergroup'
+            },
+            text: (payload as { text?: string }).text ?? 'ok'
+          }
+        } as never
+      }
+
+      return {
+        ok: true,
+        result: true
+      } as never
+    })
+
+    registerConfiguredPurchaseTopicIngestion(
+      bot,
+      householdConfigurationRepository,
+      createPurchaseRepository(),
+      {
+        router: topicRouter
+      }
+    )
+
+    registerDmAssistant({
+      bot,
+      assistant: {
+        async respond() {
+          assistantCalls += 1
+          return {
+            text: 'Still here.',
+            usage: {
+              inputTokens: 10,
+              outputTokens: 3,
+              totalTokens: 13
+            }
+          }
+        }
+      },
+      topicRouter,
+      purchaseRepository: createPurchaseRepository(),
+      purchaseInterpreter: async () => null,
+      householdConfigurationRepository,
+      promptRepository: createPromptRepository(),
+      financeServiceForHousehold: () => createFinanceService(),
+      memoryStore: createInMemoryAssistantConversationMemoryStore(12),
+      rateLimiter: createInMemoryAssistantRateLimiter({
+        burstLimit: 5,
+        burstWindowMs: 60_000,
+        rollingLimit: 50,
+        rollingWindowMs: 86_400_000
+      }),
+      usageTracker: createInMemoryAssistantUsageTracker()
+    })
+
+    await bot.handleUpdate(topicMentionUpdate('@household_test_bot how is life?') as never)
+
+    expect(routerCalls).toBe(1)
+    expect(assistantCalls).toBe(1)
+    expect(calls).toEqual(
+      expect.arrayContaining([
+        expect.objectContaining({
+          method: 'sendMessage',
+          payload: expect.objectContaining({
+            text: 'Still here.'
+          })
+        })
+      ])
+    )
+  })
+
   test('stays silent for regular group chatter when the bot is not addressed', async () => {
     const bot = createTestBot()
     const calls: Array<{ method: string; payload: unknown }> = []
diff --git a/apps/bot/src/dm-assistant.ts b/apps/bot/src/dm-assistant.ts
index 8dc5c59..320ff7a 100644
--- a/apps/bot/src/dm-assistant.ts
+++ b/apps/bot/src/dm-assistant.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,13 @@ import type { Bot, Context } from 'grammy'
 
 import { resolveReplyLocale } from './bot-locale'
 import { getBotTranslations, type BotLocale } from './i18n'
-import type { AssistantReply, ConversationalAssistant } from './openai-chat-assistant'
+import type {
+  AssistantConversationMemoryStore,
+  AssistantRateLimiter,
+  AssistantUsageTracker
+} from './assistant-state'
+import { conversationMemoryKey } from './assistant-state'
+import type { ConversationalAssistant } from './openai-chat-assistant'
 import type { PurchaseMessageInterpreter } from './openai-purchase-interpreter'
 import {
   formatPaymentBalanceReplyText,
@@ -25,9 +31,18 @@ import type {
   PurchaseProposalActionResult,
   PurchaseTopicRecord
 } from './purchase-topic-ingestion'
+import type { TopicMessageRouter, TopicMessageRole } from './topic-message-router'
+import { fallbackTopicMessageRoute, getCachedTopicMessageRoute } from './topic-message-router'
 import { startTypingIndicator } from './telegram-chat-action'
 import { stripExplicitBotMention } from './telegram-mentions'
 
+export type { AssistantConversationMemoryStore, AssistantUsageTracker } from './assistant-state'
+export {
+  createInMemoryAssistantConversationMemoryStore,
+  createInMemoryAssistantRateLimiter,
+  createInMemoryAssistantUsageTracker
+} from './assistant-state'
+
 const ASSISTANT_PAYMENT_ACTION = 'assistant_payment_confirmation' as const
 const ASSISTANT_PAYMENT_CONFIRM_CALLBACK_PREFIX = 'assistant_payment:confirm:'
 const ASSISTANT_PAYMENT_CANCEL_CALLBACK_PREFIX = 'assistant_payment:cancel:'
@@ -35,57 +50,11 @@ const ASSISTANT_PURCHASE_CONFIRM_CALLBACK_PREFIX = 'assistant_purchase:confirm:'
 const ASSISTANT_PURCHASE_CANCEL_CALLBACK_PREFIX = 'assistant_purchase:cancel:'
 const DM_ASSISTANT_MESSAGE_SOURCE = 'telegram-dm-assistant'
 const GROUP_ASSISTANT_MESSAGE_SOURCE = 'telegram-group-assistant'
-const MEMORY_SUMMARY_MAX_CHARS = 1200
 const PURCHASE_VERB_PATTERN =
   /\b(?:bought|buy|got|picked up|spent|купил(?:а|и)?|взял(?:а|и)?|выложил(?:а|и)?|отдал(?:а|и)?|потратил(?:а|и)?)\b/iu
 const PURCHASE_MONEY_PATTERN =
   /(?:\d+(?:[.,]\d{1,2})?\s*(?:₾|gel|lari|лари|usd|\$|доллар(?:а|ов)?|кровн\p{L}*)|\b\d+(?:[.,]\d{1,2})\b)/iu
 
-interface AssistantConversationTurn {
-  role: 'user' | 'assistant'
-  text: string
-}
-
-interface AssistantConversationState {
-  summary: string | null
-  turns: AssistantConversationTurn[]
-}
-
-export interface AssistantConversationMemoryStore {
-  get(key: string): AssistantConversationState
-  appendTurn(key: string, turn: AssistantConversationTurn): AssistantConversationState
-}
-
-export interface AssistantRateLimitResult {
-  allowed: boolean
-  retryAfterMs: number
-}
-
-export interface AssistantRateLimiter {
-  consume(key: string): AssistantRateLimitResult
-}
-
-export interface AssistantUsageSnapshot {
-  householdId: string
-  telegramUserId: string
-  displayName: string
-  requestCount: number
-  inputTokens: number
-  outputTokens: number
-  totalTokens: number
-  updatedAt: string
-}
-
-export interface AssistantUsageTracker {
-  record(input: {
-    householdId: string
-    telegramUserId: string
-    displayName: string
-    usage: AssistantReply['usage']
-  }): void
-  listHouseholdUsage(householdId: string): readonly AssistantUsageSnapshot[]
-}
-
 type PurchaseActionResult = Extract<
   PurchaseProposalActionResult,
   { status: 'confirmed' | 'already_confirmed' | 'cancelled' | 'already_cancelled' }
@@ -132,136 +101,6 @@ function isReplyToBotMessage(ctx: Context): boolean {
   return replyAuthor.id === ctx.me.id
 }
 
-function summarizeTurns(
-  summary: string | null,
-  turns: readonly AssistantConversationTurn[]
-): string {
-  const next = [summary, ...turns.map((turn) => `${turn.role}: ${turn.text}`)]
-    .filter(Boolean)
-    .join('\n')
-
-  return next.length <= MEMORY_SUMMARY_MAX_CHARS
-    ? next
-    : next.slice(next.length - MEMORY_SUMMARY_MAX_CHARS)
-}
-
-function conversationMemoryKey(input: {
-  telegramUserId: string
-  telegramChatId: string
-  isPrivateChat: boolean
-}): string {
-  return input.isPrivateChat
-    ? input.telegramUserId
-    : `group:${input.telegramChatId}:${input.telegramUserId}`
-}
-
-export function createInMemoryAssistantConversationMemoryStore(
-  maxTurns: number
-): AssistantConversationMemoryStore {
-  const memory = new Map<string, AssistantConversationState>()
-
-  return {
-    get(key) {
-      return memory.get(key) ?? { summary: null, turns: [] }
-    },
-
-    appendTurn(key, turn) {
-      const current = memory.get(key) ?? { summary: null, turns: [] }
-      const nextTurns = [...current.turns, turn]
-
-      if (nextTurns.length <= maxTurns) {
-        const nextState = {
-          summary: current.summary,
-          turns: nextTurns
-        }
-        memory.set(key, nextState)
-        return nextState
-      }
-
-      const overflowCount = nextTurns.length - maxTurns
-      const overflow = nextTurns.slice(0, overflowCount)
-      const retained = nextTurns.slice(overflowCount)
-      const nextState = {
-        summary: summarizeTurns(current.summary, overflow),
-        turns: retained
-      }
-      memory.set(key, nextState)
-      return nextState
-    }
-  }
-}
-
-export function createInMemoryAssistantRateLimiter(config: {
-  burstLimit: number
-  burstWindowMs: number
-  rollingLimit: number
-  rollingWindowMs: number
-}): AssistantRateLimiter {
-  const timestamps = new Map<string, number[]>()
-
-  return {
-    consume(key) {
-      const now = Date.now()
-      const events = (timestamps.get(key) ?? []).filter(
-        (timestamp) => now - timestamp < config.rollingWindowMs
-      )
-      const burstEvents = events.filter((timestamp) => now - timestamp < config.burstWindowMs)
-
-      if (burstEvents.length >= config.burstLimit) {
-        const oldestBurstEvent = burstEvents[0] ?? now
-        return {
-          allowed: false,
-          retryAfterMs: Math.max(1, config.burstWindowMs - (now - oldestBurstEvent))
-        }
-      }
-
-      if (events.length >= config.rollingLimit) {
-        const oldestEvent = events[0] ?? now
-        return {
-          allowed: false,
-          retryAfterMs: Math.max(1, config.rollingWindowMs - (now - oldestEvent))
-        }
-      }
-
-      events.push(now)
-      timestamps.set(key, events)
-
-      return {
-        allowed: true,
-        retryAfterMs: 0
-      }
-    }
-  }
-}
-
-export function createInMemoryAssistantUsageTracker(): AssistantUsageTracker {
-  const usage = new Map<string, AssistantUsageSnapshot>()
-
-  return {
-    record(input) {
-      const key = `${input.householdId}:${input.telegramUserId}`
-      const current = usage.get(key)
-
-      usage.set(key, {
-        householdId: input.householdId,
-        telegramUserId: input.telegramUserId,
-        displayName: input.displayName,
-        requestCount: (current?.requestCount ?? 0) + 1,
-        inputTokens: (current?.inputTokens ?? 0) + input.usage.inputTokens,
-        outputTokens: (current?.outputTokens ?? 0) + input.usage.outputTokens,
-        totalTokens: (current?.totalTokens ?? 0) + input.usage.totalTokens,
-        updatedAt: new Date().toISOString()
-      })
-    },
-
-    listHouseholdUsage(householdId) {
-      return [...usage.values()]
-        .filter((entry) => entry.householdId === householdId)
-        .sort((left, right) => right.totalTokens - left.totalTokens)
-    }
-  }
-}
-
 function formatRetryDelay(locale: BotLocale, retryAfterMs: number): string {
   const t = getBotTranslations(locale).assistant
   const roundedMinutes = Math.ceil(retryAfterMs / 60_000)
@@ -476,6 +315,45 @@ async function resolveAssistantConfig(
       }
 }
 
+async function routeGroupAssistantMessage(input: {
+  router: TopicMessageRouter | undefined
+  locale: BotLocale
+  topicRole: TopicMessageRole
+  messageText: string
+  isExplicitMention: boolean
+  isReplyToBot: boolean
+  assistantContext: string | null
+  assistantTone: string | null
+  memoryStore: AssistantConversationMemoryStore
+  memoryKey: string
+}) {
+  if (!input.router) {
+    return fallbackTopicMessageRoute({
+      locale: input.locale,
+      topicRole: input.topicRole,
+      messageText: input.messageText,
+      isExplicitMention: input.isExplicitMention,
+      isReplyToBot: input.isReplyToBot,
+      activeWorkflow: null,
+      assistantContext: input.assistantContext,
+      assistantTone: input.assistantTone,
+      recentTurns: input.memoryStore.get(input.memoryKey).turns
+    })
+  }
+
+  return input.router({
+    locale: input.locale,
+    topicRole: input.topicRole,
+    messageText: input.messageText,
+    isExplicitMention: input.isExplicitMention,
+    isReplyToBot: input.isReplyToBot,
+    activeWorkflow: null,
+    assistantContext: input.assistantContext,
+    assistantTone: input.assistantTone,
+    recentTurns: input.memoryStore.get(input.memoryKey).turns
+  })
+}
+
 function formatAssistantLedger(
   dashboard: NonNullable<Awaited<ReturnType<FinanceCommandService['generateDashboard']>>>
 ) {
@@ -699,6 +577,7 @@ async function replyWithAssistant(input: {
 export function registerDmAssistant(options: {
   bot: Bot
   assistant?: ConversationalAssistant
+  topicRouter?: TopicMessageRouter
   purchaseRepository?: PurchaseMessageIngestionRepository
   purchaseInterpreter?: PurchaseMessageInterpreter
   householdConfigurationRepository: HouseholdConfigurationRepository
@@ -1267,25 +1146,21 @@ export function registerDmAssistant(options: {
       await next()
       return
     }
-
-    if (
-      !isAddressed &&
+    const binding =
       ctx.msg &&
       'is_topic_message' in ctx.msg &&
       ctx.msg.is_topic_message === true &&
       'message_thread_id' in ctx.msg &&
       ctx.msg.message_thread_id !== undefined
-    ) {
-      const binding =
-        await options.householdConfigurationRepository.findHouseholdTopicByTelegramContext({
-          telegramChatId,
-          telegramThreadId: ctx.msg.message_thread_id.toString()
-        })
+        ? await options.householdConfigurationRepository.findHouseholdTopicByTelegramContext({
+            telegramChatId,
+            telegramThreadId: ctx.msg.message_thread_id.toString()
+          })
+        : null
 
-      if (binding) {
-        await next()
-        return
-      }
+    if (binding && !isAddressed) {
+      await next()
+      return
     }
 
     const member = await options.householdConfigurationRepository.getHouseholdMember(
@@ -1330,22 +1205,78 @@ export function registerDmAssistant(options: {
     }
 
     try {
-      const financeService = options.financeServiceForHousehold(household.householdId)
-      const [settings, assistantConfig] = await Promise.all([
-        options.householdConfigurationRepository.getHouseholdBillingSettings(household.householdId),
-        resolveAssistantConfig(options.householdConfigurationRepository, household.householdId)
-      ])
       const memoryKey = conversationMemoryKey({
         telegramUserId,
         telegramChatId,
         isPrivateChat: false
       })
       const messageText = mention?.strippedText ?? ctx.msg.text.trim()
+      const assistantConfig = await resolveAssistantConfig(
+        options.householdConfigurationRepository,
+        household.householdId
+      )
+      const topicRole: TopicMessageRole =
+        binding?.role === 'purchase' ||
+        binding?.role === 'payments' ||
+        binding?.role === 'reminders' ||
+        binding?.role === 'feedback'
+          ? binding.role
+          : 'generic'
+      const cachedRoute =
+        topicRole === 'purchase' || topicRole === 'payments'
+          ? getCachedTopicMessageRoute(ctx, topicRole)
+          : null
+      const route =
+        cachedRoute ??
+        (options.topicRouter
+          ? await routeGroupAssistantMessage({
+              router: options.topicRouter,
+              locale,
+              topicRole,
+              messageText,
+              isExplicitMention: Boolean(mention),
+              isReplyToBot: isReplyToBotMessage(ctx),
+              assistantContext: assistantConfig.assistantContext,
+              assistantTone: assistantConfig.assistantTone,
+              memoryStore: options.memoryStore,
+              memoryKey
+            })
+          : null)
 
-      if (options.purchaseRepository && options.purchaseInterpreter) {
+      if (route) {
+        if (route.route === 'chat_reply' || route.route === 'dismiss_workflow') {
+          if (route.replyText) {
+            options.memoryStore.appendTurn(memoryKey, {
+              role: 'user',
+              text: messageText
+            })
+            options.memoryStore.appendTurn(memoryKey, {
+              role: 'assistant',
+              text: route.replyText
+            })
+            await ctx.reply(route.replyText)
+          }
+          return
+        }
+
+        if (route.route === 'silent') {
+          await next()
+          return
+        }
+      }
+
+      const financeService = options.financeServiceForHousehold(household.householdId)
+      const settings = await options.householdConfigurationRepository.getHouseholdBillingSettings(
+        household.householdId
+      )
+
+      if (!binding && options.purchaseRepository && options.purchaseInterpreter) {
         const purchaseRecord = createGroupPurchaseRecord(ctx, household.householdId, messageText)
 
-        if (purchaseRecord) {
+        if (
+          purchaseRecord &&
+          (!route || route.route === 'purchase_candidate' || route.route === 'topic_helper')
+        ) {
           const purchaseResult = await options.purchaseRepository.save(
             purchaseRecord,
             options.purchaseInterpreter,
@@ -1373,15 +1304,7 @@ export function registerDmAssistant(options: {
             await ctx.reply(buildPurchaseClarificationText(locale, purchaseResult))
             return
           }
-
-          if (!isAddressed) {
-            await next()
-            return
-          }
         }
-      } else if (!isAddressed) {
-        await next()
-        return
       }
 
       if (!isAddressed || messageText.length === 0) {
diff --git a/apps/bot/src/index.ts b/apps/bot/src/index.ts
index 6d624cd..6b6e007 100644
--- a/apps/bot/src/index.ts
+++ b/apps/bot/src/index.ts
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ import { getBotRuntimeConfig } from './config'
 import { registerHouseholdSetupCommands } from './household-setup'
 import { createOpenAiChatAssistant } from './openai-chat-assistant'
 import { createOpenAiPurchaseInterpreter } from './openai-purchase-interpreter'
+import { createOpenAiTopicMessageRouter } from './topic-message-router'
 import {
   createPurchaseMessageRepository,
   registerConfiguredPurchaseTopicIngestion
@@ -145,6 +146,11 @@ const conversationalAssistant = createOpenAiChatAssistant(
   runtime.assistantModel,
   runtime.assistantTimeoutMs
 )
+const topicMessageRouter = createOpenAiTopicMessageRouter(
+  runtime.openaiApiKey,
+  runtime.assistantRouterModel,
+  Math.min(runtime.assistantTimeoutMs, 5_000)
+)
 const anonymousFeedbackRepositoryClients = new Map<
   string,
   ReturnType<typeof createDbAnonymousFeedbackRepository>
@@ -237,6 +243,12 @@ if (purchaseRepositoryClient && householdConfigurationRepositoryClient) {
     householdConfigurationRepositoryClient.repository,
     purchaseRepositoryClient.repository,
     {
+      ...(topicMessageRouter
+        ? {
+            router: topicMessageRouter,
+            memoryStore: assistantMemoryStore
+          }
+        : {}),
       ...(purchaseInterpreter
         ? {
             interpreter: purchaseInterpreter
@@ -253,6 +265,12 @@ if (purchaseRepositoryClient && householdConfigurationRepositoryClient) {
     financeServiceForHousehold,
     paymentConfirmationServiceForHousehold,
     {
+      ...(topicMessageRouter
+        ? {
+            router: topicMessageRouter,
+            memoryStore: assistantMemoryStore
+          }
+        : {}),
       logger: getLogger('payment-ingestion')
     }
   )
@@ -432,6 +450,11 @@ if (
             assistant: conversationalAssistant
           }
         : {}),
+      ...(topicMessageRouter
+        ? {
+            topicRouter: topicMessageRouter
+          }
+        : {}),
       logger: getLogger('dm-assistant')
     })
   } else {
@@ -458,6 +481,11 @@ if (
             assistant: conversationalAssistant
           }
         : {}),
+      ...(topicMessageRouter
+        ? {
+            topicRouter: topicMessageRouter
+          }
+        : {}),
       logger: getLogger('dm-assistant')
     })
   }
diff --git a/apps/bot/src/openai-chat-assistant.ts b/apps/bot/src/openai-chat-assistant.ts
index a72dc19..57d3fd0 100644
--- a/apps/bot/src/openai-chat-assistant.ts
+++ b/apps/bot/src/openai-chat-assistant.ts
@@ -29,12 +29,17 @@ export interface ConversationalAssistant {
 const ASSISTANT_SYSTEM_PROMPT = [
   'You are Kojori, a household finance assistant for one specific household.',
   'Stay within the provided household context and recent conversation context.',
+  'Be calm, concise, playful when appropriate, and quiet by default.',
+  'Do not act like a form validator or aggressive parser.',
   'Do not invent balances, members, billing periods, or completed actions.',
   'If the user asks you to mutate household state, do not claim the action is complete unless the system explicitly says it was confirmed and saved.',
   'For unsupported writes, explain the limitation briefly and suggest the explicit command or confirmation flow.',
   'Prefer concise, practical answers.',
   'Default to one to three short sentences.',
   'For simple greetings or small talk, reply in a single short sentence unless the user asks for more.',
+  'If the user is joking or testing you, you may answer playfully in one short sentence.',
+  'If the user tells you to stop, back off briefly and do not keep asking follow-up questions.',
+  'Do not repeat the same clarification after the user declines, backs off, or says they are only thinking.',
   'Do not restate the full household context unless the user explicitly asks for details.',
   'Avoid bullet lists unless the user asked for a list or several distinct items.',
   'Reply in the user language inferred from the latest user message and locale context.'
diff --git a/apps/bot/src/payment-topic-ingestion.test.ts b/apps/bot/src/payment-topic-ingestion.test.ts
index ef01efc..75f6a83 100644
--- a/apps/bot/src/payment-topic-ingestion.test.ts
+++ b/apps/bot/src/payment-topic-ingestion.test.ts
@@ -25,13 +25,13 @@ function candidate(overrides: Partial<PaymentTopicCandidate> = {}): PaymentTopic
   }
 }
 
-function paymentUpdate(text: string) {
+function paymentUpdate(text: string, threadId = 888) {
   return {
     update_id: 1001,
     message: {
       message_id: 55,
       date: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000),
-      message_thread_id: 888,
+      message_thread_id: threadId,
       is_topic_message: true,
       chat: {
         id: -10012345,
@@ -646,4 +646,127 @@ describe('registerConfiguredPaymentTopicIngestion', () => {
       text: expect.stringContaining('Я могу записать эту оплату аренды: 472.50 GEL.')
     })
   })
+
+  test('uses router for playful addressed replies in the payments topic', async () => {
+    const bot = createTelegramBot('000000:test-token')
+    const calls: Array<{ method: string; payload: unknown }> = []
+    const promptRepository = createPromptRepository()
+
+    bot.botInfo = {
+      id: 999000,
+      is_bot: true,
+      first_name: 'Household Test Bot',
+      username: 'household_test_bot',
+      can_join_groups: true,
+      can_read_all_group_messages: false,
+      supports_inline_queries: false,
+      can_connect_to_business: false,
+      has_main_web_app: false,
+      has_topics_enabled: true,
+      allows_users_to_create_topics: false
+    }
+
+    bot.api.config.use(async (_prev, method, payload) => {
+      calls.push({ method, payload })
+      return {
+        ok: true,
+        result: true
+      } as never
+    })
+
+    registerConfiguredPaymentTopicIngestion(
+      bot,
+      createHouseholdRepository() as never,
+      promptRepository,
+      () => createFinanceService(),
+      () => createPaymentConfirmationService(),
+      {
+        router: async () => ({
+          route: 'chat_reply',
+          replyText: 'Тут. Если это про оплату, разберёмся.',
+          helperKind: null,
+          shouldStartTyping: false,
+          shouldClearWorkflow: false,
+          confidence: 94,
+          reason: 'smalltalk'
+        })
+      }
+    )
+
+    await bot.handleUpdate(paymentUpdate('@household_test_bot а ты тут?') as never)
+
+    expect(calls).toHaveLength(1)
+    expect(calls[0]).toMatchObject({
+      method: 'sendMessage',
+      payload: {
+        text: 'Тут. Если это про оплату, разберёмся.'
+      }
+    })
+  })
+
+  test('keeps a pending payment workflow in another thread when dismissing here', async () => {
+    const bot = createTelegramBot('000000:test-token')
+    const promptRepository = createPromptRepository()
+
+    bot.botInfo = {
+      id: 999000,
+      is_bot: true,
+      first_name: 'Household Test Bot',
+      username: 'household_test_bot',
+      can_join_groups: true,
+      can_read_all_group_messages: false,
+      supports_inline_queries: false,
+      can_connect_to_business: false,
+      has_main_web_app: false,
+      has_topics_enabled: true,
+      allows_users_to_create_topics: false
+    }
+
+    bot.api.config.use(async () => {
+      return {
+        ok: true,
+        result: true
+      } as never
+    })
+
+    await promptRepository.upsertPendingAction({
+      telegramUserId: '10002',
+      telegramChatId: '-10012345',
+      action: 'payment_topic_clarification',
+      payload: {
+        threadId: '999',
+        rawText: 'За жилье отправил'
+      },
+      expiresAt: null
+    })
+
+    registerConfiguredPaymentTopicIngestion(
+      bot,
+      createHouseholdRepository() as never,
+      promptRepository,
+      () => createFinanceService(),
+      () => createPaymentConfirmationService(),
+      {
+        router: async () => ({
+          route: 'dismiss_workflow',
+          replyText: 'Окей, молчу.',
+          helperKind: null,
+          shouldStartTyping: false,
+          shouldClearWorkflow: true,
+          confidence: 97,
+          reason: 'backoff'
+        })
+      }
+    )
+
+    await bot.handleUpdate(paymentUpdate('@household_test_bot stop', 888) as never)
+
+    expect(await promptRepository.getPendingAction('-10012345', '10002')).toMatchObject({
+      action: 'payment_topic_clarification',
+      payload: {
+        threadId: '999',
+        rawText: 'За жилье отправил'
+      }
+    })
+  })
 })
diff --git a/apps/bot/src/payment-topic-ingestion.ts b/apps/bot/src/payment-topic-ingestion.ts
index d3f92bc..03d9c3a 100644
--- a/apps/bot/src/payment-topic-ingestion.ts
+++ b/apps/bot/src/payment-topic-ingestion.ts
@@ -9,12 +9,21 @@ import type {
 } from '@household/ports'
 
 import { getBotTranslations, type BotLocale } from './i18n'
+import type { AssistantConversationMemoryStore } from './assistant-state'
+import { conversationMemoryKey } from './assistant-state'
 import {
+  formatPaymentBalanceReplyText,
   formatPaymentProposalText,
+  maybeCreatePaymentBalanceReply,
   maybeCreatePaymentProposal,
   parsePaymentProposalPayload,
   synthesizePaymentConfirmationText
 } from './payment-proposals'
+import {
+  cacheTopicMessageRoute,
+  getCachedTopicMessageRoute,
+  type TopicMessageRouter
+} from './topic-message-router'
 import { stripExplicitBotMention } from './telegram-mentions'
 
 const PAYMENT_TOPIC_CONFIRM_CALLBACK_PREFIX = 'payment_topic:confirm:'
@@ -94,6 +103,15 @@ function attachmentCount(ctx: Context): number {
   return 0
 }
 
+function isReplyToBotMessage(ctx: Context): boolean {
+  const replyAuthor = ctx.msg?.reply_to_message?.from
+  if (!replyAuthor) {
+    return false
+  }
+
+  return replyAuthor.id === ctx.me.id
+}
+
 function toCandidateFromContext(ctx: Context): PaymentTopicCandidate | null {
   const message = ctx.message
   const rawText = stripExplicitBotMention(ctx)?.strippedText ?? readMessageText(ctx)
@@ -150,6 +168,99 @@ export function resolveConfiguredPaymentTopicRecord(
   }
 }
 
+async function resolveAssistantConfig(
+  householdConfigurationRepository: HouseholdConfigurationRepository,
+  householdId: string
+): Promise<{
+  assistantContext: string | null
+  assistantTone: string | null
+}> {
+  const config = householdConfigurationRepository.getHouseholdAssistantConfig
+    ? await householdConfigurationRepository.getHouseholdAssistantConfig(householdId)
+    : null
+
+  return {
+    assistantContext: config?.assistantContext ?? null,
+    assistantTone: config?.assistantTone ?? null
+  }
+}
+
+function memoryKeyForRecord(record: PaymentTopicRecord): string {
+  return conversationMemoryKey({
+    telegramUserId: record.senderTelegramUserId,
+    telegramChatId: record.chatId,
+    isPrivateChat: false
+  })
+}
+
+function appendConversation(
+  memoryStore: AssistantConversationMemoryStore | undefined,
+  record: PaymentTopicRecord,
+  userText: string,
+  assistantText: string
+): void {
+  if (!memoryStore) {
+    return
+  }
+
+  const key = memoryKeyForRecord(record)
+  memoryStore.appendTurn(key, {
+    role: 'user',
+    text: userText
+  })
+  memoryStore.appendTurn(key, {
+    role: 'assistant',
+    text: assistantText
+  })
+}
+
+async function routePaymentTopicMessage(input: {
+  record: PaymentTopicRecord
+  locale: BotLocale
+  topicRole: 'payments'
+  isExplicitMention: boolean
+  isReplyToBot: boolean
+  activeWorkflow: 'payment_clarification' | 'payment_confirmation' | null
+  assistantContext: string | null
+  assistantTone: string | null
+  memoryStore: AssistantConversationMemoryStore | undefined
+  router: TopicMessageRouter | undefined
+}) {
+  if (!input.router) {
+    return input.activeWorkflow
+      ? {
+          route: 'payment_followup' as const,
+          replyText: null,
+          helperKind: 'payment' as const,
+          shouldStartTyping: false,
+          shouldClearWorkflow: false,
+          confidence: 75,
+          reason: 'legacy_payment_followup'
+        }
+      : {
+          route: 'payment_candidate' as const,
+          replyText: null,
+          helperKind: 'payment' as const,
+          shouldStartTyping: false,
+          shouldClearWorkflow: false,
+          confidence: 75,
+          reason: 'legacy_payment_candidate'
+        }
+  }
+
+  return input.router({
+    locale: input.locale,
+    topicRole: input.topicRole,
+    messageText: input.record.rawText,
+    isExplicitMention: input.isExplicitMention,
+    isReplyToBot: input.isReplyToBot,
+    activeWorkflow: input.activeWorkflow,
+    assistantContext: input.assistantContext,
+    assistantTone: input.assistantTone,
+    recentTurns: input.memoryStore?.get(memoryKeyForRecord(input.record)).turns ?? []
+  })
+}
+
 export function buildPaymentAcknowledgement(
   locale: BotLocale,
   result:
@@ -265,6 +376,8 @@ export function registerConfiguredPaymentTopicIngestion(
   financeServiceForHousehold: (householdId: string) => FinanceCommandService,
   paymentServiceForHousehold: (householdId: string) => PaymentConfirmationService,
   options: {
+    router?: TopicMessageRouter
+    memoryStore?: AssistantConversationMemoryStore
     logger?: Logger
   } = {}
 ): void {
@@ -422,9 +535,6 @@ export function registerConfiguredPaymentTopicIngestion(
 
     try {
       const locale = await resolveTopicLocale(ctx, householdConfigurationRepository)
-      const t = getBotTranslations(locale).payments
-      const financeService = financeServiceForHousehold(record.householdId)
-      const member = await financeService.getMemberByTelegramUserId(record.senderTelegramUserId)
       const pending = await promptRepository.getPendingAction(
         record.chatId,
         record.senderTelegramUserId
@@ -437,6 +547,88 @@ export function registerConfiguredPaymentTopicIngestion(
         clarificationPayload && clarificationPayload.threadId === record.threadId
           ? `${clarificationPayload.rawText}\n${record.rawText}`
           : record.rawText
+      const confirmationPayload =
+        pending?.action === PAYMENT_TOPIC_CONFIRMATION_ACTION
+          ? parsePaymentTopicConfirmationPayload(pending.payload)
+          : null
+      const assistantConfig = await resolveAssistantConfig(
+        householdConfigurationRepository,
+        record.householdId
+      )
+      const activeWorkflow =
+        clarificationPayload && clarificationPayload.threadId === record.threadId
+          ? 'payment_clarification'
+          : confirmationPayload && confirmationPayload.telegramThreadId === record.threadId
+            ? 'payment_confirmation'
+            : null
+      const route =
+        getCachedTopicMessageRoute(ctx, 'payments') ??
+        (await routePaymentTopicMessage({
+          record,
+          locale,
+          topicRole: 'payments',
+          isExplicitMention: stripExplicitBotMention(ctx) !== null,
+          isReplyToBot: isReplyToBotMessage(ctx),
+          activeWorkflow,
+          assistantContext: assistantConfig.assistantContext,
+          assistantTone: assistantConfig.assistantTone,
+          memoryStore: options.memoryStore,
+          router: options.router
+        }))
+      cacheTopicMessageRoute(ctx, 'payments', route)
+
+      if (route.route === 'silent') {
+        await next()
+        return
+      }
+
+      if (route.shouldClearWorkflow && activeWorkflow !== null) {
+        await promptRepository.clearPendingAction(record.chatId, record.senderTelegramUserId)
+      }
+
+      if (route.route === 'chat_reply' || route.route === 'dismiss_workflow') {
+        if (route.replyText) {
+          await replyToPaymentMessage(ctx, route.replyText)
+          appendConversation(options.memoryStore, record, record.rawText, route.replyText)
+        }
+        return
+      }
+
+      if (route.route === 'topic_helper') {
+        const financeService = financeServiceForHousehold(record.householdId)
+        const member = await financeService.getMemberByTelegramUserId(record.senderTelegramUserId)
+        if (!member) {
+          await next()
+          return
+        }
+
+        const balanceReply = await maybeCreatePaymentBalanceReply({
+          rawText: combinedText,
+          householdId: record.householdId,
+          memberId: member.id,
+          financeService,
+          householdConfigurationRepository
+        })
+
+        if (!balanceReply) {
+          await next()
+          return
+        }
+
+        const helperText = formatPaymentBalanceReplyText(locale, balanceReply)
+        await replyToPaymentMessage(ctx, helperText)
+        appendConversation(options.memoryStore, record, record.rawText, helperText)
+        return
+      }
+
+      if (route.route !== 'payment_candidate' && route.route !== 'payment_followup') {
+        await next()
+        return
+      }
+
+      const t = getBotTranslations(locale).payments
+      const financeService = financeServiceForHousehold(record.householdId)
+      const member = await financeService.getMemberByTelegramUserId(record.senderTelegramUserId)
 
       if (!member) {
         await next()
@@ -469,6 +661,7 @@ export function registerConfiguredPaymentTopicIngestion(
         })
 
         await replyToPaymentMessage(ctx, t.clarification)
+        appendConversation(options.memoryStore, record, record.rawText, t.clarification)
         return
       }
 
@@ -476,11 +669,13 @@ export function registerConfiguredPaymentTopicIngestion(
 
       if (proposal.status === 'unsupported_currency') {
         await replyToPaymentMessage(ctx, t.unsupportedCurrency)
+        appendConversation(options.memoryStore, record, record.rawText, t.unsupportedCurrency)
         return
       }
 
       if (proposal.status === 'no_balance') {
         await replyToPaymentMessage(ctx, t.noBalance)
+        appendConversation(options.memoryStore, record, record.rawText, t.noBalance)
         return
       }
 
@@ -502,15 +697,17 @@ export function registerConfiguredPaymentTopicIngestion(
           expiresAt: nowInstant().add({ milliseconds: PAYMENT_TOPIC_ACTION_TTL_MS })
         })
 
+        const proposalText = formatPaymentProposalText({
+          locale,
+          surface: 'topic',
+          proposal
+        })
         await replyToPaymentMessage(
           ctx,
-          formatPaymentProposalText({
-            locale,
-            surface: 'topic',
-            proposal
-          }),
+          proposalText,
           paymentProposalReplyMarkup(locale, proposal.payload.proposalId)
         )
+        appendConversation(options.memoryStore, record, record.rawText, proposalText)
       }
     } catch (error) {
       options.logger?.error(
diff --git a/apps/bot/src/purchase-topic-ingestion.test.ts b/apps/bot/src/purchase-topic-ingestion.test.ts
index af55010..f93e1df 100644
--- a/apps/bot/src/purchase-topic-ingestion.test.ts
+++ b/apps/bot/src/purchase-topic-ingestion.test.ts
@@ -1232,6 +1232,136 @@ Confirm or cancel below.`
     })
   })
 
+  test('replies playfully to addressed banter with router and skips purchase save', async () => {
+    const bot = createTestBot()
+    const calls: Array<{ method: string; payload: unknown }> = []
+    let saveCalls = 0
+
+    bot.api.config.use(async (_prev, method, payload) => {
+      calls.push({ method, payload })
+      return {
+        ok: true,
+        result: {
+          message_id: calls.length,
+          date: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000),
+          chat: {
+            id: Number(config.householdChatId),
+            type: 'supergroup'
+          },
+          text: 'ok'
+        }
+      } as never
+    })
+
+    const repository: PurchaseMessageIngestionRepository = {
+      async hasClarificationContext() {
+        return false
+      },
+      async save() {
+        saveCalls += 1
+        throw new Error('not used')
+      },
+      async confirm() {
+        throw new Error('not used')
+      },
+      async cancel() {
+        throw new Error('not used')
+      },
+      async toggleParticipant() {
+        throw new Error('not used')
+      }
+    }
+
+    registerPurchaseTopicIngestion(bot, config, repository, {
+      router: async () => ({
+        route: 'chat_reply',
+        replyText: 'Тут. Если что-то реально купили, подключусь.',
+        helperKind: null,
+        shouldStartTyping: false,
+        shouldClearWorkflow: false,
+        confidence: 95,
+        reason: 'smalltalk'
+      })
+    })
+
+    await bot.handleUpdate(purchaseUpdate('@household_test_bot А ты тут?') as never)
+
+    expect(saveCalls).toBe(0)
+    expect(calls).toHaveLength(1)
+    expect(calls[0]).toMatchObject({
+      method: 'sendMessage',
+      payload: {
+        text: 'Тут. Если что-то реально купили, подключусь.'
+      }
+    })
+  })
+
+  test('clears active purchase clarification when router dismisses the workflow', async () => {
+    const bot = createTestBot()
+    const calls: Array<{ method: string; payload: unknown }> = []
+    let clearCalls = 0
+
+    bot.api.config.use(async (_prev, method, payload) => {
+      calls.push({ method, payload })
+      return {
+        ok: true,
+        result: {
+          message_id: calls.length,
+          date: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000),
+          chat: {
+            id: Number(config.householdChatId),
+            type: 'supergroup'
+          },
+          text: 'ok'
+        }
+      } as never
+    })
+
+    const repository: PurchaseMessageIngestionRepository = {
+      async hasClarificationContext() {
+        return true
+      },
+      async clearClarificationContext() {
+        clearCalls += 1
+      },
+      async save() {
+        throw new Error('not used')
+      },
+      async confirm() {
+        throw new Error('not used')
+      },
+      async cancel() {
+        throw new Error('not used')
+      },
+      async toggleParticipant() {
+        throw new Error('not used')
+      }
+    }
+
+    registerPurchaseTopicIngestion(bot, config, repository, {
+      router: async () => ({
+        route: 'dismiss_workflow',
+        replyText: 'Окей, молчу.',
+        helperKind: null,
+        shouldStartTyping: false,
+        shouldClearWorkflow: true,
+        confidence: 98,
+        reason: 'backoff'
+      })
+    })
+
+    await bot.handleUpdate(purchaseUpdate('Отстань') as never)
+
+    expect(clearCalls).toBe(1)
+    expect(calls).toHaveLength(1)
+    expect(calls[0]).toMatchObject({
+      method: 'sendMessage',
+      payload: {
+        text: 'Окей, молчу.'
+      }
+    })
+  })
+
   test('continues purchase handling for replies to bot messages without a fresh mention', async () => {
     const bot = createTestBot()
     const calls: Array<{ method: string; payload: unknown }> = []
diff --git a/apps/bot/src/purchase-topic-ingestion.ts b/apps/bot/src/purchase-topic-ingestion.ts
index f413cd8..1a37a10 100644
--- a/apps/bot/src/purchase-topic-ingestion.ts
+++ b/apps/bot/src/purchase-topic-ingestion.ts
@@ -9,11 +9,19 @@ import type {
 
 import { createDbClient, schema } from '@household/db'
 import { getBotTranslations, type BotLocale } from './i18n'
+import type { AssistantConversationMemoryStore } from './assistant-state'
+import { conversationMemoryKey } from './assistant-state'
 import type {
   PurchaseInterpretationAmountSource,
   PurchaseInterpretation,
   PurchaseMessageInterpreter
 } from './openai-purchase-interpreter'
+import {
+  cacheTopicMessageRoute,
+  getCachedTopicMessageRoute,
+  type TopicMessageRouter,
+  type TopicMessageRoutingResult
+} from './topic-message-router'
 import { startTypingIndicator } from './telegram-chat-action'
 import { stripExplicitBotMention } from './telegram-mentions'
 
@@ -30,20 +38,6 @@ const MONEY_SIGNAL_PATTERN =
   /\b\d+(?:[.,]\d{1,2})?\s*(?:₾|gel|lari|usd|\$)\b|\d+(?:[.,]\d{1,2})?\s*(?:лари|лри|tetri|тетри|доллар(?:а|ов)?)(?=$|[^\p{L}])|\b(?:for|за|на|до)\s+\d+(?:[.,]\d{1,2})?\b|\b(?:paid|spent)\s+\d+(?:[.,]\d{1,2})?\b|(?:^|[^\p{L}])(?:заплатил(?:а|и)?|потратил(?:а|и)?|отдал(?:а|и)?|выложил(?:а|и)?|сторговался(?:\s+до)?)(?:\s+\d+(?:[.,]\d{1,2})?|\s+до\s+\d+(?:[.,]\d{1,2})?)(?=$|[^\p{L}])/iu
 const STANDALONE_NUMBER_PATTERN = /\b\d+(?:[.,]\d{1,2})?\b/gu
 
-type PurchaseTopicEngagement =
-  | {
-      kind: 'direct'
-      showProcessingReply: boolean
-    }
-  | {
-      kind: 'clarification'
-      showProcessingReply: boolean
-    }
-  | {
-      kind: 'likely_purchase'
-      showProcessingReply: true
-    }
-
 type StoredPurchaseProcessingStatus =
   | 'pending_confirmation'
   | 'clarification_needed'
@@ -202,6 +196,7 @@ export type PurchaseProposalAmountCorrectionResult =
 
 export interface PurchaseMessageIngestionRepository {
   hasClarificationContext(record: PurchaseTopicRecord): Promise<boolean>
+  clearClarificationContext?(record: PurchaseTopicRecord): Promise<void>
   save(
     record: PurchaseTopicRecord,
     interpreter?: PurchaseMessageInterpreter,
@@ -285,36 +280,6 @@ function looksLikeLikelyCompletedPurchase(rawText: string): boolean {
   return Array.from(rawText.matchAll(STANDALONE_NUMBER_PATTERN)).length === 1
 }
 
-async function resolvePurchaseTopicEngagement(
-  ctx: Pick<Context, 'msg' | 'me'>,
-  record: PurchaseTopicRecord,
-  repository: Pick<PurchaseMessageIngestionRepository, 'hasClarificationContext'>
-): Promise<PurchaseTopicEngagement | null> {
-  const hasExplicitMention = stripExplicitBotMention(ctx) !== null
-  if (hasExplicitMention || isReplyToCurrentBot(ctx)) {
-    return {
-      kind: 'direct',
-      showProcessingReply: looksLikeLikelyCompletedPurchase(record.rawText)
-    }
-  }
-
-  if (await repository.hasClarificationContext(record)) {
-    return {
-      kind: 'clarification',
-      showProcessingReply: false
-    }
-  }
-
-  if (looksLikeLikelyCompletedPurchase(record.rawText)) {
-    return {
-      kind: 'likely_purchase',
-      showProcessingReply: true
-    }
-  }
-
-  return null
-}
-
 function normalizeInterpretation(
   interpretation: PurchaseInterpretation | null,
   parserError: string | null
@@ -516,6 +481,22 @@ async function sendPurchaseProcessingReply(
   }
 }
 
+function shouldShowProcessingReply(
+  ctx: Pick<Context, 'msg' | 'me'>,
+  record: PurchaseTopicRecord,
+  route: TopicMessageRoutingResult
+): boolean {
+  if (route.route !== 'purchase_candidate' || !route.shouldStartTyping) {
+    return false
+  }
+
+  if (stripExplicitBotMention(ctx) !== null || isReplyToCurrentBot(ctx)) {
+    return looksLikeLikelyCompletedPurchase(record.rawText)
+  }
+
+  return true
+}
+
 async function finalizePurchaseReply(
   ctx: Context,
   pendingReply: PendingPurchaseReply | null,
@@ -943,6 +924,23 @@ export function createPurchaseMessageRepository(databaseUrl: string): {
       return Boolean(clarificationContext && clarificationContext.length > 0)
     },
 
+    async clearClarificationContext(record) {
+      await db
+        .update(schema.purchaseMessages)
+        .set({
+          processingStatus: 'ignored_not_purchase',
+          needsReview: 0
+        })
+        .where(
+          and(
+            eq(schema.purchaseMessages.householdId, record.householdId),
+            eq(schema.purchaseMessages.senderTelegramUserId, record.senderTelegramUserId),
+            eq(schema.purchaseMessages.telegramThreadId, record.threadId),
+            eq(schema.purchaseMessages.processingStatus, 'clarification_needed')
+          )
+        )
+    },
+
     async save(record, interpreter, defaultCurrency, options) {
       const matchedMember = await db
         .select({ id: schema.members.id })
@@ -1441,6 +1439,118 @@ async function resolveAssistantConfig(
       }
 }
 
+function memoryKeyForRecord(record: PurchaseTopicRecord): string {
+  return conversationMemoryKey({
+    telegramUserId: record.senderTelegramUserId,
+    telegramChatId: record.chatId,
+    isPrivateChat: false
+  })
+}
+
+function appendConversation(
+  memoryStore: AssistantConversationMemoryStore | undefined,
+  record: PurchaseTopicRecord,
+  userText: string,
+  assistantText: string
+): void {
+  if (!memoryStore) {
+    return
+  }
+
+  const key = memoryKeyForRecord(record)
+  memoryStore.appendTurn(key, {
+    role: 'user',
+    text: userText
+  })
+  memoryStore.appendTurn(key, {
+    role: 'assistant',
+    text: assistantText
+  })
+}
+
+async function routePurchaseTopicMessage(input: {
+  ctx: Pick<Context, 'msg' | 'me'>
+  record: PurchaseTopicRecord
+  locale: BotLocale
+  repository: Pick<
+    PurchaseMessageIngestionRepository,
+    'hasClarificationContext' | 'clearClarificationContext'
+  >
+  router: TopicMessageRouter | undefined
+  memoryStore: AssistantConversationMemoryStore | undefined
+  assistantContext?: string | null
+  assistantTone?: string | null
+}): Promise<TopicMessageRoutingResult> {
+  if (!input.router) {
+    const hasExplicitMention = stripExplicitBotMention(input.ctx) !== null
+    const isReply = isReplyToCurrentBot(input.ctx)
+    const hasClarificationContext = await input.repository.hasClarificationContext(input.record)
+
+    if (hasExplicitMention || isReply) {
+      return {
+        route: 'purchase_candidate',
+        replyText: null,
+        helperKind: 'purchase',
+        shouldStartTyping: true,
+        shouldClearWorkflow: false,
+        confidence: 75,
+        reason: 'legacy_direct'
+      }
+    }
+
+    if (hasClarificationContext) {
+      return {
+        route: 'purchase_followup',
+        replyText: null,
+        helperKind: 'purchase',
+        shouldStartTyping: true,
+        shouldClearWorkflow: false,
+        confidence: 75,
+        reason: 'legacy_clarification'
+      }
+    }
+
+    if (looksLikeLikelyCompletedPurchase(input.record.rawText)) {
+      return {
+        route: 'purchase_candidate',
+        replyText: null,
+        helperKind: 'purchase',
+        shouldStartTyping: true,
+        shouldClearWorkflow: false,
+        confidence: 75,
+        reason: 'legacy_likely_purchase'
+      }
+    }
+
+    return {
+      route: 'silent',
+      replyText: null,
+      helperKind: null,
+      shouldStartTyping: false,
+      shouldClearWorkflow: false,
+      confidence: 80,
+      reason: 'legacy_silent'
+    }
+  }
+
+  const key = memoryKeyForRecord(input.record)
+  const recentTurns = input.memoryStore?.get(key).turns ?? []
+
+  return input.router({
+    locale: input.locale,
+    topicRole: 'purchase',
+    messageText: input.record.rawText,
+    isExplicitMention: stripExplicitBotMention(input.ctx) !== null,
+    isReplyToBot: isReplyToCurrentBot(input.ctx),
+    activeWorkflow: (await input.repository.hasClarificationContext(input.record))
+      ? 'purchase_clarification'
+      : null,
+    assistantContext: input.assistantContext ?? null,
+    assistantTone: input.assistantTone ?? null,
+    recentTurns
+  })
+}
+
 async function handlePurchaseMessageResult(
   ctx: Context,
   record: PurchaseTopicRecord,
@@ -1766,6 +1876,8 @@ export function registerPurchaseTopicIngestion(
   repository: PurchaseMessageIngestionRepository,
   options: {
     interpreter?: PurchaseMessageInterpreter
+    router?: TopicMessageRouter
+    memoryStore?: AssistantConversationMemoryStore
     logger?: Logger
   } = {}
 ): void {
@@ -1787,20 +1899,54 @@ export function registerPurchaseTopicIngestion(
     let typingIndicator: ReturnType<typeof startTypingIndicator> | null = null
 
     try {
-      const engagement = await resolvePurchaseTopicEngagement(ctx, record, repository)
-      if (!engagement) {
+      const route =
+        getCachedTopicMessageRoute(ctx, 'purchase') ??
+        (await routePurchaseTopicMessage({
+          ctx,
+          record,
+          locale: 'en',
+          repository,
+          router: options.router,
+          memoryStore: options.memoryStore
+        }))
+      cacheTopicMessageRoute(ctx, 'purchase', route)
+
+      if (route.route === 'silent') {
         await next()
         return
       }
 
-      typingIndicator = options.interpreter ? startTypingIndicator(ctx) : null
+      if (route.shouldClearWorkflow) {
+        await repository.clearClarificationContext?.(record)
+      }
+
+      if (route.route === 'chat_reply' || route.route === 'dismiss_workflow') {
+        if (route.replyText) {
+          await replyToPurchaseMessage(ctx, route.replyText)
+          appendConversation(options.memoryStore, record, record.rawText, route.replyText)
+        }
+        return
+      }
+
+      if (route.route === 'topic_helper') {
+        await next()
+        return
+      }
+
+      if (route.route !== 'purchase_candidate' && route.route !== 'purchase_followup') {
+        await next()
+        return
+      }
+
+      typingIndicator =
+        options.interpreter && route.shouldStartTyping ? startTypingIndicator(ctx) : null
       const pendingReply =
-        options.interpreter && engagement.showProcessingReply
+        options.interpreter && shouldShowProcessingReply(ctx, record, route)
           ? await sendPurchaseProcessingReply(ctx, getBotTranslations('en').purchase.processing)
           : null
       const result = await repository.save(record, options.interpreter, 'GEL')
 
-      if (engagement.kind === 'direct' && result.status === 'ignored_not_purchase') {
+      if (result.status === 'ignored_not_purchase') {
         return await next()
       }
       await handlePurchaseMessageResult(ctx, record, result, 'en', options.logger, pendingReply)
@@ -1828,6 +1974,8 @@ export function registerConfiguredPurchaseTopicIngestion(
   repository: PurchaseMessageIngestionRepository,
   options: {
     interpreter?: PurchaseMessageInterpreter
+    router?: TopicMessageRouter
+    memoryStore?: AssistantConversationMemoryStore
     logger?: Logger
   } = {}
 ): void {
@@ -1864,13 +2012,6 @@ export function registerConfiguredPurchaseTopicIngestion(
     let typingIndicator: ReturnType<typeof startTypingIndicator> | null = null
 
     try {
-      const engagement = await resolvePurchaseTopicEngagement(ctx, record, repository)
-      if (!engagement) {
-        await next()
-        return
-      }
-
-      typingIndicator = options.interpreter ? startTypingIndicator(ctx) : null
       const [billingSettings, assistantConfig] = await Promise.all([
         householdConfigurationRepository.getHouseholdBillingSettings(record.householdId),
         resolveAssistantConfig(householdConfigurationRepository, record.householdId)
@@ -1879,8 +2020,51 @@ export function registerConfiguredPurchaseTopicIngestion(
         householdConfigurationRepository,
         record.householdId
       )
+      const route =
+        getCachedTopicMessageRoute(ctx, 'purchase') ??
+        (await routePurchaseTopicMessage({
+          ctx,
+          record,
+          locale,
+          repository,
+          router: options.router,
+          memoryStore: options.memoryStore,
+          assistantContext: assistantConfig.assistantContext,
+          assistantTone: assistantConfig.assistantTone
+        }))
+      cacheTopicMessageRoute(ctx, 'purchase', route)
+
+      if (route.route === 'silent') {
+        await next()
+        return
+      }
+
+      if (route.shouldClearWorkflow) {
+        await repository.clearClarificationContext?.(record)
+      }
+
+      if (route.route === 'chat_reply' || route.route === 'dismiss_workflow') {
+        if (route.replyText) {
+          await replyToPurchaseMessage(ctx, route.replyText)
+          appendConversation(options.memoryStore, record, record.rawText, route.replyText)
+        }
+        return
+      }
+
+      if (route.route === 'topic_helper') {
+        await next()
+        return
+      }
+
+      if (route.route !== 'purchase_candidate' && route.route !== 'purchase_followup') {
+        await next()
+        return
+      }
+
+      typingIndicator =
+        options.interpreter && route.shouldStartTyping ? startTypingIndicator(ctx) : null
       const pendingReply =
-        options.interpreter && engagement.showProcessingReply
+        options.interpreter && shouldShowProcessingReply(ctx, record, route)
           ? await sendPurchaseProcessingReply(ctx, getBotTranslations(locale).purchase.processing)
           : null
       const result = await repository.save(
@@ -1892,7 +2076,7 @@ export function registerConfiguredPurchaseTopicIngestion(
           assistantTone: assistantConfig.assistantTone
         }
       )
-      if (engagement.kind === 'direct' && result.status === 'ignored_not_purchase') {
+      if (result.status === 'ignored_not_purchase') {
         return await next()
       }
 
diff --git a/apps/bot/src/topic-message-router.ts b/apps/bot/src/topic-message-router.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a9ea96c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/bot/src/topic-message-router.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,421 @@
+import type { Context } from 'grammy'
+
+import { extractOpenAiResponseText, parseJsonFromResponseText } from './openai-responses'
+
+export type TopicMessageRole = 'generic' | 'purchase' | 'payments' | 'reminders' | 'feedback'
+export type TopicWorkflowState =
+  | 'purchase_clarification'
+  | 'payment_clarification'
+  | 'payment_confirmation'
+  | null
+export type TopicMessageRoute =
+  | 'silent'
+  | 'chat_reply'
+  | 'purchase_candidate'
+  | 'purchase_followup'
+  | 'payment_candidate'
+  | 'payment_followup'
+  | 'topic_helper'
+  | 'dismiss_workflow'
+
+export interface TopicMessageRoutingInput {
+  locale: 'en' | 'ru'
+  topicRole: TopicMessageRole
+  messageText: string
+  isExplicitMention: boolean
+  isReplyToBot: boolean
+  activeWorkflow: TopicWorkflowState
+  assistantContext?: string | null
+  assistantTone?: string | null
+  recentTurns?: readonly {
+    role: 'user' | 'assistant'
+    text: string
+  }[]
+}
+
+export interface TopicMessageRoutingResult {
+  route: TopicMessageRoute
+  replyText: string | null
+  helperKind: 'assistant' | 'purchase' | 'payment' | 'reminder' | null
+  shouldStartTyping: boolean
+  shouldClearWorkflow: boolean
+  confidence: number
+  reason: string | null
+}
+
+export type TopicMessageRouter = (
+  input: TopicMessageRoutingInput
+) => Promise<TopicMessageRoutingResult>
+
+const topicMessageRouteCacheKey = Symbol('topic-message-route-cache')
+
+type CachedTopicMessageRole = Extract<TopicMessageRole, 'purchase' | 'payments'>
+
+type TopicMessageRouteCacheEntry = {
+  topicRole: CachedTopicMessageRole
+  route: TopicMessageRoutingResult
+}
+
+type ContextWithTopicMessageRouteCache = Context & {
+  [topicMessageRouteCacheKey]?: TopicMessageRouteCacheEntry
+}
+
+const BACKOFF_PATTERN =
+  /\b(?:leave me alone|go away|stop|not now|back off|shut up)\b|(?:^|[^\p{L}])(?:отстань|хватит|не сейчас|замолчи|оставь(?:\s+меня)?\s+в\s+покое)(?=$|[^\p{L}])/iu
+const PLANNING_PATTERN =
+  /\b(?:want to buy|thinking about buying|thinking of buying|going to buy|plan to buy|might buy)\b|(?:^|[^\p{L}])(?:хочу|думаю|планирую|может)\s+(?:купить|взять|заказать)(?=$|[^\p{L}])/iu
+const LIKELY_PURCHASE_PATTERN =
+  /\b(?:bought|ordered|picked up|spent|paid)\b|(?:^|[^\p{L}])(?:купил(?:а|и)?|взял(?:а|и)?|заказал(?:а|и)?|потратил(?:а|и)?|заплатил(?:а|и)?|сторговался(?:\s+до)?)(?=$|[^\p{L}])/iu
+const LIKELY_PAYMENT_PATTERN =
+  /\b(?:paid rent|paid utilities|rent paid|utilities paid)\b|(?:^|[^\p{L}])(?:оплатил(?:а|и)?|заплатил(?:а|и)?)(?=$|[^\p{L}])/iu
+const LETTER_PATTERN = /\p{L}/u
+
+function normalizeRoute(value: string): TopicMessageRoute {
+  return value === 'chat_reply' ||
+    value === 'purchase_candidate' ||
+    value === 'purchase_followup' ||
+    value === 'payment_candidate' ||
+    value === 'payment_followup' ||
+    value === 'topic_helper' ||
+    value === 'dismiss_workflow'
+    ? value
+    : 'silent'
+}
+
+function normalizeHelperKind(value: string | null): TopicMessageRoutingResult['helperKind'] {
+  return value === 'assistant' ||
+    value === 'purchase' ||
+    value === 'payment' ||
+    value === 'reminder'
+    ? value
+    : null
+}
+
+function normalizeConfidence(value: number | null | undefined): number {
+  if (typeof value !== 'number' || Number.isNaN(value)) {
+    return 0
+  }
+
+  return Math.max(0, Math.min(100, Math.round(value)))
+}
+
+function fallbackReply(locale: 'en' | 'ru', kind: 'backoff' | 'watching'): string {
+  if (locale === 'ru') {
+    return kind === 'backoff'
+      ? 'Окей, молчу.'
+      : 'Я тут. Если будет реальная покупка или оплата, подключусь.'
+  }
+
+  return kind === 'backoff'
+    ? "Okay, I'll back off."
+    : "I'm here. If there's a real purchase or payment, I'll jump in."
+}
+
+export function fallbackTopicMessageRoute(
+  input: TopicMessageRoutingInput
+): TopicMessageRoutingResult {
+  const normalized = input.messageText.trim()
+  const isAddressed = input.isExplicitMention || input.isReplyToBot
+
+  if (normalized.length === 0 || !LETTER_PATTERN.test(normalized)) {
+    return {
+      route: 'silent',
+      replyText: null,
+      helperKind: null,
+      shouldStartTyping: false,
+      shouldClearWorkflow: false,
+      confidence: 100,
+      reason: 'empty'
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (BACKOFF_PATTERN.test(normalized)) {
+    return {
+      route: 'dismiss_workflow',
+      replyText: isAddressed ? fallbackReply(input.locale, 'backoff') : null,
+      helperKind: null,
+      shouldStartTyping: false,
+      shouldClearWorkflow: input.activeWorkflow !== null,
+      confidence: 94,
+      reason: 'backoff'
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (input.topicRole === 'purchase') {
+    if (input.activeWorkflow === 'purchase_clarification') {
+      return {
+        route: 'purchase_followup',
+        replyText: null,
+        helperKind: 'purchase',
+        shouldStartTyping: true,
+        shouldClearWorkflow: false,
+        confidence: 72,
+        reason: 'active_purchase_workflow'
+      }
+    }
+
+    if (!PLANNING_PATTERN.test(normalized) && LIKELY_PURCHASE_PATTERN.test(normalized)) {
+      return {
+        route: 'purchase_candidate',
+        replyText: null,
+        helperKind: 'purchase',
+        shouldStartTyping: true,
+        shouldClearWorkflow: false,
+        confidence: 70,
+        reason: 'likely_purchase'
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (input.topicRole === 'payments') {
+    if (
+      input.activeWorkflow === 'payment_clarification' ||
+      input.activeWorkflow === 'payment_confirmation'
+    ) {
+      return {
+        route: 'payment_followup',
+        replyText: null,
+        helperKind: 'payment',
+        shouldStartTyping: false,
+        shouldClearWorkflow: false,
+        confidence: 72,
+        reason: 'active_payment_workflow'
+      }
+    }
+
+    if (!PLANNING_PATTERN.test(normalized) && LIKELY_PAYMENT_PATTERN.test(normalized)) {
+      return {
+        route: 'payment_candidate',
+        replyText: null,
+        helperKind: 'payment',
+        shouldStartTyping: false,
+        shouldClearWorkflow: false,
+        confidence: 68,
+        reason: 'likely_payment'
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (isAddressed) {
+    return {
+      route: 'topic_helper',
+      replyText: null,
+      helperKind: 'assistant',
+      shouldStartTyping: true,
+      shouldClearWorkflow: false,
+      confidence: 60,
+      reason: 'addressed'
+    }
+  }
+
+  return {
+    route: 'silent',
+    replyText: null,
+    helperKind: null,
+    shouldStartTyping: false,
+    shouldClearWorkflow: false,
+    confidence: 70,
+    reason: 'quiet_default'
+  }
+}
+
+function buildRecentTurns(input: TopicMessageRoutingInput): string | null {
+  const recentTurns = input.recentTurns
+    ?.slice(-4)
+    .map((turn) => `${turn.role}: ${turn.text.trim()}`)
+    .filter((line) => line.length > 0)
+
+  return recentTurns && recentTurns.length > 0
+    ? ['Recent conversation with this user in the household chat:', ...recentTurns].join('\n')
+    : null
+}
+
+export function cacheTopicMessageRoute(
+  ctx: Context,
+  topicRole: CachedTopicMessageRole,
+  route: TopicMessageRoutingResult
+): void {
+  ;(ctx as ContextWithTopicMessageRouteCache)[topicMessageRouteCacheKey] = {
+    topicRole,
+    route
+  }
+}
+
+export function getCachedTopicMessageRoute(
+  ctx: Context,
+  topicRole: CachedTopicMessageRole
+): TopicMessageRoutingResult | null {
+  const cached = (ctx as ContextWithTopicMessageRouteCache)[topicMessageRouteCacheKey]
+  return cached?.topicRole === topicRole ? cached.route : null
+}
+
+export function createOpenAiTopicMessageRouter(
+  apiKey: string | undefined,
+  model: string,
+  timeoutMs: number
+): TopicMessageRouter | undefined {
+  if (!apiKey) {
+    return undefined
+  }
+
+  return async (input) => {
+    const abortController = new AbortController()
+    const timeout = setTimeout(() => abortController.abort(), timeoutMs)
+
+    try {
+      const response = await fetch('https://api.openai.com/v1/responses', {
+        method: 'POST',
+        signal: abortController.signal,
+        headers: {
+          authorization: `Bearer ${apiKey}`,
+          'content-type': 'application/json'
+        },
+        body: JSON.stringify({
+          model,
+          input: [
+            {
+              role: 'system',
+              content: [
+                'You are a first-pass router for a household Telegram bot in a group chat topic.',
+                'Your job is to decide whether the bot should stay silent, send a short playful reply, continue a workflow, or invoke a heavier helper.',
+                'Prefer silence over speaking.',
+                'Do not start purchase or payment workflows for planning, hypotheticals, negotiations, tests, or obvious jokes.',
+                'Treat “stop”, “leave me alone”, “just thinking”, “not a purchase”, and similar messages as backoff or dismissal signals.',
+                'When the user directly addresses the bot with small talk, joking, or testing, prefer chat_reply with one short sentence.',
+                'Use topic_helper only when the message is a real question or request that likely needs household knowledge or a topic-specific helper.',
+                'Use purchase_candidate only for a clear completed shared purchase.',
+                'Use purchase_followup only when there is active purchase clarification and the latest message looks like a real answer to it.',
+                'Use payment_candidate only for a clear payment confirmation.',
+                'Use payment_followup only when there is active payment clarification/confirmation and the latest message looks like a real answer to it.',
+                'For absurd or playful messages, be light and short. Never loop or interrogate.',
+                'Set shouldStartTyping to true only if the chosen route will likely trigger a slower helper or assistant call.',
+                input.assistantTone ? `Use this tone lightly: ${input.assistantTone}.` : null,
+                input.assistantContext
+                  ? `Household flavor context: ${input.assistantContext}`
+                  : null,
+                'Return only JSON matching the schema.'
+              ]
+                .filter(Boolean)
+                .join(' ')
+            },
+            {
+              role: 'user',
+              content: [
+                `User locale: ${input.locale}`,
+                `Topic role: ${input.topicRole}`,
+                `Explicit mention: ${input.isExplicitMention ? 'yes' : 'no'}`,
+                `Reply to bot: ${input.isReplyToBot ? 'yes' : 'no'}`,
+                `Active workflow: ${input.activeWorkflow ?? 'none'}`,
+                buildRecentTurns(input),
+                `Latest message:\n${input.messageText}`
+              ]
+                .filter(Boolean)
+                .join('\n\n')
+            }
+          ],
+          text: {
+            format: {
+              type: 'json_schema',
+              name: 'topic_message_route',
+              schema: {
+                type: 'object',
+                additionalProperties: false,
+                properties: {
+                  route: {
+                    type: 'string',
+                    enum: [
+                      'silent',
+                      'chat_reply',
+                      'purchase_candidate',
+                      'purchase_followup',
+                      'payment_candidate',
+                      'payment_followup',
+                      'topic_helper',
+                      'dismiss_workflow'
+                    ]
+                  },
+                  replyText: {
+                    anyOf: [{ type: 'string' }, { type: 'null' }]
+                  },
+                  helperKind: {
+                    anyOf: [
+                      {
+                        type: 'string',
+                        enum: ['assistant', 'purchase', 'payment', 'reminder']
+                      },
+                      { type: 'null' }
+                    ]
+                  },
+                  shouldStartTyping: {
+                    type: 'boolean'
+                  },
+                  shouldClearWorkflow: {
+                    type: 'boolean'
+                  },
+                  confidence: {
+                    type: 'number',
+                    minimum: 0,
+                    maximum: 100
+                  },
+                  reason: {
+                    anyOf: [{ type: 'string' }, { type: 'null' }]
+                  }
+                },
+                required: [
+                  'route',
+                  'replyText',
+                  'helperKind',
+                  'shouldStartTyping',
+                  'shouldClearWorkflow',
+                  'confidence',
+                  'reason'
+                ]
+              }
+            }
+          }
+        })
+      })
+
+      if (!response.ok) {
+        return fallbackTopicMessageRoute(input)
+      }
+
+      const payload = (await response.json()) as Record<string, unknown>
+      const text = extractOpenAiResponseText(payload)
+      const parsed = parseJsonFromResponseText(text ?? '')
+
+      if (!parsed || typeof parsed !== 'object' || Array.isArray(parsed)) {
+        return fallbackTopicMessageRoute(input)
+      }
+
+      const parsedObject = parsed as Record<string, unknown>
+
+      const route = normalizeRoute(
+        typeof parsedObject.route === 'string' ? parsedObject.route : 'silent'
+      )
+      const replyText =
+        typeof parsedObject.replyText === 'string' && parsedObject.replyText.trim().length > 0
+          ? parsedObject.replyText.trim()
+          : null
+
+      return {
+        route,
+        replyText,
+        helperKind:
+          typeof parsedObject.helperKind === 'string' || parsedObject.helperKind === null
+            ? normalizeHelperKind(parsedObject.helperKind)
+            : null,
+        shouldStartTyping: parsedObject.shouldStartTyping === true,
+        shouldClearWorkflow: parsedObject.shouldClearWorkflow === true,
+        confidence: normalizeConfidence(
+          typeof parsedObject.confidence === 'number' ? parsedObject.confidence : null
+        ),
+        reason: typeof parsedObject.reason === 'string' ? parsedObject.reason : null
+      }
+    } catch {
+      return fallbackTopicMessageRoute(input)
+    } finally {
+      clearTimeout(timeout)
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/docs/runbooks/iac-terraform.md b/docs/runbooks/iac-terraform.md
index 1c0aca9..542fe76 100644
--- a/docs/runbooks/iac-terraform.md
+++ b/docs/runbooks/iac-terraform.md
@@ -55,7 +55,9 @@ If `create_workload_identity = true`, Terraform also grants the GitHub deploy se
 Keep bot runtime config that is not secret in your `*.tfvars` file:
 
 - `bot_mini_app_allowed_origins`
-- optional `bot_parser_model`
+- optional `bot_purchase_parser_model`
+- optional `bot_assistant_model`
+- optional `bot_assistant_router_model`
 
 Set `bot_mini_app_allowed_origins` to the exact mini app origins you expect in each environment.
 Do not rely on permissive origin reflection in production.
diff --git a/infra/terraform/README.md b/infra/terraform/README.md
index dd8e819..f0ece45 100644
--- a/infra/terraform/README.md
+++ b/infra/terraform/README.md
@@ -72,9 +72,9 @@ Recommended approach:
 - Use `terraform.tfvars` per environment (`dev.tfvars`, `prod.tfvars`)
 - Keep `project_id` separate for dev/prod when possible
 - Keep non-secret bot config in `*.tfvars`:
-  - optional `bot_parser_model`
   - optional `bot_purchase_parser_model`
   - optional `bot_assistant_model`
+  - optional `bot_assistant_router_model`
   - optional assistant runtime knobs:
     `bot_assistant_timeout_ms`,
     `bot_assistant_memory_max_turns`,
diff --git a/infra/terraform/main.tf b/infra/terraform/main.tf
index 52492e3..ab344dc 100644
--- a/infra/terraform/main.tf
+++ b/infra/terraform/main.tf
@@ -90,15 +90,15 @@ module "bot_api_service" {
     {
       NODE_ENV = var.environment
     },
-    var.bot_parser_model == null ? {} : {
-      PARSER_MODEL = var.bot_parser_model
-    },
     var.bot_purchase_parser_model == null ? {} : {
       PURCHASE_PARSER_MODEL = var.bot_purchase_parser_model
     },
     var.bot_assistant_model == null ? {} : {
       ASSISTANT_MODEL = var.bot_assistant_model
     },
+    var.bot_assistant_router_model == null ? {} : {
+      ASSISTANT_ROUTER_MODEL = var.bot_assistant_router_model
+    },
     var.bot_assistant_timeout_ms == null ? {} : {
       ASSISTANT_TIMEOUT_MS = tostring(var.bot_assistant_timeout_ms)
     },
diff --git a/infra/terraform/terraform.tfvars.example b/infra/terraform/terraform.tfvars.example
index c892565..5f3c5fd 100644
--- a/infra/terraform/terraform.tfvars.example
+++ b/infra/terraform/terraform.tfvars.example
@@ -11,9 +11,9 @@ mini_app_image  = "europe-west1-docker.pkg.dev/my-gcp-project/household-bot/mini
 database_url_secret_id   = "database-url"
 telegram_bot_token_secret_id = "telegram-bot-token"
 openai_api_key_secret_id = "openai-api-key"
-bot_parser_model             = "gpt-4o-mini"
 bot_purchase_parser_model    = "gpt-4o-mini"
 bot_assistant_model          = "gpt-4o-mini"
+bot_assistant_router_model   = "gpt-5-nano"
 bot_assistant_timeout_ms     = 20000
 bot_assistant_memory_max_turns = 12
 bot_assistant_rate_limit_burst = 5
diff --git a/infra/terraform/variables.tf b/infra/terraform/variables.tf
index 6814a80..93b070f 100644
--- a/infra/terraform/variables.tf
+++ b/infra/terraform/variables.tf
@@ -69,13 +69,6 @@ variable "telegram_bot_token_secret_id" {
   default     = "telegram-bot-token"
 }
 
-variable "bot_parser_model" {
-  description = "Optional PARSER_MODEL override for bot runtime"
-  type        = string
-  default     = null
-  nullable    = true
-}
-
 variable "bot_purchase_parser_model" {
   description = "Optional PURCHASE_PARSER_MODEL override for bot runtime"
   type        = string
@@ -90,6 +83,13 @@ variable "bot_assistant_model" {
   nullable    = true
 }
 
+variable "bot_assistant_router_model" {
+  description = "Optional ASSISTANT_ROUTER_MODEL override for bot runtime"
+  type        = string
+  default     = null
+  nullable    = true
+}
+
 variable "bot_assistant_timeout_ms" {
   description = "Optional ASSISTANT_TIMEOUT_MS override for bot runtime"
   type        = number
diff --git a/packages/config/src/env.ts b/packages/config/src/env.ts
index 88b3755..15c53fb 100644
--- a/packages/config/src/env.ts
+++ b/packages/config/src/env.ts
@@ -31,9 +31,9 @@ const server = {
     .optional()
     .transform((value) => parseOptionalCsv(value)),
   OPENAI_API_KEY: z.string().min(1).optional(),
-  PARSER_MODEL: z.string().min(1).default('gpt-4o-mini'),
   PURCHASE_PARSER_MODEL: z.string().min(1).default('gpt-4o-mini'),
   ASSISTANT_MODEL: z.string().min(1).default('gpt-4o-mini'),
+  ASSISTANT_ROUTER_MODEL: z.string().min(1).default('gpt-5-nano'),
   ASSISTANT_TIMEOUT_MS: z.coerce.number().int().positive().default(20000),
   ASSISTANT_MEMORY_MAX_TURNS: z.coerce.number().int().positive().default(12),
   ASSISTANT_RATE_LIMIT_BURST: z.coerce.number().int().positive().default(5),