diff --git a/backend/internal/inttest/chatread_test.go b/backend/internal/inttest/chatread_test.go
index 8d32d9c..d8fa7ad 100644
--- a/backend/internal/inttest/chatread_test.go
+++ b/backend/internal/inttest/chatread_test.go
@@ -5,9 +5,13 @@ package inttest
 import (
 	"context"
 	"testing"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/google/uuid"
 
+	"scrabble/backend/internal/account"
+	"scrabble/backend/internal/engine"
+	"scrabble/backend/internal/game"
 	"scrabble/backend/internal/social"
 )
 
@@ -116,6 +120,43 @@ func TestNudgeClearedByMove(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// TestChatToRobotIsBornRead checks a text message to a disguised robot opponent (a pooled
+// robot substituted into an ordinary, non-AI game) is born read: the robot never opens the
+// chat, so the message must not linger unread (skewing the count and the read metric).
+func TestChatToRobotIsBornRead(t *testing.T) {
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	svc := newSocialService()
+	human := provisionAccount(t)
+	robot, err := account.NewStore(testDB).ProvisionRobot(ctx, "robot-chat-"+uuid.NewString(), "Robbie")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("provision robot: %v", err)
+	}
+	g, err := newGameService().Create(ctx, game.CreateParams{
+		Variant: engine.VariantEnglish, Seats: []uuid.UUID{human, robot.ID},
+		TurnTimeout: 24 * time.Hour, Seed: openingSeed(t),
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("create game: %v", err)
+	}
+	// The human (seat 0, to move) chats the disguised robot; the message is born read.
+	msg, err := svc.PostMessage(ctx, g.ID, human, "good luck", "")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("post: %v", err)
+	}
+	if items, _ := svc.AdminListMessages(ctx, social.AdminMessageFilter{GameID: g.ID, UnreadOnly: true}, 50, 0); len(items) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("a message to a robot should be born read, but the unread filter listed %d", len(items))
+	}
+	card, err := svc.AdminMessageDetail(ctx, msg.ID)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("detail: %v", err)
+	}
+	for _, s := range card.Seats {
+		if s.AccountID == robot.ID && s.Role != "read" {
+			t.Errorf("robot seat role = %q, want read", s.Role)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 // TestAdminChatUnreadFilterAndDetail checks the admin unread-only filter and the per-seat read
 // breakdown of the message card.
 func TestAdminChatUnreadFilterAndDetail(t *testing.T) {
diff --git a/backend/internal/social/chat.go b/backend/internal/social/chat.go
index 75400ec..9d07b88 100644
--- a/backend/internal/social/chat.go
+++ b/backend/internal/social/chat.go
@@ -100,7 +100,12 @@ func (svc *Service) PostMessage(ctx context.Context, gameID, senderID uuid.UUID,
 	if err := Clean(body); err != nil {
 		return Message{}, err
 	}
-	msg, err := svc.store.insertChatMessage(ctx, gameID, senderID, kindMessage, body, parseIP(senderIP), recipientMask(seats, senderID))
+	// A disguised robot opponent never reads chat, so its recipient bit is born clear.
+	autoRead, err := svc.robotRecipients(ctx, seats, senderID)
+	if err != nil {
+		return Message{}, err
+	}
+	msg, err := svc.store.insertChatMessage(ctx, gameID, senderID, kindMessage, body, parseIP(senderIP), recipientMask(seats, senderID, autoRead))
 	if err != nil {
 		return Message{}, err
 	}
@@ -259,12 +264,14 @@ func parseIP(raw string) *string {
 }
 
 // recipientMask is the initial unread bitmask for a text message: a set bit for every
-// seated recipient (by seat index) other than the sender. Still-empty (open) seats are
-// skipped. With at most four seats the result always fits the smallint column.
-func recipientMask(seats []uuid.UUID, senderID uuid.UUID) int16 {
+// seated recipient (by seat index) other than the sender, except recipients in autoRead —
+// a disguised robot opponent, whose message is born read since it never opens the chat.
+// Still-empty (open) seats are skipped. With at most four seats the result always fits the
+// smallint column.
+func recipientMask(seats []uuid.UUID, senderID uuid.UUID, autoRead map[uuid.UUID]bool) int16 {
 	var mask int16
 	for i, id := range seats {
-		if id == uuid.Nil || id == senderID {
+		if id == uuid.Nil || id == senderID || autoRead[id] {
 			continue
 		}
 		mask |= int16(1) << uint(i)
@@ -272,6 +279,30 @@ func recipientMask(seats []uuid.UUID, senderID uuid.UUID) int16 {
 	return mask
 }
 
+// robotRecipients returns the seated recipients (every seat but the sender) that are robots.
+// A disguised robot opponent never reads chat, so a message to it is born read (its unread
+// bit is never set) — it would otherwise linger unread forever, skewing the unread count and
+// the publish-to-read metric.
+func (svc *Service) robotRecipients(ctx context.Context, seats []uuid.UUID, senderID uuid.UUID) (map[uuid.UUID]bool, error) {
+	var robots map[uuid.UUID]bool
+	for _, id := range seats {
+		if id == uuid.Nil || id == senderID {
+			continue
+		}
+		isRobot, err := svc.accounts.IsRobot(ctx, id)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		if isRobot {
+			if robots == nil {
+				robots = make(map[uuid.UUID]bool)
+			}
+			robots[id] = true
+		}
+	}
+	return robots, nil
+}
+
 // insertChatMessage stores one chat row, seeding its unread bitmask, and returns it.
 func (s *Store) insertChatMessage(ctx context.Context, gameID, senderID uuid.UUID, kind, body string, ip *string, unreadMask int16) (Message, error) {
 	id, err := uuid.NewV7()
diff --git a/docs/ARCHITECTURE.md b/docs/ARCHITECTURE.md
index c4f2ed7..fa0f803 100644
--- a/docs/ARCHITECTURE.md
+++ b/docs/ARCHITECTURE.md
@@ -524,7 +524,9 @@ disguised robot stays indistinguishable from a person.
 - **Read receipts**: each `chat_messages` row carries an `unread_seats` bitmask — a set
   bit per recipient seat that has **not** yet read it (the sender's own bit is never set).
   A text message seeds the bits of every seated recipient; a nudge seeds only the awaited
-  player's. A seat's bit clears when that player **opens the move history or the chat**
+  player's. A **disguised robot opponent's bit is never set** — it never opens the chat, so
+  a message to it is **born read** (it would otherwise linger unread forever); a nudge to a
+  robot instead clears when the robot answers by moving, as for a human. A seat's bit clears when that player **opens the move history or the chat**
   (`POST /games/:id/chat/read`, which the client sends only when it holds unread, so a
   history open is not a constant backend call), and a **nudge additionally clears when its
   recipient answers by moving** (the move path calls a wired `NudgeClearer`). The mask is