diff --git a/apps/ui/src/components/views/board-view.tsx b/apps/ui/src/components/views/board-view.tsx
index 0ef50729..2ad6560c 100644
--- a/apps/ui/src/components/views/board-view.tsx
+++ b/apps/ui/src/components/views/board-view.tsx
@@ -1289,6 +1289,8 @@ export function BoardView() {
           selectedFeatureIds={selectedFeatureIds}
           onToggleFeatureSelection={toggleFeatureSelection}
           onToggleSelectionMode={toggleSelectionMode}
+          isDragging={activeFeature !== null}
+          onAiSuggest={() => setShowPlanDialog(true)}
         />
       </div>
 
diff --git a/apps/ui/src/components/views/board-view/components/empty-state-card.tsx b/apps/ui/src/components/views/board-view/components/empty-state-card.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..30ccdefc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/ui/src/components/views/board-view/components/empty-state-card.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+import { memo } from 'react';
+import { cn } from '@/lib/utils';
+import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button';
+import { Kbd } from '@/components/ui/kbd';
+import { formatShortcut } from '@/store/app-store';
+import { getEmptyStateConfig, type EmptyStateConfig } from '../constants';
+import { Lightbulb, Play, Clock, CheckCircle2, Sparkles, Wand2 } from 'lucide-react';
+
+const ICON_MAP = {
+  lightbulb: Lightbulb,
+  play: Play,
+  clock: Clock,
+  check: CheckCircle2,
+  sparkles: Sparkles,
+} as const;
+
+interface EmptyStateCardProps {
+  columnId: string;
+  columnTitle?: string;
+  /** Keyboard shortcut for adding features (from settings) */
+  addFeatureShortcut?: string;
+  /** Whether the column is empty due to active filters */
+  isFilteredEmpty?: boolean;
+  /** Whether we're in read-only mode (hide actions) */
+  isReadOnly?: boolean;
+  /** Called when user clicks "Use AI Suggestions" */
+  onAiSuggest?: () => void;
+  /** Card opacity (matches board settings) */
+  opacity?: number;
+  /** Enable glassmorphism effect */
+  glassmorphism?: boolean;
+  /** Custom config override for pipeline steps */
+  customConfig?: Partial<EmptyStateConfig>;
+}
+
+export const EmptyStateCard = memo(function EmptyStateCard({
+  columnId,
+  addFeatureShortcut,
+  isFilteredEmpty = false,
+  isReadOnly = false,
+  onAiSuggest,
+  customConfig,
+}: EmptyStateCardProps) {
+  // Get base config and merge with custom overrides
+  const baseConfig = getEmptyStateConfig(columnId);
+  const config: EmptyStateConfig = { ...baseConfig, ...customConfig };
+
+  const IconComponent = ICON_MAP[config.icon];
+  const showActions = !isReadOnly && !isFilteredEmpty;
+  const showShortcut = columnId === 'backlog' && addFeatureShortcut && showActions;
+
+  // Action button handler
+  const handlePrimaryAction = () => {
+    if (!config.primaryAction) return;
+    if (config.primaryAction.actionType === 'ai-suggest') {
+      onAiSuggest?.();
+    }
+  };
+
+  return (
+    <div
+      className={cn(
+        'w-full h-full min-h-[200px] flex-1',
+        'flex flex-col items-center justify-center',
+        'text-center px-4',
+        'transition-all duration-300 ease-out',
+        'animate-in fade-in duration-300',
+        'group'
+      )}
+      data-testid={`empty-state-card-${columnId}`}
+    >
+      {/* Icon */}
+      <div className="mb-3 text-muted-foreground/30">
+        <IconComponent className="w-8 h-8" />
+      </div>
+
+      {/* Title */}
+      <h4 className="font-medium text-sm text-muted-foreground/50 mb-1">
+        {isFilteredEmpty ? 'No Matching Items' : config.title}
+      </h4>
+
+      {/* Description */}
+      <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground/40 leading-relaxed max-w-[180px]">
+        {isFilteredEmpty ? 'No features match your current filters.' : config.description}
+      </p>
+
+      {/* Keyboard shortcut hint for backlog */}
+      {showShortcut && (
+        <div className="flex items-center gap-1.5 mt-3 text-muted-foreground/40">
+          <span className="text-xs">Press</span>
+          <Kbd className="bg-muted/30 border-0 px-1.5 py-0.5 text-[10px] text-muted-foreground/50">
+            {formatShortcut(addFeatureShortcut, true)}
+          </Kbd>
+          <span className="text-xs">to add</span>
+        </div>
+      )}
+
+      {/* AI Suggest action for backlog */}
+      {showActions && config.primaryAction && config.primaryAction.actionType === 'ai-suggest' && (
+        <Button
+          variant="ghost"
+          size="sm"
+          className="mt-4 h-7 text-xs text-muted-foreground/50 hover:text-muted-foreground/70"
+          onClick={handlePrimaryAction}
+          data-testid={`empty-state-primary-action-${columnId}`}
+        >
+          <Wand2 className="w-3 h-3 mr-1.5" />
+          {config.primaryAction.label}
+        </Button>
+      )}
+
+      {/* Filtered empty state hint */}
+      {isFilteredEmpty && (
+        <p className="text-[10px] mt-2 text-muted-foreground/30 italic">
+          Clear filters to see all items
+        </p>
+      )}
+    </div>
+  );
+});
diff --git a/apps/ui/src/components/views/board-view/components/index.ts b/apps/ui/src/components/views/board-view/components/index.ts
index 514e407d..0288031d 100644
--- a/apps/ui/src/components/views/board-view/components/index.ts
+++ b/apps/ui/src/components/views/board-view/components/index.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
 export { KanbanCard } from './kanban-card/kanban-card';
 export { KanbanColumn } from './kanban-column';
 export { SelectionActionBar } from './selection-action-bar';
+export { EmptyStateCard } from './empty-state-card';
diff --git a/apps/ui/src/components/views/board-view/constants.ts b/apps/ui/src/components/views/board-view/constants.ts
index 9302ea01..fda19ebf 100644
--- a/apps/ui/src/components/views/board-view/constants.ts
+++ b/apps/ui/src/components/views/board-view/constants.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,69 @@ import type { PipelineConfig, FeatureStatusWithPipeline } from '@automaker/types
 
 export type ColumnId = Feature['status'];
 
+/**
+ * Empty state configuration for each column type
+ */
+export interface EmptyStateConfig {
+  title: string;
+  description: string;
+  icon: 'lightbulb' | 'play' | 'clock' | 'check' | 'sparkles';
+  shortcutKey?: string; // Keyboard shortcut label (e.g., 'N', 'A')
+  shortcutHint?: string; // Human-readable shortcut hint
+  primaryAction?: {
+    label: string;
+    actionType: 'ai-suggest' | 'none';
+  };
+}
+
+/**
+ * Default empty state configurations per column type
+ */
+export const EMPTY_STATE_CONFIGS: Record<string, EmptyStateConfig> = {
+  backlog: {
+    title: 'Ready for Ideas',
+    description:
+      'Add your first feature idea to get started using the button below, or let AI help generate ideas.',
+    icon: 'lightbulb',
+    shortcutHint: 'Press',
+    primaryAction: {
+      label: 'Use AI Suggestions',
+      actionType: 'none',
+    },
+  },
+  in_progress: {
+    title: 'Nothing in Progress',
+    description: 'Drag a feature from the backlog here or click implement to start working on it.',
+    icon: 'play',
+  },
+  waiting_approval: {
+    title: 'No Items Awaiting Approval',
+    description: 'Features will appear here after implementation is complete and need your review.',
+    icon: 'clock',
+  },
+  verified: {
+    title: 'No Verified Features',
+    description: 'Approved features will appear here. They can then be completed and archived.',
+    icon: 'check',
+  },
+  // Pipeline step default configuration
+  pipeline_default: {
+    title: 'Pipeline Step Empty',
+    description: 'Features will flow through this step during the automated pipeline process.',
+    icon: 'sparkles',
+  },
+};
+
+/**
+ * Get empty state config for a column, with fallback for pipeline columns
+ */
+export function getEmptyStateConfig(columnId: string): EmptyStateConfig {
+  if (columnId.startsWith('pipeline_')) {
+    return EMPTY_STATE_CONFIGS.pipeline_default;
+  }
+  return EMPTY_STATE_CONFIGS[columnId] || EMPTY_STATE_CONFIGS.default;
+}
+
 export interface Column {
   id: FeatureStatusWithPipeline;
   title: string;
diff --git a/apps/ui/src/components/views/board-view/kanban-board.tsx b/apps/ui/src/components/views/board-view/kanban-board.tsx
index 4601a70c..e6b229ee 100644
--- a/apps/ui/src/components/views/board-view/kanban-board.tsx
+++ b/apps/ui/src/components/views/board-view/kanban-board.tsx
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import { useMemo } from 'react';
 import { DndContext, DragOverlay } from '@dnd-kit/core';
 import { SortableContext, verticalListSortingStrategy } from '@dnd-kit/sortable';
 import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button';
-import { KanbanColumn, KanbanCard } from './components';
+import { KanbanColumn, KanbanCard, EmptyStateCard } from './components';
 import { Feature, useAppStore, formatShortcut } from '@/store/app-store';
 import { Archive, Settings2, CheckSquare, GripVertical, Plus } from 'lucide-react';
 import { useResponsiveKanban } from '@/hooks/use-responsive-kanban';
@@ -51,6 +51,12 @@ interface KanbanBoardProps {
   selectedFeatureIds?: Set<string>;
   onToggleFeatureSelection?: (featureId: string) => void;
   onToggleSelectionMode?: () => void;
+  // Empty state action props
+  onAiSuggest?: () => void;
+  /** Whether currently dragging (hides empty states during drag) */
+  isDragging?: boolean;
+  /** Whether the board is in read-only mode */
+  isReadOnly?: boolean;
 }
 
 export function KanbanBoard({
@@ -86,6 +92,9 @@ export function KanbanBoard({
   selectedFeatureIds = new Set(),
   onToggleFeatureSelection,
   onToggleSelectionMode,
+  onAiSuggest,
+  isDragging = false,
+  isReadOnly = false,
 }: KanbanBoardProps) {
   // Generate columns including pipeline steps
   const columns = useMemo(() => getColumnsWithPipeline(pipelineConfig), [pipelineConfig]);
@@ -211,6 +220,26 @@ export function KanbanBoard({
                   items={columnFeatures.map((f) => f.id)}
                   strategy={verticalListSortingStrategy}
                 >
+                  {/* Empty state card when column has no features */}
+                  {columnFeatures.length === 0 && !isDragging && (
+                    <EmptyStateCard
+                      columnId={column.id}
+                      columnTitle={column.title}
+                      addFeatureShortcut={addFeatureShortcut}
+                      isReadOnly={isReadOnly}
+                      onAiSuggest={column.id === 'backlog' ? onAiSuggest : undefined}
+                      opacity={backgroundSettings.cardOpacity}
+                      glassmorphism={backgroundSettings.cardGlassmorphism}
+                      customConfig={
+                        column.isPipelineStep
+                          ? {
+                              title: `${column.title} Empty`,
+                              description: `Features will appear here during the ${column.title.toLowerCase()} phase of the pipeline.`,
+                            }
+                          : undefined
+                      }
+                    />
+                  )}
                   {columnFeatures.map((feature, index) => {
                     // Calculate shortcut key for in-progress cards (first 10 get 1-9, 0)
                     let shortcutKey: string | undefined;