diff --git a/app/javascript/mastodon/components/form_fields/combobox_field.tsx b/app/javascript/mastodon/components/form_fields/combobox_field.tsx
index f3e7b45476..a0e0a36f79 100644
--- a/app/javascript/mastodon/components/form_fields/combobox_field.tsx
+++ b/app/javascript/mastodon/components/form_fields/combobox_field.tsx
@@ -100,6 +100,10 @@ interface ComboboxProps<
    * Icon to be displayed in the text input
    */
   icon?: TextInputProps['icon'] | null;
+  /**
+   * Set to true to open as soon as there is focus
+   */
+  openOnFocus?: boolean;
   /**
    * Set to false to keep the menu open when an item is selected
    */
@@ -217,8 +221,10 @@ const ComboboxWithRef = <Item extends ComboboxItem, GroupKey extends string>(
     renderGroupTitle,
     renderItem,
     onSelectItem,
+    onFocus,
     onChange,
     onKeyDown,
+    openOnFocus = false,
     closeOnSelect = true,
     suppressMenu = false,
     icon = SearchIcon,
@@ -288,6 +294,16 @@ const ComboboxWithRef = <Item extends ComboboxItem, GroupKey extends string>(
     }
   }, []);
 
+  const handleFocus: React.FocusEventHandler<HTMLInputElement> = useCallback(
+    (e) => {
+      if (openOnFocus) {
+        setShouldMenuOpen(true);
+      }
+      onFocus?.(e);
+    },
+    [onFocus, openOnFocus],
+  );
+
   const handleInputChange = useCallback(
     (e: React.ChangeEvent<HTMLInputElement>) => {
       onChange(e);
@@ -487,6 +503,7 @@ const ComboboxWithRef = <Item extends ComboboxItem, GroupKey extends string>(
         autoComplete='off'
         spellCheck='false'
         value={value}
+        onFocus={handleFocus}
         onChange={handleInputChange}
         onKeyDown={handleInputKeyDown}
         icon={icon ?? undefined}
diff --git a/app/javascript/mastodon/features/collections/editor/accounts.tsx b/app/javascript/mastodon/features/collections/editor/accounts.tsx
index c9423217f5..c5d23bdf3e 100644
--- a/app/javascript/mastodon/features/collections/editor/accounts.tsx
+++ b/app/javascript/mastodon/features/collections/editor/accounts.tsx
@@ -215,6 +215,7 @@ export const CollectionAccounts: React.FC<{
     resetAccounts,
   } = useSearchAccounts({
     withRelationships: true,
+    withDefaultFollows: searchValue === '',
     // Don't suggest accounts that were already added
     filterResults: (account) =>
       !editorItems.find((item) => item.account_id === account.id),
@@ -363,6 +364,7 @@ export const CollectionAccounts: React.FC<{
           )}
           {hasPendingItems && <PendingNote />}
           <ComboboxField
+            openOnFocus
             id={inputId}
             label={intl.formatMessage({
               id: 'collections.search_accounts_label',
diff --git a/app/javascript/mastodon/features/collections/utils.ts b/app/javascript/mastodon/features/collections/utils.ts
index 6cf2cfaca7..84752d82b0 100644
--- a/app/javascript/mastodon/features/collections/utils.ts
+++ b/app/javascript/mastodon/features/collections/utils.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import type { ApiMutedAccountJSON } from '@/mastodon/api_types/accounts';
+import type { ApiAccountJSON } from '@/mastodon/api_types/accounts';
 import type { Account } from '@/mastodon/models/account';
 import { isServerFeatureEnabled } from '@/mastodon/utils/environment';
 
@@ -8,11 +8,11 @@ export function areCollectionsEnabled() {
 
 export const getCollectionPath = (id: string) => `/collections/${id}`;
 
-export const canAccountBeAdded = (account: ApiMutedAccountJSON | Account) =>
+export const canAccountBeAdded = (account: ApiAccountJSON | Account) =>
   ['automatic', 'manual'].includes(account.feature_approval.current_user);
 
 export const canAccountBeAddedByFollowers = (
-  account: ApiMutedAccountJSON | Account,
+  account: ApiAccountJSON | Account,
 ) =>
   account.feature_approval.automatic.includes('followers') ||
   account.feature_approval.manual.includes('followers');
diff --git a/app/javascript/mastodon/hooks/useSearchAccounts.ts b/app/javascript/mastodon/hooks/useSearchAccounts.ts
index c19f08e734..b7e6ab9f52 100644
--- a/app/javascript/mastodon/hooks/useSearchAccounts.ts
+++ b/app/javascript/mastodon/hooks/useSearchAccounts.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { useCallback, useRef, useState } from 'react';
+import { useCallback, useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react';
 
 import { useDebouncedCallback } from 'use-debounce';
 
@@ -8,16 +8,20 @@ import { apiRequest } from 'mastodon/api';
 import type { ApiAccountJSON } from 'mastodon/api_types/accounts';
 import { useAppDispatch } from 'mastodon/store';
 
+import { useCurrentAccountId } from './useAccountId';
+
 export function useSearchAccounts({
   onSettled,
   filterResults,
   resetOnInputClear = true,
   withRelationships = false,
+  withDefaultFollows = false,
 }: {
   onSettled?: (value: string) => void;
   filterResults?: (account: ApiAccountJSON) => boolean;
   resetOnInputClear?: boolean;
   withRelationships?: boolean;
+  withDefaultFollows?: boolean;
 } = {}) {
   const dispatch = useAppDispatch();
 
@@ -29,7 +33,7 @@ export function useSearchAccounts({
   const searchRequestRef = useRef<AbortController | null>(null);
 
   const searchAccounts = useDebouncedCallback(
-    (value: string) => {
+    async (value: string) => {
       if (searchRequestRef.current) {
         searchRequestRef.current.abort();
       }
@@ -46,41 +50,100 @@ export function useSearchAccounts({
 
       searchRequestRef.current = new AbortController();
 
-      void apiRequest<ApiAccountJSON[]>('GET', 'v1/accounts/search', {
-        signal: searchRequestRef.current.signal,
-        params: {
-          q: value,
-          resolve: true,
-        },
-      })
-        .then((data) => {
-          const accounts = filterResults ? data.filter(filterResults) : data;
-          const accountIds = accounts.map((a) => a.id);
-          dispatch(importFetchedAccounts(accounts));
-          if (withRelationships) {
-            dispatch(fetchRelationships(accountIds));
-          }
-          setAccounts(accounts);
-          setLoadingState('idle');
-          onSettled?.(value);
-        })
-        .catch(() => {
-          setLoadingState('error');
-          onSettled?.(value);
-        });
+      try {
+        const data = await apiRequest<ApiAccountJSON[]>(
+          'GET',
+          'v1/accounts/search',
+          {
+            signal: searchRequestRef.current.signal,
+            params: {
+              q: value,
+              resolve: true,
+            },
+          },
+        );
+        const accounts = filterResults ? data.filter(filterResults) : data;
+        const accountIds = accounts.map((a) => a.id);
+        dispatch(importFetchedAccounts(accounts));
+        if (withRelationships) {
+          dispatch(fetchRelationships(accountIds));
+        }
+        setAccounts(accounts);
+        setLoadingState('idle');
+        onSettled?.(value);
+      } catch {
+        setLoadingState('error');
+        onSettled?.(value);
+      }
     },
     500,
     { leading: true, trailing: true },
   );
 
+  const startSearch = useCallback(
+    (value: string) => {
+      void searchAccounts(value);
+    },
+    [searchAccounts],
+  );
+
   const resetAccounts = useCallback(() => {
     setAccounts([]);
   }, []);
 
-  return {
-    searchAccounts,
-    resetAccounts,
+  const currentUserId = useCurrentAccountId();
+  const [defaultAccounts, setDefaultAccounts] = useState<
+    ApiAccountJSON[] | null
+  >(null);
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (
+      !currentUserId ||
+      loadingState !== 'idle' ||
+      defaultAccounts !== null ||
+      !withDefaultFollows
+    ) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    async function doRequest() {
+      setLoadingState('loading');
+      try {
+        const data = await apiRequest<ApiAccountJSON[]>(
+          'GET',
+          `v1/accounts/${currentUserId}/following`,
+          { params: { limit: 40 } },
+        );
+        const accounts = filterResults ? data.filter(filterResults) : data;
+        const accountIds = accounts.map((a) => a.id);
+        dispatch(importFetchedAccounts(accounts));
+        if (withRelationships) {
+          dispatch(fetchRelationships(accountIds));
+        }
+        setDefaultAccounts(accounts);
+        setLoadingState('idle');
+      } catch {
+        setLoadingState('error');
+      }
+    }
+    void doRequest();
+  }, [
+    currentUserId,
     accounts,
+    dispatch,
+    filterResults,
+    loadingState,
+    withRelationships,
+    defaultAccounts,
+    withDefaultFollows,
+  ]);
+
+  return {
+    searchAccounts: startSearch,
+    resetAccounts,
+    accounts:
+      accounts.length === 0 && withDefaultFollows
+        ? (defaultAccounts ?? [])
+        : accounts,
     isLoading: loadingState === 'loading',
     isError: loadingState === 'error',
   };