diff --git a/wezterm-gui/src/overlay/quickselect.rs b/wezterm-gui/src/overlay/quickselect.rs
index 0b1de1bad..ce3e7ce16 100644
--- a/wezterm-gui/src/overlay/quickselect.rs
+++ b/wezterm-gui/src/overlay/quickselect.rs
@@ -125,6 +125,11 @@ fn compute_labels_for_alphabet_impl(
         .collect()
 }
 
+/// Returns true if a label should be displayed given a selection prefix.
+fn label_matches_selection(label: &str, lowered_prefix: &str) -> bool {
+    lowered_prefix.is_empty() || label.starts_with(lowered_prefix)
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod alphabet_test {
     use super::*;
@@ -193,6 +198,62 @@ mod alphabet_test {
     }
 }
 
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod label_filter_test {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn empty_prefix_matches_all() {
+        let labels = ["a", "fq", "db", "av", "ac"];
+        assert!(labels.iter().all(|l| label_matches_selection(l, "")));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn single_char_prefix_filters_non_matching() {
+        // Pressing 'a' should keep labels starting with 'a' and remove others
+        let labels = ["ai", "fq", "db", "av", "ac"];
+        let visible: Vec<&str> = labels
+            .iter()
+            .copied()
+            .filter(|l| label_matches_selection(l, "a"))
+            .collect();
+        assert_eq!(visible, ["ai", "av", "ac"]);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn full_prefix_matches_exact_label() {
+        assert!(label_matches_selection("ai", "ai"));
+        assert!(!label_matches_selection("ac", "ai"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn prefix_longer_than_label() {
+        assert!(!label_matches_selection("a", "ab"));
+        assert!(!label_matches_selection("", "a"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn two_char_labels_narrowed_by_first_char() {
+        // With more matches than alphabet, two-char labels are generated
+        let labels = compute_labels_for_alphabet("abcd", 6);
+        assert_eq!(labels, ["a", "b", "c", "da", "db", "dc"]);
+
+        // Typing 'd' should keep "da", "db", "dc" and remove "a", "b", "c"
+        let visible: Vec<&str> = labels
+            .iter()
+            .map(String::as_str)
+            .filter(|l| label_matches_selection(l, "d"))
+            .collect();
+        assert_eq!(visible, ["da", "db", "dc"]);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn no_labels_match_unknown_prefix() {
+        let labels = ["ai", "fq", "db"];
+        assert!(!labels.iter().any(|l| label_matches_selection(l, "z")));
+    }
+}
+
 pub struct QuickSelectOverlay {
     renderer: Mutex<QuickSelectRenderable>,
     delegate: Arc<dyn Pane>,
@@ -420,17 +481,21 @@ impl Pane for QuickSelectOverlay {
                 if let Some(result_index) = r.by_label.get(&lowered).cloned() {
                     r.select_and_copy_match_number(result_index, paste);
                     r.close();
+                } else {
+                    r.recompute_results();
                 }
             }
             (KeyCode::Backspace, KeyModifiers::NONE) => {
                 // Backspace to edit the selection
                 let mut r = self.renderer.lock();
                 r.selection.pop();
+                r.recompute_results();
             }
             (KeyCode::Char('u'), KeyModifiers::CTRL) => {
                 // CTRL-u to clear the selection
                 let mut r = self.renderer.lock();
                 r.selection.clear();
+                r.recompute_results();
             }
             _ => {}
         }
@@ -553,6 +618,7 @@ impl Pane for QuickSelectOverlay {
                 // the search UI.
                 // For rows with search results, we want to highlight the matching ranges
 
+                let lowered_prefix = self.renderer.selection.to_lowercase();
                 for (idx, line) in lines.iter_mut().enumerate() {
                     let mut line: Line = line.clone();
                     if disable_attr {
@@ -585,6 +651,10 @@ impl Pane for QuickSelectOverlay {
                         line.clear_appdata();
                     } else if let Some(matches) = self.renderer.by_line.get(&stable_idx) {
                         for m in matches {
+                            if !label_matches_selection(&m.label, &lowered_prefix) {
+                                // Skip displaying this label, it doesn't match the current filter.
+                                continue;
+                            }
                             // highlight
                             for cell_idx in m.range.clone() {
                                 if let Some(cell) =