diff --git a/.changeset/healthy-files-scream.md b/.changeset/healthy-files-scream.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..fcda43fdbd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/healthy-files-scream.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'ai': patch
+---
+
+Add append() helper to useAssistant.
diff --git a/docs/pages/docs/api-reference/use-assistant.mdx b/docs/pages/docs/api-reference/use-assistant.mdx
index b10b20eb08..0f6fd7adad 100644
--- a/docs/pages/docs/api-reference/use-assistant.mdx
+++ b/docs/pages/docs/api-reference/use-assistant.mdx
@@ -137,6 +137,11 @@ The `useAssistant` hook returns an object with several helper methods and variab
       'React.Dispatch<React.SetStateAction<string>>',
       'Function to update the `input` value.',
     ],
+    [
+      'append',
+      '(message: Message) => void',
+      ` Append a user message to the chat list. This triggers the API call to fetch the assistant's response.`,
+    ],
     [
       'handleInputChange',
       '(e: any) => void',
diff --git a/packages/core/react/use-assistant.ts b/packages/core/react/use-assistant.ts
index 59f9f96efa..55c40193aa 100644
--- a/packages/core/react/use-assistant.ts
+++ b/packages/core/react/use-assistant.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { useState } from 'react';
 
 import { generateId } from '../shared/generate-id';
 import { readDataStream } from '../shared/read-data-stream';
-import { Message } from '../shared/types';
+import { CreateMessage, Message } from '../shared/types';
 
 export type AssistantStatus = 'in_progress' | 'awaiting_message';
 
@@ -29,6 +29,19 @@ export type UseAssistantHelpers = {
    */
   input: string;
 
+  /**
+   * Append a user message to the chat list. This triggers the API call to fetch
+   * the assistant's response.
+   * @param message The message to append
+   * @param requestOptions Additional options to pass to the API call
+   */
+  append: (
+    message: Message | CreateMessage,
+    requestOptions?: {
+      data?: Record<string, string>;
+    },
+  ) => Promise<void>;
+
   /**
    * setState-powered method to update the input value.
    */
@@ -122,23 +135,18 @@ export function useAssistant({
     setInput(event.target.value);
   };
 
-  const submitMessage = async (
-    event?: React.FormEvent<HTMLFormElement>,
+  const append = async (
+    message: Message | CreateMessage,
     requestOptions?: {
       data?: Record<string, string>;
     },
   ) => {
-    event?.preventDefault?.();
-
-    if (input === '') {
-      return;
-    }
-
-    setStatus('in_progress');
-
     setMessages(messages => [
       ...messages,
-      { id: '', role: 'user', content: input },
+      {
+        ...message,
+        id: message.id ?? generateId(),
+      },
     ]);
 
     setInput('');
@@ -240,7 +248,23 @@ export function useAssistant({
     setStatus('awaiting_message');
   };
 
+  const submitMessage = async (
+    event?: React.FormEvent<HTMLFormElement>,
+    requestOptions?: {
+      data?: Record<string, string>;
+    },
+  ) => {
+    event?.preventDefault?.();
+
+    if (input === '') {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    append({ role: 'user', content: input }, requestOptions);
+  };
+
   return {
+    append,
     messages,
     setMessages,
     threadId,