diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index af857c42c..80b6b06f8 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,9 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Added
+- [Experimental] Review agent now acknowledges receipt of the `review` command by adding a reaction to the triggering comment. The reaction is configurable via `REVIEW_AGENT_ACK_REACTION` (default: `eyes`). [#1174](https://github.com/sourcebot-dev/sourcebot/pull/1174)
+
 ## [4.17.1] - 2026-05-04
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/docs/docs/configuration/environment-variables.mdx b/docs/docs/configuration/environment-variables.mdx
index 875a32dbe..53890ed70 100644
--- a/docs/docs/configuration/environment-variables.mdx
+++ b/docs/docs/configuration/environment-variables.mdx
@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ The following environment variables allow you to configure your Sourcebot deploy
 | `GITHUB_REVIEW_AGENT_APP_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH` | `-` | <p>The container relative path to the private key file for the GitHub App used by the review agent.</p> |
 | `GITHUB_REVIEW_AGENT_APP_WEBHOOK_SECRET` | `-` | <p>The webhook secret for the GitHub App used by the review agent.</p> |
 | `OPENAI_API_KEY` | `-` | <p>The OpenAI API key used by the review agent.</p> |
+| `REVIEW_AGENT_ACK_REACTION` | `eyes` | <p>The reaction/emoji added to a comment when the review agent acknowledges receipt of the review command.</p> |
 | `REVIEW_AGENT_API_KEY` | `-` | <p>The Sourcebot API key used by the review agent.</p> |
 | `REVIEW_AGENT_AUTO_REVIEW_ENABLED` | `false` | <p>Enables/disables automatic code reviews by the review agent.</p> |
 | `REVIEW_AGENT_LOGGING_ENABLED` | `true` | <p>Enables/disables logging for the review agent. Logs are saved in `DATA_CACHE_DIR/review-agent`</p> |
@@ -77,4 +78,4 @@ The following environment variables allow you to configure your Sourcebot deploy
 
 ### Overriding environment variables from the config
 
-You can override environment variables from the config file by using the `environmentOverrides` property. See [this doc](/docs/configuration/config-file#overriding-environment-variables-from-the-config) for more info.
\ No newline at end of file
+You can override environment variables from the config file by using the `environmentOverrides` property. See [this doc](/docs/configuration/config-file#overriding-environment-variables-from-the-config) for more info.
diff --git a/docs/docs/features/agents/review-agent.mdx b/docs/docs/features/agents/review-agent.mdx
index b4dc9c2f6..12971c2d6 100644
--- a/docs/docs/features/agents/review-agent.mdx
+++ b/docs/docs/features/agents/review-agent.mdx
@@ -141,7 +141,8 @@ You can also trigger a review manually by commenting `/review` on any PR or MR.
 
 | Variable | Default | Description |
 |---|---|---|
+| `REVIEW_AGENT_ACK_REACTION` | `eyes` | Reaction/emoji added to acknowledge receipt of the review command |
 | `REVIEW_AGENT_AUTO_REVIEW_ENABLED` | `false` | Automatically review new and updated PRs/MRs |
-| `REVIEW_AGENT_REVIEW_COMMAND` | `review` | Comment command that triggers a manual review (without the `/`) |
-| `REVIEW_AGENT_MODEL` | first configured model | `displayName` of the language model to use for reviews |
 | `REVIEW_AGENT_LOGGING_ENABLED` | unset | Write prompt and response logs to disk for debugging |
+| `REVIEW_AGENT_MODEL` | first configured model | `displayName` of the language model to use for reviews |
+| `REVIEW_AGENT_REVIEW_COMMAND` | `review` | Comment command that triggers a manual review (without the `/`) |
diff --git a/packages/shared/src/env.server.ts b/packages/shared/src/env.server.ts
index 460afc29b..6e205f77e 100644
--- a/packages/shared/src/env.server.ts
+++ b/packages/shared/src/env.server.ts
@@ -235,10 +235,11 @@ const options = {
         GITLAB_REVIEW_AGENT_TOKEN: z.string().optional(),
         GITLAB_REVIEW_AGENT_HOST: z.string().default('gitlab.com').transform(s => s.replace(/^https?:\/\//, '').replace(/\/+$/, '')).refine(s => /^[a-z0-9.-]+$/i.test(s), { message: 'invalid hostname' }),
         // Review agent config
-        REVIEW_AGENT_MODEL: z.string().optional(),
+        REVIEW_AGENT_ACK_REACTION: z.string().default('eyes'),
         REVIEW_AGENT_API_KEY: z.string().optional(),
-        REVIEW_AGENT_LOGGING_ENABLED: booleanSchema.default('true'),
         REVIEW_AGENT_AUTO_REVIEW_ENABLED: booleanSchema.default('false'),
+        REVIEW_AGENT_LOGGING_ENABLED: booleanSchema.default('true'),
+        REVIEW_AGENT_MODEL: z.string().optional(),
         REVIEW_AGENT_REVIEW_COMMAND: z.string().default('review'),
 
         ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: z.string().optional(),
diff --git a/packages/web/src/app/api/(server)/webhook/route.ts b/packages/web/src/app/api/(server)/webhook/route.ts
index e7e380b49..b006efe77 100644
--- a/packages/web/src/app/api/(server)/webhook/route.ts
+++ b/packages/web/src/app/api/(server)/webhook/route.ts
@@ -130,6 +130,16 @@ if (env.GITLAB_REVIEW_AGENT_TOKEN) {
     }
 }
 
+const ACK_TIMEOUT_MS = 1500;
+
+const ackWithTimeout = (promise: Promise<unknown>, label: string): Promise<void> => {
+    const timeout = new Promise<void>(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, ACK_TIMEOUT_MS));
+    return Promise.race([promise, timeout]).then(
+        () => { /* success or timeout — proceed */ },
+        (error) => { logger.warn(`${label}: ${error}`); },
+    );
+};
+
 export const POST = async (request: NextRequest) => {
     const body = await request.json();
     const headers = Object.fromEntries(Array.from(request.headers.entries(), ([key, value]) => [key.toLowerCase(), value]));
@@ -185,6 +195,17 @@ export const POST = async (request: NextRequest) => {
                 const owner = body.repository.owner.login;
 
                 const octokit = await githubApp.getInstallationOctokit(body.installation.id);
+
+                await ackWithTimeout(
+                    octokit.rest.reactions.createForIssueComment({
+                        owner,
+                        repo: repositoryName,
+                        comment_id: body.comment.id,
+                        content: env.REVIEW_AGENT_ACK_REACTION as "-1" | "+1" | "laugh" | "confused" | "heart" | "hooray" | "rocket" | "eyes",
+                    }),
+                    'Failed to add acknowledgment reaction to GitHub comment',
+                );
+
                 const { data: pullRequest } = await octokit.rest.pulls.get({
                     owner,
                     repo: repositoryName,
@@ -246,6 +267,16 @@ export const POST = async (request: NextRequest) => {
             if (noteBody === `/${env.REVIEW_AGENT_REVIEW_COMMAND}`) {
                 logger.info('Review agent review command received on GitLab MR, processing');
 
+                await ackWithTimeout(
+                    gitlabClient.MergeRequestNoteAwardEmojis.award(
+                        parsed.data.project.id,
+                        parsed.data.merge_request.iid,
+                        parsed.data.object_attributes.id,
+                        env.REVIEW_AGENT_ACK_REACTION,
+                    ),
+                    'Failed to add acknowledgment emoji to GitLab note',
+                );
+
                 const mrPayload: GitLabMergeRequestPayload = {
                     object_kind: "merge_request",
                     object_attributes: {
diff --git a/packages/web/src/features/agents/review-agent/types.ts b/packages/web/src/features/agents/review-agent/types.ts
index 1a9aba1eb..cb4ce5771 100644
--- a/packages/web/src/features/agents/review-agent/types.ts
+++ b/packages/web/src/features/agents/review-agent/types.ts
@@ -87,6 +87,7 @@ export type GitLabMergeRequestPayload = z.infer<typeof gitLabMergeRequestPayload
 export const gitLabNotePayloadSchema = z.object({
     object_kind: z.literal('note'),
     object_attributes: z.object({
+        id: z.number(),
         note: z.string(),
         noteable_type: z.literal('MergeRequest'),
     }),