diff --git a/eng/MSBuild/Packaging.targets b/eng/MSBuild/Packaging.targets
index e5cd9bdf4c2..dd5bc0ce2e8 100644
--- a/eng/MSBuild/Packaging.targets
+++ b/eng/MSBuild/Packaging.targets
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
     <!-- https://learn.microsoft.com/dotnet/fundamentals/package-validation/overview -->
     <EnablePackageValidation>true</EnablePackageValidation>
 
-    <PackageValidationBaselineVersion Condition=" '$(Stage)' == 'normal' ">9.7.0</PackageValidationBaselineVersion> 
+    <PackageValidationBaselineVersion Condition=" '$(Stage)' == 'normal' ">9.7.0</PackageValidationBaselineVersion>
   </PropertyGroup>
 
   <!-- Verify that the minimum supported TFM is actually used. -->
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@
                        !@(_PackageBuildFile->AnyHaveMetadataValue('PackagePathWithoutFilename', '$(_NETStandardCompatErrorPlaceholderFilePackagePath)'))" />
     </ItemGroup>
   </Target>
-  
+
   <!-- Add the de-duped placeholder file to the package. -->
   <Target Name="_AddPlaceholderFileToNone"
           AfterTargets="_AddNETStandardCompatErrorFileForPackaging">
@@ -102,4 +102,15 @@
     </ItemGroup>
   </Target>
 
+  <!-- This target is used to get the package versions of projects. -->
+  <Target Name="_GetPackageVersionInfo"
+          Returns="@(_PackageVersionInfo)">
+    <ItemGroup>
+      <_PackageVersionInfo Include="$(MSBuildProjectFullPath)">
+        <PackageVersion>$(PackageVersion)</PackageVersion>
+        <PackageId>$(PackageId)</PackageId>
+      </_PackageVersionInfo>
+    </ItemGroup>
+  </Target>
+
 </Project>
diff --git a/src/ProjectTemplates/GenerateTemplateContent/GenerateTemplateContent.csproj b/src/ProjectTemplates/GenerateTemplateContent/GenerateTemplateContent.csproj
index cead17cde9e..e8df485098b 100644
--- a/src/ProjectTemplates/GenerateTemplateContent/GenerateTemplateContent.csproj
+++ b/src/ProjectTemplates/GenerateTemplateContent/GenerateTemplateContent.csproj
@@ -18,13 +18,42 @@
       IsImplicitlyDefined="true" />
   </ItemGroup>
 
+  <!--
+    Computes package version variables for projects defined in this repo that get
+    referenced in generated template content.
+    Instead of manually reproducing version values, it extracts the package version
+    directly from each project.
+  -->
+  <Target Name="_GetPackageVersionVariables"
+          DependsOnTargets="ComputePackageVersionVariableReferences">
+    <MSBuild Projects="@(PackageVersionVariableReference)"
+             BuildInParallel="true"
+             Targets="_GetPackageVersionInfo">
+      <Output TaskParameter="TargetOutputs" ItemName="_ResolvedPackageVersionInfo" />
+    </MSBuild>
+
+    <ItemGroup>
+      <_ResolvedPackageVersionVariableReference Include="@(_ResolvedPackageVersionInfo)">
+        <VersionVariableName>TemplatePackageVersion_$([System.String]::Copy('%(PackageId)').Replace('.', ''))</VersionVariableName>
+      </_ResolvedPackageVersionVariableReference>
+    </ItemGroup>
+
+    <PropertyGroup>
+      <GeneratedContentProperties>
+        $(GeneratedContentProperties);
+        <!-- Converts each package reference into a property assignment in the format 'TemplatePackageVersion_PackageName=Version'. -->
+        @(_ResolvedPackageVersionVariableReference->'%(VersionVariableName)=%(PackageVersion)')
+      </GeneratedContentProperties>
+    </PropertyGroup>
+  </Target>
+
   <!--
     Computes a hash from the properties passed through to the GenerateFileFromTemplate task
     in the _GenerateContent target.
     This hash is used to determine if the generated content needs to be re-generated.
   -->
   <Target Name="_ComputeGeneratedContentPropertiesHash"
-          DependsOnTargets="ComputeGeneratedContentProperties">
+          DependsOnTargets="ComputeGeneratedContentProperties;_GetPackageVersionVariables">
     <Hash ItemsToHash="$(GeneratedContentProperties)">
       <Output TaskParameter="HashResult" PropertyName="_GeneratedContentPropertiesHash" />
     </Hash>
diff --git a/src/ProjectTemplates/GeneratedContent.targets b/src/ProjectTemplates/GeneratedContent.targets
index c738ee0b547..706424bdc25 100644
--- a/src/ProjectTemplates/GeneratedContent.targets
+++ b/src/ProjectTemplates/GeneratedContent.targets
@@ -13,20 +13,25 @@
     <_McpServerContentRoot>$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates\src\McpServer\</_McpServerContentRoot>
   </PropertyGroup>
 
-  <Target Name="ComputeGeneratedContentProperties">
+  <Target Name="ComputePackageVersionVariableReferences">
     <!--
-      Packages built within this repository.
-        - Use `$(Version)` to reference just-built packages with the current dev/prerelease version label
-        - Use `$(VersionPrefix)` to reference the current version without a dev/prerelease version label
-        - Use specific version numbers to pin to already-released packages
-      -->
-    <PropertyGroup>
-      <TemplatePackageVersion_MicrosoftExtensionsAI>$(Version)</TemplatePackageVersion_MicrosoftExtensionsAI>
-      <TemplatePackageVersion_MicrosoftExtensionsAI_Preview>$(Version)</TemplatePackageVersion_MicrosoftExtensionsAI_Preview>
-      <TemplatePackageVersion_MicrosoftExtensionsHttpResilience>$(Version)</TemplatePackageVersion_MicrosoftExtensionsHttpResilience>
-    </PropertyGroup>
+      Specifies packages defined in this repo that get referenced in generated template content.
+      For each item specified below, a property will be generated whose name matches the format:
+      "TemplatePackageVersion_{PackageName}"
+      where {PackageName} is the package ID with '.' characters removed.
+      The value of each property will be the computed package version.
+    -->
+    <ItemGroup>
+      <PackageVersionVariableReference Include="$(RepoRoot)src\Libraries\Microsoft.Extensions.AI\Microsoft.Extensions.AI.csproj"></PackageVersionVariableReference>
+      <PackageVersionVariableReference Include="$(RepoRoot)src\Libraries\Microsoft.Extensions.AI.OpenAI\Microsoft.Extensions.AI.OpenAI.csproj"></PackageVersionVariableReference>
+      <PackageVersionVariableReference Include="$(RepoRoot)src\Libraries\Microsoft.Extensions.Http.Resilience\Microsoft.Extensions.Http.Resilience.csproj"></PackageVersionVariableReference>
+    </ItemGroup>
+  </Target>
 
-    <!-- External dependency packages -->
+  <Target Name="ComputeGeneratedContentProperties">
+    <!--
+      Specifies external packages that get referenced in generated template content.
+    -->
     <PropertyGroup>
       <TemplatePackageVersion_Aspire>9.3.0</TemplatePackageVersion_Aspire>
       <TemplatePackageVersion_Aspire_Preview>9.3.0-preview.1.25265.20</TemplatePackageVersion_Aspire_Preview>
@@ -47,8 +52,6 @@
     </PropertyGroup>
 
     <PropertyGroup>
-      <_TemplateUsingJustBuiltPackages Condition="'$(TemplatePackageVersion_MicrosoftExtensionsAI)' == '$(Version)' OR '$(TemplatePackageVersion_MicrosoftExtensionsAI_Preview)' == '$(Version)'">true</_TemplateUsingJustBuiltPackages>
-
       <!-- Specify package version variables used in template content. -->
       <GeneratedContentProperties>
         $(GeneratedContentProperties);
@@ -57,9 +60,6 @@
         ArtifactsShippingPackagesDir=$(ArtifactsShippingPackagesDir);
 
         <!-- Package version properties -->
-        TemplatePackageVersion_MicrosoftExtensionsAI=$(TemplatePackageVersion_MicrosoftExtensionsAI);
-        TemplatePackageVersion_MicrosoftExtensionsAI_Preview=$(TemplatePackageVersion_MicrosoftExtensionsAI_Preview);
-        TemplatePackageVersion_MicrosoftExtensionsHttpResilience=$(TemplatePackageVersion_MicrosoftExtensionsHttpResilience);
         TemplatePackageVersion_Aspire=$(TemplatePackageVersion_Aspire);
         TemplatePackageVersion_Aspire_Preview=$(TemplatePackageVersion_Aspire_Preview);
         TemplatePackageVersion_AzureAIOpenAI=$(TemplatePackageVersion_AzureAIOpenAI);
@@ -79,7 +79,6 @@
 
         <!-- Other properties -->
         LocalChatTemplateVariant=$(_LocalChatTemplateVariant);
-        UsingJustBuiltPackages=$(_TemplateUsingJustBuiltPackages);
       </GeneratedContentProperties>
     </PropertyGroup>
 
@@ -108,18 +107,9 @@
       <GeneratedContent
         Include="$(_McpServerContentRoot)McpServer-CSharp\McpServer-CSharp.csproj.in"
         OutputPath="$(_McpServerContentRoot)McpServer-CSharp\McpServer-CSharp.csproj" />
-
-      <!-- The following content only gets generated when using just-built packages -->
-      <_GeneratedContentEnablingJustBuiltPackages
+      <GeneratedContent
         Include="$(_ChatWithCustomDataContentRoot)NuGet.config.in"
         OutputPath="$(_ChatWithCustomDataContentRoot)NuGet.config" />
-
-      <GeneratedContent
-        Include="@(_GeneratedContentEnablingJustBuiltPackages)"
-        Condition="'$(_TemplateUsingJustBuiltPackages)' == 'true'" />
-      <GeneratedContentToDelete
-        Include="@(_GeneratedContentEnablingJustBuiltPackages)"
-        Condition="'$(_TemplateUsingJustBuiltPackages)' != 'true'" />
     </ItemGroup>
   </Target>
 
diff --git a/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/src/ChatWithCustomData/ChatWithCustomData-CSharp.Web/ChatWithCustomData-CSharp.Web.csproj.in b/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/src/ChatWithCustomData/ChatWithCustomData-CSharp.Web/ChatWithCustomData-CSharp.Web.csproj.in
index 46d7382d6f1..64d585fd7a6 100644
--- a/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/src/ChatWithCustomData/ChatWithCustomData-CSharp.Web/ChatWithCustomData-CSharp.Web.csproj.in
+++ b/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/src/ChatWithCustomData/ChatWithCustomData-CSharp.Web/ChatWithCustomData-CSharp.Web.csproj.in
@@ -14,19 +14,19 @@
 <!--#if (IsOllama)
     <PackageReference Include="OllamaSharp" Version="${TemplatePackageVersion_OllamaSharp}" />
 #elif ((IsGHModels || IsOpenAI) && !IsAspire)
-    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.AI.OpenAI" Version="${TemplatePackageVersion_MicrosoftExtensionsAI_Preview}" />
+    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.AI.OpenAI" Version="${TemplatePackageVersion_MicrosoftExtensionsAIOpenAI}" />
 #elif (IsAzureAiFoundry)
     <PackageReference Include="Azure.AI.OpenAI" Version="${TemplatePackageVersion_AzureAIOpenAI}" />
     <PackageReference Include="Azure.AI.Projects" Version="${TemplatePackageVersion_AzureAIProjects}" />
-    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.AI.OpenAI" Version="${TemplatePackageVersion_MicrosoftExtensionsAI_Preview}" />
+    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.AI.OpenAI" Version="${TemplatePackageVersion_MicrosoftExtensionsAIOpenAI}" />
 #endif -->
 <!--#if ((IsAzureOpenAI || IsOpenAI || IsGHModels) && IsAspire) -->
     <PackageReference Include="Aspire.Azure.AI.OpenAI" Version="${TemplatePackageVersion_Aspire_Preview}" />
-    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.AI.OpenAI" Version="${TemplatePackageVersion_MicrosoftExtensionsAI_Preview}" />
+    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.AI.OpenAI" Version="${TemplatePackageVersion_MicrosoftExtensionsAIOpenAI}" />
 <!--#endif -->
 <!--#if (IsAzureOpenAI && !IsAspire) -->
     <PackageReference Include="Azure.AI.OpenAI" Version="${TemplatePackageVersion_AzureAIOpenAI}" />
-    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.AI.OpenAI" Version="${TemplatePackageVersion_MicrosoftExtensionsAI_Preview}" />
+    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.AI.OpenAI" Version="${TemplatePackageVersion_MicrosoftExtensionsAIOpenAI}" />
 <!--#endif -->
 <!--#if (UseManagedIdentity) -->
     <PackageReference Include="Azure.Identity" Version="${TemplatePackageVersion_AzureIdentity}" />
diff --git a/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/src/ChatWithCustomData/Directory.Build.targets.in b/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/src/ChatWithCustomData/Directory.Build.targets.in
index 670604290b9..08d54995389 100644
--- a/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/src/ChatWithCustomData/Directory.Build.targets.in
+++ b/src/ProjectTemplates/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates/src/ChatWithCustomData/Directory.Build.targets.in
@@ -4,13 +4,8 @@
   It will not get included in the built project template.
 -->
 <Project>
-  <PropertyGroup>
-    <_UsingJustBuiltPackages>${UsingJustBuiltPackages}</_UsingJustBuiltPackages>
-  </PropertyGroup>
-
   <Target
     Name="_EnsurePackagesBuiltLocally"
-    Condition="'$(_UsingJustBuiltPackages)' == 'true'"
     BeforeTargets="Restore">
 
     <Error