diff --git a/frontend/src/__tests__/recommendations.test.ts b/frontend/src/__tests__/recommendations.test.ts
index 1abe0edf..19fda95d 100644
--- a/frontend/src/__tests__/recommendations.test.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/__tests__/recommendations.test.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 /**
  * Recommendations module tests
  */
-import { loadRecommendations, openPurchaseModal, getPurchaseModalRecommendations, refreshRecommendations, setupRecommendationsHandlers, clearRecommendationDetailCache, pickBestVariantPerCell, seedGlobalDefaults, effectiveMonthlySavings, effectiveSavingsPct, groupRecsByCell, cellSummary, pageLevelRange, resetExpandedCells } from '../recommendations';
+import { loadRecommendations, openPurchaseModal, getPurchaseModalRecommendations, refreshRecommendations, setupRecommendationsHandlers, clearRecommendationDetailCache, pickBestVariantPerCell, seedGlobalDefaults, effectiveMonthlySavings, effectiveSavingsPct, groupRecsByCell, cellSummary, pageLevelRange, resetExpandedCells, resetAutoRefreshInFlight } from '../recommendations';
 
 // Mock the api module
 jest.mock('../api', () => ({
@@ -25,6 +25,13 @@ jest.mock('../api', () => ({
 // Default resolution returns a benign empty payload so tests that
 // merely open + close the drawer (and don't care about the detail
 // fetch) don't trip on an undefined-promise return.
+//
+// Default freshness: fresh (1h ago) so pre-#284 tests that call
+// loadRecommendations() don't inadvertently trigger auto-refresh and
+// fire extra showToast() calls that would break existing assertions.
+// NOTE: ONE_HOUR_AGO can't be used here because jest.mock() factory
+// functions are hoisted before variable declarations. The date is
+// computed inline; the beforeEach block resets it via the mock handle.
 jest.mock('../api/recommendations', () => ({
   getRecommendationDetail: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({
     id: 'rec-default',
@@ -32,7 +39,19 @@ jest.mock('../api/recommendations', () => ({
     confidence_bucket: 'low',
     provenance_note: '',
   }),
-  getRecommendationsFreshness: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({ last_collected_at: null, last_collection_error: null }),
+  getRecommendationsFreshness: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+    last_collected_at: new Date(Date.now() - 60 * 60 * 1000).toISOString(),
+    last_collection_error: null,
+  }),
+  refreshRecommendations: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({}),
+}));
+
+// Mock showToast so auto-refresh (#284) tests can assert on toast calls
+// without touching the DOM. Returns a dismiss handle per the ToastHandle
+// interface so callers that invoke handle.dismiss() don't crash.
+const mockShowToast = jest.fn<{ dismiss: () => void }, [unknown]>(() => ({ dismiss: jest.fn() }));
+jest.mock('../toast', () => ({
+  showToast: (opts: unknown) => mockShowToast(opts),
 }));
 
 // Mock state module
@@ -68,6 +87,7 @@ jest.mock('../utils', () => ({
 
 import * as api from '../api';
 import * as state from '../state';
+import * as recsApi from '../api/recommendations';
 
 describe('Recommendations Module', () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
@@ -85,6 +105,15 @@ describe('Recommendations Module', () => {
     jest.clearAllMocks();
     jest.useFakeTimers();
     window.alert = jest.fn();
+
+    // Default freshness for pre-#284 tests: fresh (1h ago) → auto-refresh
+    // does NOT fire, so existing tests are unaffected by the new toast calls.
+    (recsApi.getRecommendationsFreshness as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValue({
+      last_collected_at: new Date(Date.now() - 60 * 60 * 1000).toISOString(),
+      last_collection_error: null,
+    });
+    (recsApi.refreshRecommendations as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValue({});
+    mockShowToast.mockReturnValue({ dismiss: jest.fn() });
   });
 
   afterEach(() => {
@@ -797,6 +826,160 @@ describe('Recommendations Module', () => {
     });
   });
 
+  describe('auto-refresh on page open (#284)', () => {
+    // Helper: set up the minimal DOM + api mock that loadRecommendations needs.
+    function mockGetRecs() {
+      (api.getRecommendations as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValue({
+        summary: {},
+        recommendations: [],
+        regions: [],
+      });
+    }
+
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      // Reset the dedup guard so each test starts with no refresh in flight.
+      resetAutoRefreshInFlight();
+    });
+
+    test('cold cache (null last_collected_at) — refresh fires + in-flight toast shown', async () => {
+      mockGetRecs();
+      (recsApi.getRecommendationsFreshness as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValue({
+        last_collected_at: null,
+        last_collection_error: null,
+      });
+
+      await loadRecommendations();
+      // Flush microtasks so the async refreshRecommendations call runs.
+      await Promise.resolve();
+
+      expect(recsApi.refreshRecommendations).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+      expect(mockShowToast).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        expect.objectContaining({ message: 'Refreshing recommendations…', kind: 'info' }),
+      );
+    });
+
+    test('stale cache (>24h ago) — refresh fires + in-flight toast shown', async () => {
+      mockGetRecs();
+      const twentyFiveHoursAgo = new Date(Date.now() - 25 * 60 * 60 * 1000).toISOString();
+      (recsApi.getRecommendationsFreshness as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValue({
+        last_collected_at: twentyFiveHoursAgo,
+        last_collection_error: null,
+      });
+
+      await loadRecommendations();
+      await Promise.resolve();
+
+      expect(recsApi.refreshRecommendations).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+      expect(mockShowToast).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        expect.objectContaining({ message: 'Refreshing recommendations…', kind: 'info' }),
+      );
+    });
+
+    test('fresh cache (<24h ago) — refresh does NOT fire + no toast', async () => {
+      mockGetRecs();
+      const oneHourAgo = new Date(Date.now() - 60 * 60 * 1000).toISOString();
+      (recsApi.getRecommendationsFreshness as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValue({
+        last_collected_at: oneHourAgo,
+        last_collection_error: null,
+      });
+
+      await loadRecommendations();
+      await Promise.resolve();
+
+      expect(recsApi.refreshRecommendations).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+      expect(mockShowToast).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+
+    test('cold cache + collection error — error toast surfaces the message', async () => {
+      mockGetRecs();
+      (recsApi.getRecommendationsFreshness as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValue({
+        last_collected_at: null,
+        last_collection_error: 'Provider X returned 403 Forbidden',
+      });
+
+      await loadRecommendations();
+      await Promise.resolve();
+
+      expect(mockShowToast).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        expect.objectContaining({
+          message: expect.stringContaining('Provider X returned 403 Forbidden'),
+          kind: 'error',
+        }),
+      );
+    });
+
+    test('refresh failure — error toast shown with message', async () => {
+      mockGetRecs();
+      (recsApi.getRecommendationsFreshness as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValue({
+        last_collected_at: null,
+        last_collection_error: null,
+      });
+      (recsApi.refreshRecommendations as jest.Mock).mockRejectedValue(new Error('Network timeout'));
+
+      await loadRecommendations();
+      // Two microtask ticks: one for the freshness call, one for the refresh rejection.
+      await Promise.resolve();
+      await Promise.resolve();
+
+      expect(mockShowToast).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        expect.objectContaining({
+          message: 'Recommendations refresh failed: Network timeout',
+          kind: 'error',
+        }),
+      );
+    });
+
+    test('dedup — concurrent stale loads fire refreshRecommendations only once', async () => {
+      mockGetRecs();
+      (recsApi.getRecommendationsFreshness as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValue({
+        last_collected_at: null,
+        last_collection_error: null,
+      });
+
+      // A pending promise that won't resolve until we call resolveRefresh().
+      let resolveRefresh!: () => void;
+      const pendingRefresh = new Promise<void>((r) => { resolveRefresh = r; });
+      (recsApi.refreshRecommendations as jest.Mock).mockReturnValue(pendingRefresh);
+
+      // Fire two stale loads without awaiting the first refresh to settle.
+      const first = loadRecommendations();
+      const second = loadRecommendations();
+
+      await first;
+      await second;
+      // Flush the microtasks that kick off triggerAutoRefreshIfStale.
+      await Promise.resolve();
+      await Promise.resolve();
+
+      // Only one API call despite two stale-load triggers.
+      expect(recsApi.refreshRecommendations).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+
+      // Clean up: resolve the pending promise so no timers hang after the test.
+      resolveRefresh();
+      await pendingRefresh;
+    });
+
+    test('persistent in-flight toast — shown with timeout: null so it stays until settled', async () => {
+      mockGetRecs();
+      (recsApi.getRecommendationsFreshness as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValue({
+        last_collected_at: null,
+        last_collection_error: null,
+      });
+
+      await loadRecommendations();
+      await Promise.resolve();
+
+      // Find the in-flight "Refreshing…" toast call and confirm it has no
+      // auto-dismiss timeout so it outlives long-running refreshes.
+      const inFlightCall = mockShowToast.mock.calls.find(
+        ([opts]) => (opts as { message: string }).message === 'Refreshing recommendations…',
+      );
+      expect(inFlightCall).toBeDefined();
+      const inFlightOpts = inFlightCall![0] as { timeout?: number | null };
+      expect(inFlightOpts.timeout).toBeNull();
+    });
+  });
+
   describe('openPurchaseModal', () => {
     // Issue #111 (iii): openPurchaseModal is now async (it pre-fetches
     // per-account service overrides to seed each row's Payment default).
diff --git a/frontend/src/index.html b/frontend/src/index.html
index 0074ea2f..901aefd8 100644
--- a/frontend/src/index.html
+++ b/frontend/src/index.html
@@ -88,7 +88,6 @@ <h2>Upcoming Scheduled Purchases</h2>
 
             <!-- Recommendations Tab -->
             <div id="recommendations-tab" class="tab-content" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="recommendations-tab-btn">
-                <section id="recommendations-freshness" class="freshness-indicator" aria-live="polite"></section>
                 <section id="recommendations-summary"></section>
                 <!-- Per-column header filters replace the old top filter bar.
                      The Clear-filters badge + aria-live count are injected
diff --git a/frontend/src/recommendations.ts b/frontend/src/recommendations.ts
index 46669137..45f527f2 100644
--- a/frontend/src/recommendations.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/recommendations.ts
@@ -5,8 +5,7 @@
 import * as api from './api';
 import * as state from './state';
 import { formatCurrency, formatTerm, escapeHtml } from './utils';
-import { renderFreshness } from './freshness';
-import { getRecommendationDetail, type RecommendationDetail } from './api/recommendations';
+import { getRecommendationDetail, getRecommendationsFreshness, refreshRecommendations as refreshRecommendationsAPI, type RecommendationDetail } from './api/recommendations';
 import { showToast } from './toast';
 import {
   isPaymentSupported,
@@ -41,6 +40,22 @@ let lastVisibleGroupKeys: string[] = [];
 // in sync with the per-cell banner range under the table).
 let lastRecommendationsSummary: RecommendationsSummary = {};
 
+// #284 (CR follow-up): guard against concurrent stale-load refreshes. If a
+// background refresh is already in flight, any subsequent stale detection
+// skips kicking off a second request (and duplicate toasts).
+let autoRefreshInFlight: Promise<void> | null = null;
+
+/**
+ * Freshness budget for auto-refresh (#284). If the last successful collection
+ * is older than this threshold (or there has never been one), loadRecommendations
+ * fires a background refresh automatically so the user sees up-to-date data
+ * without needing an explicit Refresh button.
+ *
+ * TODO: expose via the /api/public-info endpoint so operators can tune this
+ * without a frontend redeploy.
+ */
+export const STALE_THRESHOLD_MS = 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000; // 24 hours
+
 // issue #223: resolved GlobalConfig defaults, seeded on page load by
 // loadRecommendations(). Initial values mirror the historical hardcoded
 // defaults so the module is usable before the first API round-trip.
@@ -65,6 +80,14 @@ export function resetExpandedCells(): void {
   lastVisibleGroupKeys = [];
 }
 
+/**
+ * Reset the auto-refresh in-flight guard. Exported for testing only — not
+ * part of the public API. Call in beforeEach so dedup tests start clean.
+ */
+export function resetAutoRefreshInFlight(): void {
+  autoRefreshInFlight = null;
+}
+
 // populateRecommendationsAccountFilter / populateRegionFilter / the legacy
 // service-filter helpers were removed in Bundle B — those DOM elements are
 // gone from index.html. Provider / Account values now drive an API re-fetch
@@ -99,6 +122,90 @@ export function setupRecommendationsHandlers(): void {
   // commit hooks (see Bundle B follow-up).
 }
 
+/**
+ * Check freshness and fire a background refresh if the cache is stale or cold.
+ * Fire-and-forget: does not block the table render that already happened.
+ *
+ * Three toast stages:
+ *   1. In-flight: "Refreshing recommendations…" (sticky until resolved)
+ *   2. Success:   "Recommendations refreshed"
+ *   3. Failure:   "Recommendations refresh failed: <message>"
+ *
+ * If the freshness response itself carries a last_collection_error, that is
+ * surfaced as an error toast regardless of whether a new refresh fires (the
+ * freshness banner that previously showed this is being removed in #284).
+ */
+async function triggerAutoRefreshIfStale(): Promise<void> {
+  let freshness;
+  try {
+    freshness = await getRecommendationsFreshness();
+  } catch (err) {
+    // Network failures getting freshness are non-critical — the table is
+    // already rendered with the cached data; swallow silently.
+    console.error('Failed to fetch recommendations freshness:', err);
+    return;
+  }
+
+  const lastCollectedMs =
+    freshness.last_collected_at === null
+      ? null
+      : new Date(freshness.last_collected_at).getTime();
+
+  const isStale =
+    lastCollectedMs === null ||
+    !Number.isFinite(lastCollectedMs) ||
+    Date.now() - lastCollectedMs > STALE_THRESHOLD_MS;
+  if (freshness.last_collection_error && isStale) {
+    showToast({
+      message: `Last recommendations collection had errors: ${freshness.last_collection_error}`,
+      kind: 'error',
+    });
+  }
+
+  if (!isStale) return;
+
+  // Dedup: if a refresh is already in flight, don't start a second one.
+  if (autoRefreshInFlight) return;
+
+  const inFlight = showToast({
+    message: 'Refreshing recommendations…',
+    kind: 'info',
+    // No auto-dismiss timeout — the .then()/.catch() paths call
+    // inFlight.dismiss() explicitly, so the toast stays visible until the
+    // refresh actually settles (real refreshes can take 28 s+).
+    timeout: null,
+  });
+
+  autoRefreshInFlight = refreshRecommendationsAPI()
+    .then(() => {
+      inFlight.dismiss();
+      showToast({
+        message: 'Recommendations refreshed',
+        kind: 'success',
+        timeout: 5_000,
+      });
+      // Reload UI data so users see fresh recommendations
+      return loadRecommendations();
+    })
+    .catch((err: unknown) => {
+      inFlight.dismiss();
+      const message =
+        err instanceof Error
+          ? err.message
+          : err !== null && err !== undefined
+            ? String(err)
+            : 'unknown error';
+      console.error('Auto-refresh of recommendations failed:', err);
+      showToast({
+        message: `Recommendations refresh failed: ${message}`,
+        kind: 'error',
+      });
+    })
+    .finally(() => {
+      autoRefreshInFlight = null;
+    });
+}
+
 /**
  * Load recommendations
  */
@@ -155,10 +262,9 @@ export async function loadRecommendations(): Promise<void> {
     lastRecommendationsSummary = data.summary || {};
     renderRecommendationsList(data.recommendations || []);
 
-    // Freshness indicator reflects the last collection timestamp; refreshed
-    // on every load so provider/account switches + manual refreshes stay
-    // in sync with the cache state.
-    void renderFreshness('recommendations-freshness', loadRecommendations);
+    // Auto-refresh on page open (#284): check freshness and trigger an
+    // async background refresh if the cache is cold or older than 24h.
+    void triggerAutoRefreshIfStale();
   } catch (error) {
     console.error('Failed to load recommendations:', error);
     const list = document.getElementById('recommendations-list');