diff --git a/tools/main/main.cpp b/tools/main/main.cpp
index 083fc0cf26c93..498e00e3a5e58 100644
--- a/tools/main/main.cpp
+++ b/tools/main/main.cpp
@@ -707,6 +707,10 @@ int main(int argc, char ** argv) {
 
             embd.push_back(id);
 
+            if (params.conversation_mode && !waiting_for_first_input && !llama_vocab_is_eog(vocab, id)) {
+                assistant_ss << common_token_to_piece(ctx, id, false);
+            }
+
             // echo this to console
             input_echo = true;
 
@@ -824,11 +828,7 @@ int main(int argc, char ** argv) {
                 }
             }
 
-            // if current token is not EOG, we add it to current assistant message
             if (params.conversation_mode && !waiting_for_first_input) {
-                const auto id = common_sampler_last(smpl);
-                assistant_ss << common_token_to_piece(ctx, id, false);
-
                 if (!prompt.empty()) {
                     prompt.clear();
                     is_interacting = false;