diff --git a/eng/Versions.props b/eng/Versions.props
index c2eb8b03d5a..8c1ba5cfc0a 100644
--- a/eng/Versions.props
+++ b/eng/Versions.props
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@
     <AzureSearchDocumentsVersion>11.6.0</AzureSearchDocumentsVersion>
     <MicrosoftSemanticKernelConnectorsAzureAISearchVersion>1.37.0-preview</MicrosoftSemanticKernelConnectorsAzureAISearchVersion>
     <MicrosoftSemanticKernelCoreVersion>1.37.0</MicrosoftSemanticKernelCoreVersion>
-    <OllamaSharpVersion>5.0.7</OllamaSharpVersion>
+    <OllamaSharpVersion>5.1.5</OllamaSharpVersion>
     <OpenAIVersion>2.2.0-beta.1</OpenAIVersion>
     <PdfPigVersion>0.1.9</PdfPigVersion>
     <SystemLinqAsyncVersion>6.0.1</SystemLinqAsyncVersion>
diff --git a/src/Libraries/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Abstractions/ChatCompletion/ChatResponseExtensions.cs b/src/Libraries/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Abstractions/ChatCompletion/ChatResponseExtensions.cs
index e6fb9d4dafb..84eb7b99e8e 100644
--- a/src/Libraries/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Abstractions/ChatCompletion/ChatResponseExtensions.cs
+++ b/src/Libraries/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Abstractions/ChatCompletion/ChatResponseExtensions.cs
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 
 using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Linq;
 using System.Text;
 using System.Threading;
 using System.Threading.Tasks;
@@ -47,7 +48,7 @@ public static void AddMessages(this IList<ChatMessage> list, ChatResponse respon
     /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException"><paramref name="list"/> is <see langword="null"/>.</exception>
     /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException"><paramref name="updates"/> is <see langword="null"/>.</exception>
     /// <remarks>
-    /// As part of combining <paramref name="updates"/> into a series of <see cref="ChatMessage"/> instances, tne
+    /// As part of combining <paramref name="updates"/> into a series of <see cref="ChatMessage"/> instances, the
     /// method may use <see cref="ChatResponseUpdate.ResponseId"/> to determine message boundaries, as well as coalesce
     /// contiguous <see cref="AIContent"/> items where applicable, e.g. multiple
     /// <see cref="TextContent"/> instances in a row may be combined into a single <see cref="TextContent"/>.
@@ -65,6 +66,33 @@ public static void AddMessages(this IList<ChatMessage> list, IEnumerable<ChatRes
         list.AddMessages(updates.ToChatResponse());
     }
 
+    /// <summary>Converts the <paramref name="update"/> into a <see cref="ChatMessage"/> instance and adds it to <paramref name="list"/>.</summary>
+    /// <param name="list">The destination list to which the newly constructed message should be added.</param>
+    /// <param name="update">The <see cref="ChatResponseUpdate"/> instance to convert to a message and add to the list.</param>
+    /// <param name="filter">A predicate to filter which <see cref="AIContent"/> gets included in the message.</param>
+    /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException"><paramref name="list"/> is <see langword="null"/>.</exception>
+    /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException"><paramref name="update"/> is <see langword="null"/>.</exception>
+    /// <remarks>
+    /// If the <see cref="ChatResponseUpdate"/> has no content, or all its content gets excluded by <paramref name="filter"/>, then
+    /// no <see cref="ChatMessage"/> will be added to the <paramref name="list"/>.
+    /// </remarks>
+    public static void AddMessages(this IList<ChatMessage> list, ChatResponseUpdate update, Func<AIContent, bool>? filter = null)
+    {
+        _ = Throw.IfNull(list);
+        _ = Throw.IfNull(update);
+
+        var contentsList = filter is null ? update.Contents : update.Contents.Where(filter).ToList();
+        if (contentsList.Count > 0)
+        {
+            list.Add(new ChatMessage(update.Role ?? ChatRole.Assistant, contentsList)
+            {
+                AuthorName = update.AuthorName,
+                RawRepresentation = update.RawRepresentation,
+                AdditionalProperties = update.AdditionalProperties,
+            });
+        }
+    }
+
     /// <summary>Converts the <paramref name="updates"/> into <see cref="ChatMessage"/> instances and adds them to <paramref name="list"/>.</summary>
     /// <param name="list">The list to which the newly constructed messages should be added.</param>
     /// <param name="updates">The <see cref="ChatResponseUpdate"/> instances to convert to messages and add to the list.</param>
diff --git a/src/ProjectTemplates/.gitignore b/src/ProjectTemplates/.gitignore
index cfa143cb64d..706de75b916 100644
--- a/src/ProjectTemplates/.gitignore
+++ b/src/ProjectTemplates/.gitignore
@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@ package-lock.json
 
 # Don't track files generated for debugging templates locally.
 */src/**/*.csproj
+*/src/**/NuGet.config
+*/src/**/Directory.Build.targets
+*/src/**/ingestioncache.db
 
 # launchSettings.json files are required for the templates.
 !launchSettings.json
diff --git a/src/ProjectTemplates/GenerateTemplateContent/GenerateTemplateContent.csproj b/src/ProjectTemplates/GenerateTemplateContent/GenerateTemplateContent.csproj
index 03a3ba71b3a..cead17cde9e 100644
--- a/src/ProjectTemplates/GenerateTemplateContent/GenerateTemplateContent.csproj
+++ b/src/ProjectTemplates/GenerateTemplateContent/GenerateTemplateContent.csproj
@@ -1,9 +1,8 @@
 <Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
 
-  <Import Project="$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)..\GeneratedContent.props" />
-
   <PropertyGroup>
     <TargetFramework>netstandard2.0</TargetFramework>
+    <SuppressFinalPackageVersion>true</SuppressFinalPackageVersion>
 
     <!-- Used for incremental builds. When versions or dependencies of templates change, this file is updated and causes a re-build. -->
     <_GeneratedContentPropertiesHashFile>$(IntermediateOutputPath)$(MSBuildProjectName).content.g.cache</_GeneratedContentPropertiesHashFile>
@@ -24,7 +23,8 @@
     in the _GenerateContent target.
     This hash is used to determine if the generated content needs to be re-generated.
   -->
-  <Target Name="_ComputeGeneratedContentPropertiesHash">
+  <Target Name="_ComputeGeneratedContentPropertiesHash"
+          DependsOnTargets="ComputeGeneratedContentProperties">
     <Hash ItemsToHash="$(GeneratedContentProperties)">
       <Output TaskParameter="HashResult" PropertyName="_GeneratedContentPropertiesHash" />
     </Hash>
@@ -45,6 +45,12 @@
           Inputs="$(MSBuildAllProjects);$(_GeneratedContentPropertiesHashFile);@(GeneratedContent)"
           Outputs="@(GeneratedContent->'%(OutputPath)')">
 
+    <ItemGroup>
+      <GeneratedContent Remove="@(GeneratedContentToDelete)" />
+    </ItemGroup>
+
+    <Delete Files="@(GeneratedContentToDelete->'%(OutputPath)')" />
+
     <GenerateFileFromTemplate
       TemplateFile="%(GeneratedContent.Identity)"
       Properties="$(GeneratedContentProperties);%(GeneratedContent.AdditionalProperties)"
@@ -55,4 +61,6 @@
     </GenerateFileFromTemplate>
   </Target>
 
+  <Import Project="$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)..\GeneratedContent.targets" />
+
 </Project>
diff --git a/src/ProjectTemplates/GeneratedContent.props b/src/ProjectTemplates/GeneratedContent.props
deleted file mode 100644
index f69ac2d5979..00000000000
--- a/src/ProjectTemplates/GeneratedContent.props
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,34 +0,0 @@
-<Project>
-
-  <PropertyGroup>
-    <_MicrosoftExtensionsAIVersion>9.3.0-preview.1.25114.11</_MicrosoftExtensionsAIVersion>
-
-    <!-- Specify package version variables used in template content. -->
-    <GeneratedContentProperties>
-      $(GeneratedContentProperties);
-      OllamaSharpVersion=$(OllamaSharpVersion);
-      OpenAIVersion=$(OpenAIVersion);
-      AzureAIProjectsVersion=$(AzureAIProjectsVersion);
-      AzureAIOpenAIVersion=$(AzureAIOpenAIVersion);
-      AzureIdentityVersion=$(AzureIdentityVersion);
-      MicrosoftEntityFrameworkCoreSqliteVersion=$(MicrosoftEntityFrameworkCoreSqliteVersion);
-      MicrosoftExtensionsAIVersion=$(_MicrosoftExtensionsAIVersion);
-      MicrosoftSemanticKernelCoreVersion=$(MicrosoftSemanticKernelCoreVersion);
-      PdfPigVersion=$(PdfPigVersion);
-      SystemLinqAsyncVersion=$(SystemLinqAsyncVersion);
-      AzureSearchDocumentsVersion=$(AzureSearchDocumentsVersion);
-      MicrosoftSemanticKernelConnectorsAzureAISearchVersion=$(MicrosoftSemanticKernelConnectorsAzureAISearchVersion);
-    </GeneratedContentProperties>
-  </PropertyGroup>
-
-  <PropertyGroup>
-    <_ChatWithCustomDataWebContentRoot>$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates\src\ChatWithCustomData\ChatWithCustomData.Web-CSharp\</_ChatWithCustomDataWebContentRoot>
-  </PropertyGroup>
-
-  <ItemGroup>
-    <GeneratedContent
-      Include="$(_ChatWithCustomDataWebContentRoot)ChatWithCustomData.Web-CSharp.csproj.in"
-      OutputPath="$(_ChatWithCustomDataWebContentRoot)ChatWithCustomData.Web-CSharp.csproj" />
-  </ItemGroup>
-
-</Project>
diff --git a/src/ProjectTemplates/GeneratedContent.targets b/src/ProjectTemplates/GeneratedContent.targets
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d84b8d994d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ProjectTemplates/GeneratedContent.targets
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+<Project>
+
+  <PropertyGroup>
+    <_ChatWithCustomDataWebContentRoot>$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates\src\ChatWithCustomData\ChatWithCustomData.Web-CSharp\</_ChatWithCustomDataWebContentRoot>
+  </PropertyGroup>
+
+  <Target Name="ComputeGeneratedContentProperties">
+    <PropertyGroup>
+      <!-- Define optional pinned versions of certain dependencies. -->
+      <TemplatePinnedMicrosoftExtensionsAIVersion>9.3.0-preview.1.25161.3</TemplatePinnedMicrosoftExtensionsAIVersion>
+      <TemplatePinnedMicrosoftEntityFrameworkCoreSqliteVersion>9.0.3</TemplatePinnedMicrosoftEntityFrameworkCoreSqliteVersion>
+
+      <!-- By default, use pinned dependency versions. -->
+      <TemplateUsePinnedMicrosoftExtensionsAIVersion Condition="'$(TemplateUsePinnedMicrosoftExtensionsAIVersion)' == ''">false</TemplateUsePinnedMicrosoftExtensionsAIVersion>
+      <TemplateUsePinnedMicrosoftEntityFrameworkCoreSqliteVersion Condition="'$(TemplateUsePinnedMicrosoftEntityFrameworkCoreSqliteVersion)' == ''">false</TemplateUsePinnedMicrosoftEntityFrameworkCoreSqliteVersion>
+
+      <!-- Apply pinned dependency versions if enabled. -->
+      <TemplateMicrosoftExtensionsAIVersion Condition="'$(TemplateUsePinnedMicrosoftExtensionsAIVersion)' == 'true'">$(TemplatePinnedMicrosoftExtensionsAIVersion)</TemplateMicrosoftExtensionsAIVersion>
+      <TemplateMicrosoftEntityFrameworkCoreSqliteVersion Condition="'$(TemplateUsePinnedMicrosoftEntityFrameworkCoreSqliteVersion)' == 'true'">$(TemplatePinnedMicrosoftEntityFrameworkCoreSqliteVersion)</TemplateMicrosoftEntityFrameworkCoreSqliteVersion>
+
+      <!-- Fall back on default dependency versions if pinned versions were not applied. -->
+      <TemplateMicrosoftExtensionsAIVersion Condition="'$(TemplateMicrosoftExtensionsAIVersion)' == ''">$(Version)</TemplateMicrosoftExtensionsAIVersion>
+      <TemplateMicrosoftEntityFrameworkCoreSqliteVersion Condition="'$(TemplateMicrosoftEntityFrameworkCoreSqliteVersion)' == ''">$(MicrosoftEntityFrameworkCoreSqliteVersion)</TemplateMicrosoftEntityFrameworkCoreSqliteVersion>
+
+      <_TemplateUsingJustBuiltPackages Condition="'$(TemplateMicrosoftExtensionsAIVersion)' == '$(Version)'">true</_TemplateUsingJustBuiltPackages>
+
+      <!-- Specify package version variables used in template content. -->
+      <GeneratedContentProperties>
+        $(GeneratedContentProperties);
+
+        <!-- Repo properties -->
+        ArtifactsShippingPackagesDir=$(ArtifactsShippingPackagesDir);
+
+        <!-- Package version properties -->
+        OllamaSharpVersion=$(OllamaSharpVersion);
+        OpenAIVersion=$(OpenAIVersion);
+        AzureAIProjectsVersion=$(AzureAIProjectsVersion);
+        AzureAIOpenAIVersion=$(AzureAIOpenAIVersion);
+        AzureIdentityVersion=$(AzureIdentityVersion);
+        MicrosoftEntityFrameworkCoreSqliteVersion=$(TemplateMicrosoftEntityFrameworkCoreSqliteVersion);
+        MicrosoftExtensionsAIVersion=$(TemplateMicrosoftExtensionsAIVersion);
+        MicrosoftSemanticKernelCoreVersion=$(MicrosoftSemanticKernelCoreVersion);
+        PdfPigVersion=$(PdfPigVersion);
+        SystemLinqAsyncVersion=$(SystemLinqAsyncVersion);
+        AzureSearchDocumentsVersion=$(AzureSearchDocumentsVersion);
+        MicrosoftSemanticKernelConnectorsAzureAISearchVersion=$(MicrosoftSemanticKernelConnectorsAzureAISearchVersion);
+      </GeneratedContentProperties>
+    </PropertyGroup>
+
+    <ItemGroup>
+      <GeneratedContent
+        Include="$(_ChatWithCustomDataWebContentRoot)ChatWithCustomData.Web-CSharp.csproj.in"
+        OutputPath="$(_ChatWithCustomDataWebContentRoot)ChatWithCustomData.Web-CSharp.csproj" />
+
+      <!-- The following content only gets generated when using just-built packages -->
+      <_GeneratedContentEnablingJustBuiltPackages
+        Include="$(_ChatWithCustomDataWebContentRoot)NuGet.config.in"
+        OutputPath="$(_ChatWithCustomDataWebContentRoot)NuGet.config" />
+      <_GeneratedContentEnablingJustBuiltPackages
+        Include="$(_ChatWithCustomDataWebContentRoot)Directory.Build.targets.in"
+        OutputPath="$(_ChatWithCustomDataWebContentRoot)Directory.Build.targets" />
+
+      <GeneratedContent
+        Include="@(_GeneratedContentEnablingJustBuiltPackages)"
+        Condition="'$(_TemplateUsingJustBuiltPackages)' == 'true'" />
+      <GeneratedContentToDelete
+        Include="@(_GeneratedContentEnablingJustBuiltPackages)"
+        Condition="'$(_TemplateUsingJustBuiltPackages)' != 'true'" />
+    </ItemGroup>
+  </Target>
+
+</Project>
diff --git a/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates.csproj b/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates.csproj
index 2762f3148df..34dcf90629b 100644
--- a/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates.csproj
+++ b/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates.csproj
@@ -35,16 +35,21 @@
   </ItemGroup>
 
   <ItemGroup>
+    <!-- Keep the exclude patterns below in sync with those in AichatwebTemplatesTests.cs -->
     <Content
       Include="src\ChatWithCustomData\**\*"
       Exclude="
         **\bin\**;
         **\obj\**;
         **\node_modules\**;
-        **\*.user;**\*.in;
+        **\*.user;
+        **\*.in;
         **\*.out.js;
         **\*.generated.css;
-        **\package-lock.json;" />
+        **\package-lock.json;
+        **\ingestioncache.db;
+        **\NuGet.config;
+        **\Directory.Build.targets;" />
     <None Include="THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.TXT" Pack="true" PackagePath="." />
     <Compile Remove="**\*" />
   </ItemGroup>
diff --git a/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/src/ChatWithCustomData/ChatWithCustomData.Web-CSharp/ChatWithCustomData.Web-CSharp.csproj.in b/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/src/ChatWithCustomData/ChatWithCustomData.Web-CSharp/ChatWithCustomData.Web-CSharp.csproj.in
index 707e0a73855..92cb05131b3 100644
--- a/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/src/ChatWithCustomData/ChatWithCustomData.Web-CSharp/ChatWithCustomData.Web-CSharp.csproj.in
+++ b/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/src/ChatWithCustomData/ChatWithCustomData.Web-CSharp/ChatWithCustomData.Web-CSharp.csproj.in
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 <!--#if (UseManagedIdentity) -->
     <PackageReference Include="Azure.Identity" Version="${AzureIdentityVersion}" />
 <!--#endif -->
-    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Sqlite" Version="9.0.2" />
+    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Sqlite" Version="${MicrosoftEntityFrameworkCoreSqliteVersion}" />
     <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.AI" Version="${MicrosoftExtensionsAIVersion}" />
     <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.SemanticKernel.Core" Version="${MicrosoftSemanticKernelCoreVersion}" />
     <PackageReference Include="PdfPig" Version="${PdfPigVersion}" />
diff --git a/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/src/ChatWithCustomData/ChatWithCustomData.Web-CSharp/Components/Pages/Chat/Chat.razor b/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/src/ChatWithCustomData/ChatWithCustomData.Web-CSharp/Components/Pages/Chat/Chat.razor
index 1858ce1cbab..b17de180fc1 100644
--- a/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/src/ChatWithCustomData/ChatWithCustomData.Web-CSharp/Components/Pages/Chat/Chat.razor
+++ b/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/src/ChatWithCustomData/ChatWithCustomData.Web-CSharp/Components/Pages/Chat/Chat.razor
@@ -67,23 +67,25 @@
         // aren't supported because Ollama will not support both streaming and using Tools
         currentResponseCancellation = new();
         var response = await ChatClient.GetResponseAsync(messages, chatOptions, currentResponseCancellation.Token);
-        currentResponseMessage = response.Message;
-        ChatMessageItem.NotifyChanged(currentResponseMessage);
+
+        // Store responses in the conversation, and begin getting suggestions
+        messages.AddMessages(response);
 #else*@
         // Stream and display a new response from the IChatClient
         var responseText = new TextContent("");
         currentResponseMessage = new ChatMessage(ChatRole.Assistant, [responseText]);
         currentResponseCancellation = new();
-        await foreach (var chunk in ChatClient.GetStreamingResponseAsync(messages, chatOptions, currentResponseCancellation.Token))
+        await foreach (var update in ChatClient.GetStreamingResponseAsync([.. messages], chatOptions, currentResponseCancellation.Token))
         {
-            responseText.Text += chunk.Text;
+            messages.AddMessages(update, filter: c => c is not TextContent);
+            responseText.Text += update.Text;
             ChatMessageItem.NotifyChanged(currentResponseMessage);
         }
-@*#endif*@
 
         // Store the final response in the conversation, and begin getting suggestions
         messages.Add(currentResponseMessage!);
         currentResponseMessage = null;
+@*#endif*@
         chatSuggestions?.Update(messages);
     }
 
diff --git a/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/src/ChatWithCustomData/ChatWithCustomData.Web-CSharp/Directory.Build.targets.in b/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/src/ChatWithCustomData/ChatWithCustomData.Web-CSharp/Directory.Build.targets.in
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..8fe33082cd6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/src/ChatWithCustomData/ChatWithCustomData.Web-CSharp/Directory.Build.targets.in
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+<!--
+  This file only exists to support functionality allowing running the template locally.
+  It will not get included in the built project template.
+-->
+<Project>
+  <Import Project="$([MSBuild]::GetPathOfFileAbove('Directory.Build.targets', '$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)../'))" />
+
+  <Target
+    Name="_EnsurePackagesBuiltLocally"
+    BeforeTargets="Restore">
+
+    <Error
+      Condition="!Exists('${ArtifactsShippingPackagesDir}')"
+      Text="Repo packages must be built locally before running this project. See src/ProjectTemplates/README.md for more info." />
+  </Target>
+</Project>
diff --git a/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/src/ChatWithCustomData/ChatWithCustomData.Web-CSharp/NuGet.config.in b/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/src/ChatWithCustomData/ChatWithCustomData.Web-CSharp/NuGet.config.in
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..8ad880bce31
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/src/ChatWithCustomData/ChatWithCustomData.Web-CSharp/NuGet.config.in
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
+<!--
+  This file only exists to allow locally-built packages to be used when running the template locally.
+  It will not get included in the built project template.
+-->
+<configuration>
+  <packageSources>
+    <add key="local-shipping" value="${ArtifactsShippingPackagesDir}" />
+  </packageSources>
+  <packageSourceMapping>
+    <packageSource key="local-shipping">
+      <package pattern="*" />
+    </packageSource>
+  </packageSourceMapping>
+</configuration>
diff --git a/src/ProjectTemplates/README.md b/src/ProjectTemplates/README.md
index b78f1361a32..70940042158 100644
--- a/src/ProjectTemplates/README.md
+++ b/src/ProjectTemplates/README.md
@@ -11,7 +11,17 @@ To update project template JavaScript dependencies:
 
 To add a new dependency, run `npm install <package-name>` and update the `scripts` section in `package.json` to specify how the new dependency should be copied into its template.
 
-# Installing the templates locally
+# Running AI templates
+
+By default the templates use just-built versions of `Microsoft.Extensions.AI*` packages, so NuGet packages must be produced before the templates can be run:
+```sh
+.\build.cmd -vs AI -noLaunch # Generate an SDK.sln for Microsoft.Extensions.AI* projects
+.\build.cmd -build -pack     # Build a NuGet package for each project
+```
+
+Alternatively, you can override the `TemplateMicrosoftExtensionsAIVersion` property (defined in the `GeneratedContent.targets` file in this directory) with a publicly-available version. This will disable the template generation logic that utilizes locally-built `Microsoft.Extensions.AI*` packages.
+
+## Installing the templates locally
 
 First, create the template NuGet package by running the following from the repo root:
 ```pwsh
@@ -37,3 +47,21 @@ Finally, create a project from the template and run it:
 dotnet new aichatweb [-A <azureopenai | githubmodels | ollama | openai>] [-V <azureaisearch | local>]
 dotnet run
 ```
+
+## Running the templates directly within the repo
+
+The project templates are structured in a way that allows them to be run directly within the repo.
+
+**Note:** For the following commands to succeed, you'll need to either install a compatible .NET SDK globally or prepend the repo's generated `.dotnet` folder to the PATH environment variable.
+
+Navigate to the `Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates` folder and run:
+```sh
+dotnet build
+```
+
+This will generate the necessary template content to build and run AI templates from within this repo.
+
+Now, you can navigate to a folder containing a template's `.csproj` file and run:
+```sh
+dotnet run
+```
diff --git a/test/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates.IntegrationTests/AichatwebTemplatesTests.cs b/test/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates.IntegrationTests/AichatwebTemplatesTests.cs
index 26c4c47f0fd..7953003cf63 100644
--- a/test/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates.IntegrationTests/AichatwebTemplatesTests.cs
+++ b/test/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates.IntegrationTests/AichatwebTemplatesTests.cs
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 // The .NET Foundation licenses this file to you under the MIT license.
 
 using System.IO;
+using System.Linq;
 using System.Threading.Tasks;
-using EmptyFiles;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates.IntegrationTests;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates.Tests;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;
@@ -16,6 +16,21 @@ namespace Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates.InegrationTests;
 
 public class AichatwebTemplatesTests : TestBase
 {
+    // Keep the exclude patterns below in sync with those in Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates.csproj.
+    private static readonly string[] _verificationExcludePatterns = [
+        "**/bin/**",
+        "**/obj/**",
+        "**/node_modules/**",
+        "**/*.user",
+        "**/*.in",
+        "**/*.out.js",
+        "**/*.generated.css",
+        "**/package-lock.json",
+        "**/ingestioncache.db",
+        "**/NuGet.config",
+        "**/Directory.Build.targets",
+    ];
+
     private readonly ILogger _log;
 
     public AichatwebTemplatesTests(ITestOutputHelper log)
@@ -34,8 +49,9 @@ public async Task BasicTest()
         // Get the template location
         string templateLocation = Path.Combine(TemplateFeedLocation, "Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates", "src", "ChatWithCustomData");
 
-        // Treat *.in files as text, see https://github.com/VerifyTests/EmptyFiles#istext
-        FileExtensions.AddTextExtension(".in");
+        var verificationExcludePatterns = Path.DirectorySeparatorChar is '/'
+            ? _verificationExcludePatterns
+            : _verificationExcludePatterns.Select(p => p.Replace('/', Path.DirectorySeparatorChar)).ToArray();
 
         TemplateVerifierOptions options = new TemplateVerifierOptions(templateName: templateShortName)
         {
@@ -44,6 +60,7 @@ public async Task BasicTest()
             OutputDirectory = workingDir,
             DoNotPrependCallerMethodNameToScenarioName = true,
             ScenarioName = "Basic",
+            VerificationExcludePatterns = verificationExcludePatterns,
         }
         .WithCustomScrubbers(
             ScrubbersDefinition.Empty.AddScrubber((path, content) =>
@@ -54,6 +71,7 @@ public async Task BasicTest()
                     filePath.EndsWith("aichatweb/aichatweb.csproj.in"))
                 {
                     content.ScrubByRegex("<UserSecretsId>(.*)<\\/UserSecretsId>", "<UserSecretsId>secret</UserSecretsId>");
+                    content.ScrubByRegex("\"(\\d*\\.\\d*\\.\\d*)-(dev|ci)\"", "\"$1\"");
                 }
 
                 if (filePath.EndsWith("aichatweb/Properties/launchSettings.json"))
diff --git a/test/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates.IntegrationTests/Snapshots/aichatweb.Basic.verified/aichatweb/Components/Pages/Chat/Chat.razor b/test/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates.IntegrationTests/Snapshots/aichatweb.Basic.verified/aichatweb/Components/Pages/Chat/Chat.razor
index d8c95dc16f2..77626e2d565 100644
--- a/test/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates.IntegrationTests/Snapshots/aichatweb.Basic.verified/aichatweb/Components/Pages/Chat/Chat.razor
+++ b/test/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates.IntegrationTests/Snapshots/aichatweb.Basic.verified/aichatweb/Components/Pages/Chat/Chat.razor
@@ -66,9 +66,10 @@
         var responseText = new TextContent("");
         currentResponseMessage = new ChatMessage(ChatRole.Assistant, [responseText]);
         currentResponseCancellation = new();
-        await foreach (var chunk in ChatClient.GetStreamingResponseAsync(messages, chatOptions, currentResponseCancellation.Token))
+        await foreach (var update in ChatClient.GetStreamingResponseAsync([.. messages], chatOptions, currentResponseCancellation.Token))
         {
-            responseText.Text += chunk.Text;
+            messages.AddMessages(update, filter: c => c is not TextContent);
+            responseText.Text += update.Text;
             ChatMessageItem.NotifyChanged(currentResponseMessage);
         }
 
diff --git a/test/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates.IntegrationTests/Snapshots/aichatweb.Basic.verified/aichatweb/aichatweb.csproj b/test/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates.IntegrationTests/Snapshots/aichatweb.Basic.verified/aichatweb/aichatweb.csproj
index acb773dfc7e..a73d885e592 100644
--- a/test/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates.IntegrationTests/Snapshots/aichatweb.Basic.verified/aichatweb/aichatweb.csproj
+++ b/test/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates.IntegrationTests/Snapshots/aichatweb.Basic.verified/aichatweb/aichatweb.csproj
@@ -9,9 +9,9 @@
 
   <ItemGroup>
     <PackageReference Include="OpenAI" Version="2.2.0-beta.1" />
-    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.AI.OpenAI" Version="9.3.0-preview.1.25114.11" />
-    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Sqlite" Version="9.0.2" />
-    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.AI" Version="9.3.0-preview.1.25114.11" />
+    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.AI.OpenAI" Version="9.4.0" />
+    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Sqlite" Version="9.0.3" />
+    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.AI" Version="9.4.0" />
     <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.SemanticKernel.Core" Version="1.37.0" />
     <PackageReference Include="PdfPig" Version="0.1.9" />
     <PackageReference Include="System.Linq.Async" Version="6.0.1" />
diff --git a/test/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates.IntegrationTests/Snapshots/aichatweb.Basic.verified/aichatweb/aichatweb.csproj.in b/test/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates.IntegrationTests/Snapshots/aichatweb.Basic.verified/aichatweb/aichatweb.csproj.in
deleted file mode 100644
index bbe0057572b..00000000000
--- a/test/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates.IntegrationTests/Snapshots/aichatweb.Basic.verified/aichatweb/aichatweb.csproj.in
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,38 +0,0 @@
-<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Web">
-
-  <PropertyGroup>
-    <TargetFramework>net9.0</TargetFramework>
-    <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
-    <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
-    <UserSecretsId>secret</UserSecretsId>
-  </PropertyGroup>
-
-  <ItemGroup>
-<!--#if (IsOllama)
-    <PackageReference Include="OllamaSharp" Version="${OllamaSharpVersion}" />
-#elif (IsGHModels)
-    <PackageReference Include="OpenAI" Version="${OpenAIVersion}" />
-    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.AI.OpenAI" Version="${MicrosoftExtensionsAIVersion}" />
-#elif (IsAzureAiFoundry)
-    <PackageReference Include="Azure.AI.Projects" Version="${AzureAIProjectsVersion}" />
-    <PackageReference Include="Azure.AI.OpenAI" Version="${AzureAIOpenAIVersion}" />
-    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.AI.OpenAI" Version="${MicrosoftExtensionsAIVersion}" />
-#else -->
-    <PackageReference Include="Azure.AI.OpenAI" Version="${AzureAIOpenAIVersion}" />
-    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.AI.OpenAI" Version="${MicrosoftExtensionsAIVersion}" />
-<!--#endif -->
-<!--#if (UseManagedIdentity) -->
-    <PackageReference Include="Azure.Identity" Version="${AzureIdentityVersion}" />
-<!--#endif -->
-    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Sqlite" Version="9.0.2" />
-    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.AI" Version="${MicrosoftExtensionsAIVersion}" />
-    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.SemanticKernel.Core" Version="${MicrosoftSemanticKernelCoreVersion}" />
-    <PackageReference Include="PdfPig" Version="${PdfPigVersion}" />
-    <PackageReference Include="System.Linq.Async" Version="${SystemLinqAsyncVersion}" />
-<!--#if (UseAzureAISearch)
-    <PackageReference Include="Azure.Search.Documents" Version="${AzureSearchDocumentsVersion}" />
-    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.SemanticKernel.Connectors.AzureAISearch" Version="${MicrosoftSemanticKernelConnectorsAzureAISearchVersion}" />
-#endif -->
-  </ItemGroup>
-
-</Project>