@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ import type { PolicyChatUIMessage } from '../types';
 import { PolicyAiAssistant } from './ai/policy-ai-assistant';
 import { useSuggestions } from '../hooks/use-suggestions';
 import { buildPositionMap } from '../lib/build-position-map';
+import { resolveInitialPolicyContent } from '../lib/resolve-initial-content';
 import { InlineEditBubble } from './ai/inline-edit-bubble';
 import { markdownToTipTapJSON } from './ai/markdown-utils';
 
@@ -197,12 +198,13 @@ export function PolicyContentManager({
   const [editorKey, setEditorKey] = useState(0);
   const [activeTab, setActiveTab] = useState<string>(displayFormat);
   const previousTabRef = useRef<string>(displayFormat);
-  const [currentContent, setCurrentContent] = useState<Array<JSONContent>>(() => {
-    const formattedContent = Array.isArray(policyContent)
-      ? policyContent
-      : [policyContent as JSONContent];
-    return formattedContent;
-  });
+  const [currentContent, setCurrentContent] = useState<Array<JSONContent>>(() =>
+    // When opening directly on a specific version (e.g. "Edit" a draft from the
+    // Versions tab, which remounts this tab fresh with a versionId in the URL),
+    // seed from that version's content — not the published policyContent — so a
+    // draft's saved edits don't appear to vanish. See resolve-initial-content.ts.
+    resolveInitialPolicyContent({ initialVersionId, versions, policyContent }),
+  );
 
   const [dismissedProposalKey, setDismissedProposalKey] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const [editorInstance, setEditorInstance] = useState<TipTapEditor | null>(null);
 
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+import type { JSONContent } from '@tiptap/react';
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import { resolveInitialPolicyContent } from '../resolve-initial-content';
+
+const publishedContent: JSONContent[] = [
+  { type: 'paragraph', content: [{ type: 'text', text: 'published' }] },
+];
+const draftContent: JSONContent[] = [
+  { type: 'paragraph', content: [{ type: 'text', text: 'draft edit' }] },
+];
+
+describe('resolveInitialPolicyContent', () => {
+  it('seeds from the targeted version when initialVersionId matches a draft (the bug fix)', () => {
+    const result = resolveInitialPolicyContent({
+      initialVersionId: 'pv_draft',
+      versions: [
+        { id: 'pv_published', content: publishedContent },
+        { id: 'pv_draft', content: draftContent },
+      ],
+      policyContent: publishedContent,
+    });
+
+    expect(result).toEqual(draftContent);
+  });
+
+  it('falls back to policyContent when no initialVersionId is given', () => {
+    const result = resolveInitialPolicyContent({
+      initialVersionId: undefined,
+      versions: [{ id: 'pv_draft', content: draftContent }],
+      policyContent: publishedContent,
+    });
+
+    expect(result).toEqual(publishedContent);
+  });
+
+  it('falls back to policyContent when initialVersionId matches no known version', () => {
+    const result = resolveInitialPolicyContent({
+      initialVersionId: 'pv_missing',
+      versions: [{ id: 'pv_draft', content: draftContent }],
+      policyContent: publishedContent,
+    });
+
+    expect(result).toEqual(publishedContent);
+  });
+
+  it('wraps a single (non-array) version content into an array', () => {
+    const singleNode: JSONContent = { type: 'paragraph', content: [{ type: 'text', text: 'one' }] };
+    const result = resolveInitialPolicyContent({
+      initialVersionId: 'pv_draft',
+      versions: [{ id: 'pv_draft', content: singleNode }],
+      policyContent: publishedContent,
+    });
+
+    expect(result).toEqual([singleNode]);
+  });
+
+  it('wraps a single (non-array) policyContent fallback into an array', () => {
+    const singleNode: JSONContent = { type: 'paragraph', content: [{ type: 'text', text: 'pub' }] };
+    const result = resolveInitialPolicyContent({
+      initialVersionId: undefined,
+      versions: [],
+      policyContent: singleNode,
+    });
+
+    expect(result).toEqual([singleNode]);
+  });
+
+  it('returns an empty array for an empty draft version (does not fall back)', () => {
+    const result = resolveInitialPolicyContent({
+      initialVersionId: 'pv_draft',
+      versions: [{ id: 'pv_draft', content: [] }],
+      policyContent: publishedContent,
+    });
+
+    expect(result).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+import type { JSONContent } from '@tiptap/react';
+
+/** Minimal shape needed to resolve a version's editor content. */
+interface VersionContentSource {
+  id: string;
+  content: unknown;
+}
+
+interface ResolveInitialPolicyContentArgs {
+  /**
+   * The version the editor is opening on — e.g. the `versionId` in the URL when
+   * a draft is opened via "Edit" from the Versions tab. Undefined when simply
+   * viewing the current/published content.
+   */
+  initialVersionId?: string;
+  /** All known policy versions (each carrying its own content snapshot). */
+  versions: VersionContentSource[];
+  /** Fallback content: the published/current version's content. */
+  policyContent: JSONContent | JSONContent[];
+}
+
+/**
+ * Decide which content the policy editor should display on mount.
+ *
+ * The Content tab is unmounted when you switch tabs (the design-system Tabs do
+ * not keep inactive panels mounted), so clicking "Edit" on a draft from the
+ * Versions tab remounts it fresh with a `versionId` already in the URL. In that
+ * case the editor must seed from THAT version's content. Falling back to
+ * `policyContent` (which is always the published/current version's content) is
+ * what made a draft's saved edits appear to vanish.
+ *
+ * Pure and side-effect free so it can be unit-tested without mounting the editor.
+ */
+export function resolveInitialPolicyContent({
+  initialVersionId,
+  versions,
+  policyContent,
+}: ResolveInitialPolicyContentArgs): JSONContent[] {
+  if (initialVersionId) {
+    const version = versions.find((v) => v.id === initialVersionId);
+    if (version) {
+      return toContentArray(version.content);
+    }
+  }
+  return toContentArray(policyContent);
+}
+
+/** Normalize content to an array, matching the editor's existing handling. */
+function toContentArray(raw: unknown): JSONContent[] {
+  return Array.isArray(raw) ? (raw as JSONContent[]) : [raw as JSONContent];
+}