diff --git a/client/dashboard/app/interim-omnibar/omnibar-help-center.tsx b/client/dashboard/app/interim-omnibar/omnibar-help-center.tsx
index 2b3eec601b5e..963ac23032ef 100644
--- a/client/dashboard/app/interim-omnibar/omnibar-help-center.tsx
+++ b/client/dashboard/app/interim-omnibar/omnibar-help-center.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import config from '@automattic/calypso-config';
-import { Suspense, lazy, useCallback } from 'react';
+import { Suspense, lazy, useCallback, useState } from 'react';
 import { useAuth } from '../auth';
 import { useHelpCenter } from '../help-center';
 
@@ -8,16 +8,29 @@ const AsyncHelpCenterApp = lazy( () => import( '../help-center/help-center-app'
 /**
  * Renders the floating Help Center panel when the omnibar is enabled.
  * The masterbar's help button handles toggling via the shared help center store.
+ *
+ * Once the panel has been opened for the first time, the inner `HelpCenter`
+ * component is kept mounted and manages its own visibility via the help center
+ * store. Unmounting it on close would tear down the Zendesk Smooch iframe
+ * mid-request and surface errors in the console.
  */
 export default function OmnibarHelpCenter() {
 	const { user } = useAuth();
 	const { isShown, setShowHelpCenter } = useHelpCenter();
+	const [ hasBeenShown, setHasBeenShown ] = useState( false );
 
 	const handleClose = useCallback( () => {
 		setShowHelpCenter( false, undefined, true );
 	}, [ setShowHelpCenter ] );
 
-	if ( ! isShown ) {
+	// Latch to true the first time the panel is shown. React will re-render
+	// immediately and discard this render's output.
+	if ( isShown && ! hasBeenShown ) {
+		setHasBeenShown( true );
+	}
+
+	// Defer the lazy chunk download until the first time the panel is opened.
+	if ( ! hasBeenShown ) {
 		return null;
 	}