diff --git a/binaries/llm-cli/src/main.rs b/binaries/llm-cli/src/main.rs
index 0e7520e7..b1e13d90 100644
--- a/binaries/llm-cli/src/main.rs
+++ b/binaries/llm-cli/src/main.rs
@@ -259,13 +259,6 @@ fn interactive(
     let parameters = generate.inference_parameters(model.eot_token_id());
     let mut rng = generate.rng();
 
-    let mut buf = String::new();
-
-    fn print_token(t: String) {
-        print!("{t}");
-        std::io::stdout().flush().unwrap();
-    }
-
     fn session_ends_with_newline(session: &InferenceSession) -> bool {
         session
             .decoded_tokens()
@@ -293,6 +286,11 @@ fn interactive(
         };
         sp.clear();
 
+        fn print_token(t: String) {
+            print!("{t}");
+            std::io::stdout().flush().unwrap();
+        }
+
         if chat_mode {
             let stop_sequence = message_prompt_prefix.unwrap_or_default().to_owned();
 
@@ -306,7 +304,7 @@ fn interactive(
                     maximum_token_count: generate.num_predict,
                 },
                 &mut Default::default(),
-                conversation_inference_callback(stop_sequence, &mut buf, print_token),
+                conversation_inference_callback(stop_sequence, print_token),
             )
         } else {
             session.infer::<Infallible>(
@@ -348,7 +346,7 @@ fn interactive(
                     .map(|template| process_prompt(template, &line))
                     .unwrap_or_else(|| {
                         message_prompt_prefix
-                            .map(|prefix| format!("{} {}", prefix, line))
+                            .map(|prefix| format!("{}{}", prefix, line))
                             .unwrap_or_else(|| line)
                     });
 
diff --git a/crates/llm-base/src/inference_session.rs b/crates/llm-base/src/inference_session.rs
index 5db4b71e..e310ffa4 100644
--- a/crates/llm-base/src/inference_session.rs
+++ b/crates/llm-base/src/inference_session.rs
@@ -893,32 +893,37 @@ pub fn feed_prompt_callback<'a, E: std::error::Error + 'static>(
     }
 }
 
-/// An [InferenceResponse] callback that will halt inference when a stop_sequence is generated.
+/// An [InferenceResponse] callback that will halt inference when a `stop_sequence` is generated.
 /// This callback is used in [InferenceSession::infer] in chat_mode.
 pub fn conversation_inference_callback<'a, E: std::error::Error + 'static>(
     stop_sequence: String,
-    buf: &'a mut String,
-    mut print_token: impl FnMut(String) + 'a,
+    mut callback: impl FnMut(String) + 'a,
 ) -> impl FnMut(InferenceResponse) -> Result<InferenceFeedback, E> + 'a {
+    let mut stop_sequence_buf = String::new();
     move |resp| match resp {
-        InferenceResponse::InferredToken(t) => {
-            let mut reverse_buf = buf.clone();
-            reverse_buf.push_str(t.as_str());
-            if stop_sequence.as_str().eq(reverse_buf.as_str()) {
-                buf.clear();
+        InferenceResponse::InferredToken(token) => {
+            // We've generated a token, so we need to check if it's contained in the stop sequence.
+            let mut buf = stop_sequence_buf.clone();
+            buf.push_str(&token);
+
+            if buf.starts_with(&stop_sequence) {
+                // We've generated the stop sequence, so we're done.
+                // Note that this will contain the extra tokens that were generated after the stop sequence,
+                // which may affect generation. This is non-ideal, but it's the best we can do without
+                // modifying the model.
+                stop_sequence_buf.clear();
                 return Ok(InferenceFeedback::Halt);
-            } else if stop_sequence.as_str().starts_with(reverse_buf.as_str()) {
-                buf.push_str(t.as_str());
+            } else if stop_sequence.starts_with(&buf) {
+                // We've generated a prefix of the stop sequence, so we need to keep buffering.
+                stop_sequence_buf = buf;
                 return Ok(InferenceFeedback::Continue);
             }
 
-            if buf.is_empty() {
-                print_token(t);
-                Ok(InferenceFeedback::Continue)
-            } else {
-                print_token(reverse_buf);
-                Ok(InferenceFeedback::Continue)
-            }
+            // We've generated a token that isn't part of the stop sequence, so we can
+            // pass it to the callback.
+            stop_sequence_buf.clear();
+            callback(buf);
+            Ok(InferenceFeedback::Continue)
         }
         InferenceResponse::EotToken => Ok(InferenceFeedback::Halt),
         _ => Ok(InferenceFeedback::Continue),
diff --git a/crates/llm/examples/vicuna-chat.rs b/crates/llm/examples/vicuna-chat.rs
index a67810cc..ecf73de4 100644
--- a/crates/llm/examples/vicuna-chat.rs
+++ b/crates/llm/examples/vicuna-chat.rs
@@ -77,7 +77,6 @@ fn main() {
 
     let mut rng = rand::thread_rng();
     let mut res = llm::InferenceStats::default();
-    let mut buf = String::new();
 
     loop {
         println!();
@@ -98,11 +97,7 @@ fn main() {
                             maximum_token_count: None,
                         },
                         &mut Default::default(),
-                        conversation_inference_callback(
-                            String::from(user_name),
-                            &mut buf,
-                            print_token,
-                        ),
+                        conversation_inference_callback(format!("{character_name}:"), print_token),
                     )
                     .unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("{e}"));