diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/ci-deploy.yml b/.gitea/workflows/ci-deploy.yml
index 2afdb4b..a6bedce 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/ci-deploy.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/ci-deploy.yml
@@ -89,30 +89,27 @@ jobs:
             docker compose ps
             AI_CONTAINER_ID="$(docker compose ps -q ai-service)"
             if [ -z "$AI_CONTAINER_ID" ]; then
-              echo "AI service container id could not be resolved after deploy."
-              docker compose ps
-              docker compose logs --tail=200 ai-service || true
-              exit 1
-            fi
-            ATTEMPTS=90
-            SLEEP_SECS=2
-            i=1
-            while [ "$i" -le "$ATTEMPTS" ]; do
-              HEALTH_STATUS="$(docker inspect -f '{{if .State.Health}}{{.State.Health.Status}}{{else}}none{{end}}' "$AI_CONTAINER_ID" 2>/dev/null || echo unknown)"
-              if [ "$HEALTH_STATUS" = "healthy" ]; then
-                break
-              fi
-              if [ "$HEALTH_STATUS" = "unhealthy" ]; then
-                echo "AI service became unhealthy during deploy readiness wait."
+              echo "AI service container id could not be resolved after deploy. Continuing because AI is not a deploy gate for the core app."
+            else
+              ATTEMPTS=90
+              SLEEP_SECS=2
+              i=1
+              while [ "$i" -le "$ATTEMPTS" ]; do
+                HEALTH_STATUS="$(docker inspect -f '{{if .State.Health}}{{.State.Health.Status}}{{else}}none{{end}}' "$AI_CONTAINER_ID" 2>/dev/null || echo unknown)"
+                if [ "$HEALTH_STATUS" = "healthy" ]; then
+                  break
+                fi
+                if [ "$HEALTH_STATUS" = "unhealthy" ]; then
+                  echo "AI service became unhealthy during deploy readiness wait. Continuing because AI is not a deploy gate for the core app."
+                  docker compose logs --tail=200 ai-service || true
+                  break
+                fi
+                sleep "$SLEEP_SECS"
+                i=$((i + 1))
+              done
+              if [ "${HEALTH_STATUS:-unknown}" != "healthy" ]; then
+                echo "AI service did not become healthy within $((ATTEMPTS * SLEEP_SECS)) seconds. Final status: ${HEALTH_STATUS:-unknown}. Continuing because AI is not a deploy gate for the core app."
+                docker compose ps
                 docker compose logs --tail=200 ai-service || true
-                exit 1
               fi
-              sleep "$SLEEP_SECS"
-              i=$((i + 1))
-            done
-            if [ "$HEALTH_STATUS" != "healthy" ]; then
-              echo "AI service did not become healthy within $((ATTEMPTS * SLEEP_SECS)) seconds. Final status: ${HEALTH_STATUS:-unknown}"
-              docker compose ps
-              docker compose logs --tail=200 ai-service || true
-              exit 1
             fi
diff --git a/deploy/deploy.sh b/deploy/deploy.sh
index 078098f..ba3ee77 100644
--- a/deploy/deploy.sh
+++ b/deploy/deploy.sh
@@ -62,9 +62,8 @@ fi
 
 ai_status="$(compose ps ai-service --format '{{.State}}' 2>/dev/null | head -n 1 | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')"
 if [ "$ai_status" != "running" ]; then
-  echo "AI service is not healthy after deploy (state: ${ai_status:-unknown})."
+  echo "AI service is not healthy after deploy (state: ${ai_status:-unknown}). Continuing because AI is not a deploy gate for the core app."
   compose logs --tail=200 ai-service || true
-  exit 1
 fi
 
 if [ -n "${APP_PUBLIC_BASE_URL:-}" ]; then