diff --git a/src/core/server/ui_settings/saved_objects/permission_controlled_ui_settings_wrapper.ts b/src/core/server/ui_settings/saved_objects/permission_controlled_ui_settings_wrapper.ts
index bb406f506f9e..c7a6d38be722 100644
--- a/src/core/server/ui_settings/saved_objects/permission_controlled_ui_settings_wrapper.ts
+++ b/src/core/server/ui_settings/saved_objects/permission_controlled_ui_settings_wrapper.ts
@@ -53,12 +53,12 @@ export class PermissionControlledUiSettingsWrapper {
     ): Promise<SavedObjectsUpdateResponse<T>> => {
       if (type === 'config' && id === DASHBOARD_ADMIN_SETTINGS_ID) {
         try {
-          return ((await wrapperOptions.client.update<SavedObject<T>>(
+          return await wrapperOptions.client.update<T>(
             type,
             DASHBOARD_ADMIN_SETTINGS_ID,
             attributes,
             options
-          )) as unknown) as SavedObjectsUpdateResponse<T>;
+          );
         } catch (error) {
           if (SavedObjectsErrorHelpers.isNotFoundError(error)) {
             return this.createPermissionUiSetting(attributes, options, wrapperOptions);
diff --git a/src/core/server/ui_settings/ui_settings_client.ts b/src/core/server/ui_settings/ui_settings_client.ts
index 44d6e2dcca96..9f1214d28823 100644
--- a/src/core/server/ui_settings/ui_settings_client.ts
+++ b/src/core/server/ui_settings/ui_settings_client.ts
@@ -348,10 +348,10 @@ export class UiSettingsClient implements IUiSettingsClient {
         this.log.warn(
           `Deprecation warning: The setting "${key}" has multiple scopes. Please specify a scope when updating it.`
         );
-      } else if (this.userLevelSettingsKeys.includes(key)) {
-        groupedChanges[UiSettingScope.USER][key] = val;
       } else if (this.adminUiSettingsKeys.includes(key)) {
         groupedChanges[UiSettingScope.DASHBOARD_ADMIN][key] = val;
+      } else if (this.userLevelSettingsKeys.includes(key)) {
+        groupedChanges[UiSettingScope.USER][key] = val;
       } else if (this.workspaceLevelSettingsKeys.includes(key)) {
         groupedChanges[UiSettingScope.WORKSPACE][key] = val;
       } else {
diff --git a/src/core/server/ui_settings/ui_settings_service.ts b/src/core/server/ui_settings/ui_settings_service.ts
index 67846d51d00c..97036332bacd 100644
--- a/src/core/server/ui_settings/ui_settings_service.ts
+++ b/src/core/server/ui_settings/ui_settings_service.ts
@@ -101,6 +101,8 @@ export class UiSettingsService
     // Use uiSettings.defaults from the config file
     this.validateAndUpdateConfiguredDefaults(config.uiSettingsConfig.defaults);
 
+    this.register(getAIFeaturesSetting());
+
     const permissionControlledUiSettingsWrapper = new PermissionControlledUiSettingsWrapper(
       config.savedObjectsConfig.permission.enabled
     );
@@ -111,8 +113,6 @@ export class UiSettingsService
       permissionControlledUiSettingsWrapper.wrapperFactory
     );
 
-    this.register(getAIFeaturesSetting());
-
     return {
       register: this.register.bind(this),
     };
diff --git a/src/plugins/advanced_settings/public/management_app/advanced_settings.tsx b/src/plugins/advanced_settings/public/management_app/advanced_settings.tsx
index 075297366398..fcb8f3a5562d 100644
--- a/src/plugins/advanced_settings/public/management_app/advanced_settings.tsx
+++ b/src/plugins/advanced_settings/public/management_app/advanced_settings.tsx
@@ -201,8 +201,16 @@ export class AdvancedSettingsComponent extends Component<
           value: setting[1].userValue,
           isCustom: config.isCustom(setting[0]),
           isOverridden: config.isOverridden(setting[0]),
+          // Setting is permission controlled if:
+          // 1. It has DASHBOARD_ADMIN scope (string or array) AND
+          // 2. Current user is NOT a dashboard admin
+          // This prevents non-admin users from modifying admin-only settings
           isPermissionControlled:
-            all[setting[0]].scope === UiSettingScope.DASHBOARD_ADMIN && !isDashboardAdmin,
+            ((typeof all[setting[0]].scope === 'string' &&
+              all[setting[0]].scope === UiSettingScope.DASHBOARD_ADMIN) ||
+              (Array.isArray(all[setting[0]].scope) &&
+                (all[setting[0]].scope || []).includes(UiSettingScope.DASHBOARD_ADMIN))) &&
+            !isDashboardAdmin,
           userSettingsEnabled,
         });
       })
diff --git a/src/plugins/query_enhancements/public/query_assist/utils/create_extension.tsx b/src/plugins/query_enhancements/public/query_assist/utils/create_extension.tsx
index 3dbb9c0af37e..d8f7c41ddfad 100644
--- a/src/plugins/query_enhancements/public/query_assist/utils/create_extension.tsx
+++ b/src/plugins/query_enhancements/public/query_assist/utils/create_extension.tsx
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 import { i18n } from '@osd/i18n';
 import { ENABLE_AI_FEATURES, HttpSetup } from 'opensearch-dashboards/public';
 import React, { useCallback, useEffect, useState } from 'react';
-import { BehaviorSubject, of } from 'rxjs';
+import { BehaviorSubject, of, combineLatest } from 'rxjs';
 import { useObservable } from 'react-use';
 import { distinctUntilChanged, map, startWith, switchMap } from 'rxjs/operators';
 import { DATA_STRUCTURE_META_TYPES, DEFAULT_DATA } from '../../../../data/common';
@@ -133,8 +133,8 @@ export const createQueryAssistExtension = (
       }
     },
     isEnabled$: () =>
-      getAvailableLanguages$(http, data).pipe(
-        map((languages) => languages.length > 0 && assistantEnabled$.value)
+      combineLatest([getAvailableLanguages$(http, data), assistantEnabled$]).pipe(
+        map(([languages, assistantEnabled]) => languages.length > 0 && assistantEnabled)
       ),
     getComponent: (dependencies) => {
       // only show the component if user is on a supported language.