diff --git a/backend/apps/rag/utils.py b/backend/apps/rag/utils.py
index ac52dc3d8..7d92dd10f 100644
--- a/backend/apps/rag/utils.py
+++ b/backend/apps/rag/utils.py
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ from langchain.retrievers import (
 
 from typing import Optional
 
-
+from utils.misc import get_last_user_message, add_or_update_system_message
 from config import SRC_LOG_LEVELS, CHROMA_CLIENT
 
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -247,31 +247,7 @@ def rag_messages(
     hybrid_search,
 ):
     log.debug(f"docs: {docs} {messages} {embedding_function} {reranking_function}")
-
-    last_user_message_idx = None
-    for i in range(len(messages) - 1, -1, -1):
-        if messages[i]["role"] == "user":
-            last_user_message_idx = i
-            break
-
-    user_message = messages[last_user_message_idx]
-
-    if isinstance(user_message["content"], list):
-        # Handle list content input
-        content_type = "list"
-        query = ""
-        for content_item in user_message["content"]:
-            if content_item["type"] == "text":
-                query = content_item["text"]
-                break
-    elif isinstance(user_message["content"], str):
-        # Handle text content input
-        content_type = "text"
-        query = user_message["content"]
-    else:
-        # Fallback in case the input does not match expected types
-        content_type = None
-        query = ""
+    query = get_last_user_message(messages)
 
     extracted_collections = []
     relevant_contexts = []
@@ -349,24 +325,7 @@ def rag_messages(
     )
 
     log.debug(f"ra_content: {ra_content}")
-
-    if content_type == "list":
-        new_content = []
-        for content_item in user_message["content"]:
-            if content_item["type"] == "text":
-                # Update the text item's content with ra_content
-                new_content.append({"type": "text", "text": ra_content})
-            else:
-                # Keep other types of content as they are
-                new_content.append(content_item)
-        new_user_message = {**user_message, "content": new_content}
-    else:
-        new_user_message = {
-            **user_message,
-            "content": ra_content,
-        }
-
-    messages[last_user_message_idx] = new_user_message
+    messages = add_or_update_system_message(ra_content, messages)
 
     return messages, citations
 
diff --git a/backend/utils/misc.py b/backend/utils/misc.py
index 4bb5ddf56..c3c65d3f5 100644
--- a/backend/utils/misc.py
+++ b/backend/utils/misc.py
@@ -3,7 +3,48 @@ import hashlib
 import json
 import re
 from datetime import timedelta
-from typing import Optional
+from typing import Optional, List
+
+
+def get_last_user_message(messages: List[dict]) -> str:
+    for message in reversed(messages):
+        if message["role"] == "user":
+            if isinstance(message["content"], list):
+                for item in message["content"]:
+                    if item["type"] == "text":
+                        return item["text"]
+            return message["content"]
+    return None
+
+
+def get_last_assistant_message(messages: List[dict]) -> str:
+    for message in reversed(messages):
+        if message["role"] == "assistant":
+            if isinstance(message["content"], list):
+                for item in message["content"]:
+                    if item["type"] == "text":
+                        return item["text"]
+            return message["content"]
+    return None
+
+
+def add_or_update_system_message(content: str, messages: List[dict]):
+    """
+    Adds a new system message at the beginning of the messages list
+    or updates the existing system message at the beginning.
+
+    :param msg: The message to be added or appended.
+    :param messages: The list of message dictionaries.
+    :return: The updated list of message dictionaries.
+    """
+
+    if messages and messages[0].get("role") == "system":
+        messages[0]["content"] += f"{content}\n{messages[0]['content']}"
+    else:
+        # Insert at the beginning
+        messages.insert(0, {"role": "system", "content": content})
+
+    return messages
 
 
 def get_gravatar_url(email):
diff --git a/src/lib/components/admin/Settings.svelte b/src/lib/components/admin/Settings.svelte
index f668da2ff..982a5511a 100644
--- a/src/lib/components/admin/Settings.svelte
+++ b/src/lib/components/admin/Settings.svelte
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
 	let selectedTab = 'general';
 </script>
 
-<div class="flex flex-col md:flex-row w-full h-full py-3 md:space-x-4">
+<div class="flex flex-col md:flex-row w-full h-full py-2 md:space-x-4">
 	<div
 		class="tabs flex flex-row overflow-x-auto space-x-1 md:space-x-0 md:space-y-1 md:flex-col md:flex-none md:w-44 dark:text-gray-200 text-xs text-left scrollbar-none"
 	>