diff --git a/packages/api/src/index.ts b/packages/api/src/index.ts
index b334faf..66f86dc 100644
--- a/packages/api/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/api/src/index.ts
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ app.get("/", (_req, res) => {
 app.get("/api", (_req, res) => {
   res.json({
     name: "Transceiver Intelligence Platform",
-    version: "0.2.2",
+    version: "0.2.3",
     endpoints: [
       "GET /api/transceivers?q=&form_factor=&speed=&category=&fiber_type=&wdm_type=&coherent=",
       "GET /api/transceivers/:id",
diff --git a/packages/api/src/routes/health.ts b/packages/api/src/routes/health.ts
index a679375..797c6d2 100644
--- a/packages/api/src/routes/health.ts
+++ b/packages/api/src/routes/health.ts
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ healthRouter.get("/", async (_req: Request, res: Response) => {
     res.json({
       success: true,
       status: "healthy",
-      version: "0.2.2",
+      version: "0.2.3",
       uptime: process.uptime(),
       database: {
         connected: true,
diff --git a/packages/dashboard/index.html b/packages/dashboard/index.html
index ffec0d2..d2a2a92 100644
--- a/packages/dashboard/index.html
+++ b/packages/dashboard/index.html
@@ -2287,7 +2287,7 @@ function copyBlogContent(id) {
 
 // BLOG
 function generateBlog(topic, speed) {
-  el('blog-list').innerHTML = '<div class="loading pulse">Generating article...</div>';
+  el('blog-list').innerHTML = '<div class="loading pulse" id="blog-gen-status">Generating template... LLM 10-step pipeline starts in background (~10 min)</div>';
   var body = { topic: topic };
   if (speed) body.speed = speed;
   fetch(API + '/api/blog/generate', {
@@ -2308,17 +2308,17 @@ function generateBlog(topic, speed) {
 }
 
 function pollBlogLlm(id, attempt) {
-  if (attempt > 30) return;
+  if (attempt > 60) { showToast("Timeout", "LLM pipeline took too long. Check logs."); return; }
   setTimeout(function() {
     api('/api/blog/' + id).then(function(data) {
-      if (data.draft && data.draft.generated_by && data.draft.generated_by.includes('llm')) {
+      if (data.draft && data.draft.generated_by && data.draft.generated_by && data.draft.generated_by !== 'tip-blog-engine-template' && data.draft.generated_by !== null) {
         showToast('LLM Enhanced', data.draft.title + ' — ' + data.draft.word_count + ' words');
         loadBlogDrafts();
       } else {
-        pollBlogLlm(id, attempt + 1);
+        var steps = data.draft.pipeline_steps_completed || 0; showToast("LLM Step " + steps + "/10", "Pipeline running..."); pollBlogLlm(id, attempt + 1);
       }
     }).catch(function() {});
-  }, 10000);
+  }, 20000);
 }
 
 el('gen-hype').addEventListener('click', function() { generateBlog('hype_cycle', '800G'); });