diff --git a/gateway/response_filters.py b/gateway/response_filters.py
index 51152d4535..aaa53900ba 100644
--- a/gateway/response_filters.py
+++ b/gateway/response_filters.py
@@ -85,23 +85,19 @@ def is_intentional_silence_agent_result(agent_result: dict | None, response: Any
     return isinstance(agent_result, dict) and not agent_result.get("failed") and is_intentional_silence_response(response)
 
 
-def should_swallow_silence(
-    agent_result: dict | None,
-    response: Any,
-    *,
-    display_kind: Any = None,
-) -> bool:
-    """allow bare silence only for the current synthetic gateway turn.
+def display_kind_for_event(event: Any) -> str | None:
+    """The persisted user-row kind for a gateway turn: only self-injected events are machinery."""
+    return "internal_notification" if getattr(event, "internal", False) else None
 
-    the caller passes the current turn's persisted display kind instead of asking
-    us to infer it from the old transcript. the inbound user row is not in that
-    transcript yet, and a previous internal row must never authorize a human turn.
+
+def is_machinery_display_kind(display_kind: Any) -> bool:
+    """Only a machinery turn may vanish on a bare silence marker; a human turn gets a visible fallback.
+
+    The caller passes the current turn's persisted display kind instead of inferring it from the
+    transcript: the inbound user row is not persisted yet, and a previous internal row must never
+    authorize silence on a human turn.
     """
-    return (
-        is_intentional_silence_agent_result(agent_result, response)
-        and isinstance(display_kind, str)
-        and display_kind in MACHINERY_DISPLAY_KINDS
-    )
+    return display_kind in MACHINERY_DISPLAY_KINDS
 
 
 def is_partial_silence_marker(text: Any) -> bool:
diff --git a/gateway/run_turn.py b/gateway/run_turn.py
index 61c7d64921..c005e41ea3 100644
--- a/gateway/run_turn.py
+++ b/gateway/run_turn.py
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ from gateway.config import Platform
 from gateway.media_repair import repair_explicit_computer_use_media_paths
 from gateway.platforms.base import BasePlatformAdapter, ProcessingOutcome
 from gateway.platforms.event import MessageEvent
+from gateway.response_filters import display_kind_for_event, is_machinery_display_kind
 from gateway.session import (
     SessionSource, _session_key_namespace, build_channel_continuity_note,
     build_session_context,
@@ -52,8 +53,8 @@ _CONTEXT_OVERFLOW_ERROR_PHRASES = (
 )
 
 _UNEXPECTED_SILENCE_REPLY = (
-    "⚠️ the model returned only a silence marker for a message that needed a reply. "
-    "try again or rephrase."
+    "⚠️ The model returned only a silence marker for a message that needed a reply. "
+    "Try again or rephrase."
 )
 
 
@@ -281,14 +282,6 @@ class GatewayTurnMixin:
         except Exception:
             return False
 
-    @staticmethod
-    def _should_swallow_silence(agent_result, response, *, display_kind=None) -> bool:
-        try:
-            from gateway.response_filters import should_swallow_silence
-            return should_swallow_silence(agent_result, response, display_kind=display_kind)
-        except Exception:
-            return False
-
     async def _hmwa_resolve_session(self, event, source):
         """Resolve ``source`` to its session entry (topic recovery, internal-route guards, Telegram
         topic-binding heal). Returns ``(source, session_entry, session_key)`` or ``None`` to drop
@@ -1396,11 +1389,7 @@ class GatewayTurnMixin:
         _silence_kind = persist_user_display_kind
         if isinstance(agent_result, dict) and "queued_terminal_display_kind" in agent_result:
             _silence_kind = agent_result["queued_terminal_display_kind"]
-        if _intentional_silence and not self._should_swallow_silence(
-            agent_result, response, display_kind=_silence_kind,
-        ):
-            # the current inbound row is not in ``history`` yet, so use the turn metadata we
-            # already carried into the agent run instead of guessing from an older row.
+        if _intentional_silence and not is_machinery_display_kind(_silence_kind):
             logger.warning(
                 "silence marker rejected on a user turn: platform=%s chat=%s",
                 _platform_name, source.chat_id or "unknown",
@@ -1919,7 +1908,7 @@ class GatewayTurnMixin:
         _session_env_tokens = self._set_session_env(context)
         # Self-injected turns (MessageEvent(internal=True)) persist with a DB-only display_kind so
         # UIs render timeline notices, not user bubbles; role/content untouched.
-        persist_user_display_kind = "internal_notification" if getattr(event, "internal", False) else None
+        persist_user_display_kind = display_kind_for_event(event)
         _redact_pii = False  # privacy.redact_pii, re-read per message
         with suppress(Exception):
             _redact_pii = bool((_load_gateway_config().get("privacy") or {}).get("redact_pii", False))
@@ -3518,9 +3507,7 @@ class GatewayTurnMixin:
         )
         # Same silence predicate as the normal path, else this branch leaks the literal marker.
         if self._is_intentional_silence(_delivery_result, first_response):
-            if self._should_swallow_silence(
-                _delivery_result, first_response, display_kind=turn_ctx.persist_user_display_kind,
-            ):
+            if is_machinery_display_kind(turn_ctx.persist_user_display_kind):
                 logger.info(
                     "Queued follow-up for session %s: suppressing intentional silence marker before continuing.",
                     session_key or "?",
@@ -3606,8 +3593,7 @@ class GatewayTurnMixin:
         # distinct from the reply anchor above (None in forum topics). Carry it or two chained
         # topic turns with the same text would collide on one obligation id (queued-final-ledger).
         next_inbound_id = None
-        # Same rule as the top-level turn (see _prepare_turn): only self-injected events are machinery.
-        next_display_kind = "internal_notification" if getattr(pending_event, "internal", False) else None
+        next_display_kind = display_kind_for_event(pending_event)
         # See #60671.
         if pending_event is not None:
             next_source = getattr(pending_event, "source", None) or source
diff --git a/tests/gateway/test_gateway_silence_tokens.py b/tests/gateway/test_gateway_silence_tokens.py
index 1204e9d3d4..97dcd25ea2 100644
--- a/tests/gateway/test_gateway_silence_tokens.py
+++ b/tests/gateway/test_gateway_silence_tokens.py
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ from gateway.session import SessionEntry, SessionSource
 from gateway.response_filters import (
     is_intentional_silence_agent_result,
     is_intentional_silence_response,
-    should_swallow_silence,
 )
 
 
@@ -95,14 +94,6 @@ def test_failed_agent_result_never_counts_as_intentional_silence():
     assert not is_intentional_silence_agent_result({"failed": True}, "NO_REPLY")
 
 
-def test_only_synthetic_turns_can_swallow_silence():
-    result = {"failed": False}
-    assert should_swallow_silence(result, "NO_REPLY", display_kind="internal_notification")
-
-    for display_kind in (None, "steer", "", "model_switch"):
-        assert not should_swallow_silence(result, "NO_REPLY", display_kind=display_kind)
-
-
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_human_turn_gets_a_visible_fallback_for_a_silence_marker(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
     runner = _runner(monkeypatch, tmp_path)
@@ -124,7 +115,7 @@ async def test_human_turn_gets_a_visible_fallback_for_a_silence_marker(monkeypat
     )
 
     assert "silence marker" in response
-    assert "try again or rephrase" in response
+    assert "Try again or rephrase" in response
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio