The Big Blue Blanket against dispersed kamikaze attacks

How did the US Navy adapt from detecting mass airstrikes to stopping small kamikaze raids?

It used the Big Blue Blanket, maintaining extensive fighter cover at all times.

The Big Blue Blanket doctrine kept large numbers of fighters airborne continuously. That persistent combat air patrol did not depend on detecting one large raid early enough to launch a single response. Fighters already overhead could intercept small, scattered kamikaze groups before they reached the fleet. The doctrine traded a sustained aviation effort for fewer gaps that isolated attackers could exploit.