diff --git a/components/chat-input.tsx b/components/chat-input.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f764b6b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/chat-input.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+"use client"
+
+import React, { useCallback, useRef, useEffect } from "react"
+import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button"
+import { Textarea } from "@/components/ui/textarea"
+import { Loader2, Send } from "lucide-react"
+
+interface ChatInputProps {
+    input: string
+    isLoading: boolean
+    onSubmit: (e: React.FormEvent<HTMLFormElement>) => void
+    onChange: (e: React.ChangeEvent<HTMLTextAreaElement>) => void
+}
+
+export function ChatInput({ input, isLoading, onSubmit, onChange }: ChatInputProps) {
+    const textareaRef = useRef<HTMLTextAreaElement>(null)
+
+    // Auto-resize textarea based on content
+    const adjustTextareaHeight = useCallback(() => {
+        const textarea = textareaRef.current
+        if (textarea) {
+            textarea.style.height = "auto"
+            textarea.style.height = `${Math.min(textarea.scrollHeight, 200)}px`
+        }
+    }, [])
+
+    useEffect(() => {
+        adjustTextareaHeight()
+    }, [input, adjustTextareaHeight])
+
+    // Handle keyboard shortcuts
+    const handleKeyDown = (e: React.KeyboardEvent) => {
+        if ((e.metaKey || e.ctrlKey) && e.key === "Enter") {
+            e.preventDefault()
+            const form = e.currentTarget.closest("form")
+            if (form && input.trim() && !isLoading) {
+                form.requestSubmit()
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    return (
+        <form onSubmit={onSubmit} className="w-full space-y-2">
+            <Textarea
+                ref={textareaRef}
+                value={input}
+                onChange={onChange}
+                onKeyDown={handleKeyDown}
+                placeholder="Describe what changes you want to make to the diagram... (Press Cmd/Ctrl + Enter to send)"
+                disabled={isLoading}
+                aria-label="Chat input"
+                className="min-h-[80px] resize-none transition-all duration-200"
+            />
+            <div className="flex justify-end">
+                <Button
+                    type="submit"
+                    disabled={isLoading || !input.trim()}
+                    className="transition-opacity"
+                    aria-label={isLoading ? "Sending message..." : "Send message"}
+                >
+                    {isLoading ? (
+                        <Loader2 className="mr-2 h-4 w-4 animate-spin" />
+                    ) : (
+                        <Send className="mr-2 h-4 w-4" />
+                    )}
+                    Send
+                </Button>
+            </div>
+        </form>
+    )
+}
diff --git a/components/chatPanel.tsx b/components/chatPanel.tsx
index 4a28dda..3c0904d 100644
--- a/components/chatPanel.tsx
+++ b/components/chatPanel.tsx
@@ -3,12 +3,10 @@
 import type React from "react"
 import { useRef, useEffect } from "react"
 
-import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button"
-import { Input } from "@/components/ui/input"
 import { Card, CardContent, CardFooter, CardHeader, CardTitle } from "@/components/ui/card"
 import { ScrollArea } from "@/components/ui/scroll-area"
-import { Loader2, Send } from "lucide-react"
 import { useChat } from '@ai-sdk/react';
+import { ChatInput } from "@/components/chat-input"
 
 interface ChatPanelProps {
     onDisplayChart: (xml: string) => void;
@@ -111,8 +109,8 @@ export default function ChatPanel({ onDisplayChart, onFetchChart }: ChatPanelPro
     };
 
     return (
-        <Card className="h-full flex flex-col rounded-none">
-            <CardHeader className="pb-2">
+        <Card className="h-full flex flex-col rounded-none py-0">
+            <CardHeader className="p-2 text-center">
                 <CardTitle>Chat with Diagram Generator</CardTitle>
             </CardHeader>
             <CardContent className="flex-grow overflow-hidden p-4">
@@ -165,19 +163,13 @@ export default function ChatPanel({ onDisplayChart, onFetchChart }: ChatPanelPro
                     <div ref={messagesEndRef} />
                 </ScrollArea>
             </CardContent>
-            <CardFooter className="pt-2">
-                <form onSubmit={onFormSubmit} className="w-full flex space-x-2">
-                    <Input
-                        value={input}
-                        onChange={handleInputChange}
-                        placeholder="Describe what changes you want to make to the diagram..."
-                        disabled={isLoading}
-                        className="flex-grow"
-                    />
-                    <Button type="submit" disabled={isLoading || !input.trim()}>
-                        {isLoading ? <Loader2 className="h-4 w-4 animate-spin" /> : <Send className="h-4 w-4" />}
-                    </Button>
-                </form>
+            <CardFooter className="p-2">
+                <ChatInput
+                    input={input}
+                    isLoading={isLoading}
+                    onSubmit={onFormSubmit}
+                    onChange={handleInputChange}
+                />
             </CardFooter>
         </Card>
     )
diff --git a/components/ui/textarea.tsx b/components/ui/textarea.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7f21b5e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/ui/textarea.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+import * as React from "react"
+
+import { cn } from "@/lib/utils"
+
+function Textarea({ className, ...props }: React.ComponentProps<"textarea">) {
+  return (
+    <textarea
+      data-slot="textarea"
+      className={cn(
+        "border-input placeholder:text-muted-foreground focus-visible:border-ring focus-visible:ring-ring/50 aria-invalid:ring-destructive/20 dark:aria-invalid:ring-destructive/40 aria-invalid:border-destructive dark:bg-input/30 flex field-sizing-content min-h-16 w-full rounded-md border bg-transparent px-3 py-2 text-base shadow-xs transition-[color,box-shadow] outline-none focus-visible:ring-[3px] disabled:cursor-not-allowed disabled:opacity-50 md:text-sm",
+        className
+      )}
+      {...props}
+    />
+  )
+}
+
+export { Textarea }