diff --git a/docs/implplan/SPRINT_20260307_025_DOCS_search_consolidation_corrective_phases.md b/docs/implplan/SPRINT_20260307_025_DOCS_search_consolidation_corrective_phases.md
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+# Sprint 20260307-025 - Search Consolidation Corrective Phases
+
+## Topic & Scope
+- Translate operator feedback on search and AdvisoryAI into explicit corrective product rules.
+- Replace "incremental polish" planning with a phased execution plan that removes competing entry points and search-specific jargon.
+- Document why the next phases prioritize shell behavior, zero-learning UI, ranking/overflow correctness, and live ingestion-backed reliability.
+- Working directory: `docs/`.
+- Expected evidence: updated strategy doc, phased sprint files, and a scoped docs-only commit.
+
+## Dependencies & Concurrency
+- Builds on `SPRINT_20260307_017_DOCS_search_zero_learning_consolidation_strategy.md`.
+- Builds on implementation evidence from `SPRINT_20260307_019_AdvisoryAI_implicit_scope_weighting_and_suggestion_viability.md`, `SPRINT_20260307_020_FE_overflow_answer_consumption_and_chip_viability.md`, and `SPRINT_20260307_021_FE_live_search_suggestion_reliability_matrix.md`.
+- Safe parallelism: implementation teams can proceed in `src/Web/StellaOps.Web/**` and `src/AdvisoryAI/**` after the corrective rules are published.
+
+## Documentation Prerequisites
+- `docs/modules/ui/search-zero-learning-primary-entry.md`
+- `docs/modules/advisory-ai/knowledge-search.md`
+- `docs/modules/advisory-ai/unified-search-architecture.md`
+
+## Delivery Tracker
+
+### DOCS-SC-001 - Publish corrective product rules
+Status: DONE
+Dependency: none
+Owners: Project Manager, Documentation author
+Task description:
+- Capture the specific operator objections that remain valid after the earlier search work: split search/chat entry, mode-driven assistant framing, overly educational empty states, scope-mechanism exposition, and dead suggestions when ingestion is absent.
+- Convert those objections into non-ambiguous product rules so later implementation does not drift back toward "teach the operator how to search."
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [x] The strategy doc records the remaining UX failures explicitly.
+- [x] The product rules state search-first / assistant-second behavior and optional telemetry.
+- [x] The strategy doc distinguishes process health from corpus readiness.
+
+### DOCS-SC-002 - Define implementation phases and ownership
+Status: DONE
+Dependency: DOCS-SC-001
+Owners: Project Manager
+Task description:
+- Break the corrective work into concrete implementation phases with single owning directories, dependencies, and acceptance criteria.
+- Ensure the plan covers shell behavior, search surface simplification, backend ranking/telemetry rules, and live E2E verification.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [x] Separate sprint files exist for the frontend shell work, frontend surface work, backend search work, and E2E verification.
+- [x] Each sprint has actionable completion criteria rather than product prose.
+- [x] Dependencies between the phases are explicit.
+
+### DOCS-SC-003 - Publish why/how documentation
+Status: DONE
+Dependency: DOCS-SC-002
+Owners: Documentation author
+Task description:
+- Update the "why and how" documentation so future contributors understand not only what to build, but also why certain UI patterns are forbidden.
+- Keep the document focused on operator behavior and self-serve usability rather than internal implementation details.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [x] The primary search strategy doc reflects the corrective phases.
+- [x] The strategy doc explains why search cannot route-jump into another feature to open chat.
+- [x] The sprint Decisions & Risks reference the updated strategy doc.
+
+## Execution Log
+| Date (UTC) | Update | Owner |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| 2026-03-07 | Sprint created to convert operator feedback into corrective execution phases for consolidated search and assistant behavior. | Project Manager |
+| 2026-03-07 | Published the corrective rules and the phased sprint stack after auditing the implemented search flow, the live Doctor ingestion lane, and the remaining route-jump/mode-driven chat behavior. | Project Manager |
+
+## Decisions & Risks
+- Decision: search remains the primary operator entry and AdvisoryAI becomes a secondary deep-dive from that same surface, not a competing route flow.
+- Decision: telemetry stays optional and must not influence ranking, suggestions, history, or assistant availability.
+- Risk: previous partial implementations can create false confidence because some controls were already removed while route-jump and mode-driven assistant behavior remained.
+- Mitigation: split the corrective work into shell, surface, backend, and E2E phases with explicit completion criteria.
+- Reference: `docs/modules/ui/search-zero-learning-primary-entry.md`
+
+## Next Checkpoints
+- 2026-03-08: complete Phase A shell unification and remove route-jump chat opens.
+- 2026-03-09: complete Phase B surface collapse and validate with Playwright.
diff --git a/docs/implplan/SPRINT_20260307_026_FE_global_assistant_drawer_unification.md b/docs/implplan/SPRINT_20260307_026_FE_global_assistant_drawer_unification.md
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+# Sprint 20260307-026 - FE Global Assistant Drawer Unification
+
+## Topic & Scope
+- Make search the single primary entry by opening AdvisoryAI from a shell-level drawer instead of navigating into `/security/triage`.
+- Remove visible mode switching from the assistant and stop mode-driven prompt generation in search-to-chat handoff.
+- Reuse one global assistant entry from the top bar, answer panel, and result cards.
+- Working directory: `src/Web/StellaOps.Web/`.
+- Expected evidence: frontend implementation, unit tests, Playwright coverage, and a scoped commit.
+
+## Dependencies & Concurrency
+- Depends on `SPRINT_20260307_025_DOCS_search_consolidation_corrective_phases.md`.
+- Builds on existing search-to-chat context plumbing and `stellaops-chat`.
+- Safe parallelism: backend ranking work can proceed in `src/AdvisoryAI/**` if it does not change the Web contract during this sprint.
+
+## Documentation Prerequisites
+- `docs/modules/ui/search-zero-learning-primary-entry.md`
+- `src/Web/StellaOps.Web/AGENTS.md`
+
+## Delivery Tracker
+
+### FE-SC-001 - Host AdvisoryAI at shell scope
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: none
+Owners: Developer
+Task description:
+- Introduce a shell-level assistant host/drawer so search-originated chat can open on any page without route changes.
+- Keep the drawer keyboard-accessible and reusable by page-level assistant affordances.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] The application shell hosts the assistant drawer.
+- [ ] Search-originated chat opens on the current page without navigating to `/security/triage`.
+- [ ] Existing triage-specific assistant affordances either reuse the same host or are removed if redundant.
+
+### FE-SC-002 - Remove visible search/assistant mode framing
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: FE-SC-001
+Owners: Developer
+Task description:
+- Remove `Find / Explain / Act` controls and mode labels from the assistant surface.
+- Replace mode-driven prompt text with prompt composition based on current page, query, citations, and answer evidence.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] Chat no longer displays mode buttons or mode badges.
+- [ ] Search-to-chat handoff prompts are built from query/evidence context rather than a persisted mode.
+- [ ] The result still gives useful next-step suggestions without requiring mode selection.
+
+### FE-SC-003 - Verify search-first assistant flows
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: FE-SC-002
+Owners: Test Automation
+Task description:
+- Add unit and Playwright coverage proving that search is the primary entry and the assistant is a secondary deep-dive that stays on-page.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] Unit tests cover the new shell-level assistant host behavior.
+- [ ] Playwright covers top-bar chat launch, answer-panel Ask-AdvisoryAI, and result-card Ask-AdvisoryAI without route jumps.
+- [ ] Search context inheritance remains intact in the assistant.
+
+## Execution Log
+| Date (UTC) | Update | Owner |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| 2026-03-07 | Sprint created from operator feedback on the split search/chat experience and the remaining route-jump behavior. | Project Manager |
+
+## Decisions & Risks
+- Decision: the global top-bar search is the canonical assistant launcher; route navigation to open chat is no longer acceptable for the primary flow.
+- Risk: the current triage host owns both a page and an assistant drawer, so shell-level hosting could create duplicate drawers if not unified carefully.
+- Mitigation: centralize assistant open/close state behind a single shell-level service/host and update search handoff tests.
+- Reference: `docs/modules/ui/search-zero-learning-primary-entry.md`
+
+## Next Checkpoints
+- 2026-03-08: land shell-level drawer host and remove search route jumps.
+- 2026-03-08: land assistant UI simplification and targeted E2E.
diff --git a/docs/implplan/SPRINT_20260307_027_FE_zero_learning_search_surface_collapse.md b/docs/implplan/SPRINT_20260307_027_FE_zero_learning_search_surface_collapse.md
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+++ b/docs/implplan/SPRINT_20260307_027_FE_zero_learning_search_surface_collapse.md
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+# Sprint 20260307-027 - FE Zero-Learning Search Surface Collapse
+
+## Topic & Scope
+- Strip the search surface down to the operator essentials: query, correction, answer, primary cards, overflow when needed, viable suggestions, and successful history.
+- Remove or minimize UI elements that teach Stella structure or expose ranking mechanics.
+- Working directory: `src/Web/StellaOps.Web/`.
+- Expected evidence: simplified search UI implementation, regression tests, Playwright behavior coverage, and a scoped commit.
+
+## Dependencies & Concurrency
+- Depends on `SPRINT_20260307_026_FE_global_assistant_drawer_unification.md`.
+- Safe parallelism: backend weighting work can proceed in `src/AdvisoryAI/**` if the unified response contract remains backward-compatible.
+
+## Documentation Prerequisites
+- `docs/modules/ui/search-zero-learning-primary-entry.md`
+- `src/Web/StellaOps.Web/AGENTS.md`
+
+## Delivery Tracker
+
+### FE-SC-101 - Collapse empty-state education
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: none
+Owners: Developer
+Task description:
+- Remove large domain guides, quick-action teaching panels, and other empty-state elements that require the operator to understand Stella taxonomy before asking a question.
+- Replace them with a small set of viable, page-aware search starts only when useful.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] Empty-state UI does not present domain cards or "learn Stella" quick links as the main action.
+- [ ] Suggestions shown in the empty state remain executable and page-aware.
+- [ ] Search history remains successful-only and is visually low-emphasis.
+
+### FE-SC-102 - Simplify in-result cues
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: FE-SC-101
+Owners: Developer
+Task description:
+- Keep `Did you mean` directly under the input and make overflow presentation subtle.
+- Stop explaining scope weighting mechanics in the main flow; show the better in-scope answer first, then overflow only when needed.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] `Did you mean` is visually attached to the input.
+- [ ] Scope weighting hints are removed or translated into plain operator-facing result labels.
+- [ ] Overflow only appears when present and is visually secondary to the best in-scope answer.
+
+### FE-SC-103 - Harden suggestion and history behavior
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: FE-SC-102
+Owners: Developer, Test Automation
+Task description:
+- Ensure no-result searches do not enter local/server history rendering and that dead suggestions remain suppressed.
+- Exercise user flows that previously felt broken from the empty state.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] No-result queries do not reappear in rendered history.
+- [ ] Suggestion clicks from the empty state remain non-dead-end flows.
+- [ ] Playwright covers history, suggestions, did-you-mean placement, and overflow presentation.
+
+## Execution Log
+| Date (UTC) | Update | Owner |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| 2026-03-07 | Sprint created from operator feedback that the search surface still teaches too much of Stella instead of simply helping. | Project Manager |
+
+## Decisions & Risks
+- Decision: the empty state should help the operator start, not explain Stella's information architecture.
+- Risk: removing guidance too aggressively could leave brand-new users with a blank surface if viable suggestions are unavailable.
+- Mitigation: preserve small, executable page-aware starters while removing large educational panels and ranking jargon.
+- Reference: `docs/modules/ui/search-zero-learning-primary-entry.md`
+
+## Next Checkpoints
+- 2026-03-09: land the empty-state collapse and plain-language overflow cues.
+- 2026-03-09: capture Playwright evidence for the no-learning search surface.
diff --git a/docs/implplan/SPRINT_20260307_028_AdvisoryAI_consolidated_ranking_blending_and_optional_telemetry.md b/docs/implplan/SPRINT_20260307_028_AdvisoryAI_consolidated_ranking_blending_and_optional_telemetry.md
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+++ b/docs/implplan/SPRINT_20260307_028_AdvisoryAI_consolidated_ranking_blending_and_optional_telemetry.md
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+# Sprint 20260307-028 - AdvisoryAI Consolidated Ranking, Blending, and Optional Telemetry
+
+## Topic & Scope
+- Refine backend unified search so current-page/entity/action relevance dominates when sensible and cross-scope overflow appears only when the in-scope answer is weak.
+- Tighten answer composition so blended summaries appear only when the leading evidence cluster is genuinely close.
+- Make analytics/feedback telemetry explicitly optional at the contract and client-consumption level.
+- Working directory: `src/AdvisoryAI/`.
+- Expected evidence: backend implementation, targeted tests, updated docs, and a scoped commit.
+
+## Dependencies & Concurrency
+- Depends on `SPRINT_20260307_025_DOCS_search_consolidation_corrective_phases.md`.
+- Informs `SPRINT_20260307_027_FE_zero_learning_search_surface_collapse.md` and `SPRINT_20260307_029_FE_live_consolidated_search_journeys.md`.
+- Safe parallelism: frontend shell work can proceed in `src/Web/StellaOps.Web/**` if the contract remains additive.
+
+## Documentation Prerequisites
+- `docs/modules/ui/search-zero-learning-primary-entry.md`
+- `docs/modules/advisory-ai/knowledge-search.md`
+- `docs/modules/advisory-ai/unified-search-architecture.md`
+- `src/AdvisoryAI/AGENTS.md`
+
+## Delivery Tracker
+
+### AI-SC-001 - Refine current-scope dominance and overflow thresholds
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: none
+Owners: Developer
+Task description:
+- Improve weighting from current route, visible entities, and recent actions so the backend more consistently returns the best in-scope answer first.
+- Only emit overflow when in-scope evidence is materially weaker or absent.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] Tests cover stronger current-scope/entity/action weighting.
+- [ ] Overflow appears only when the in-scope answer is weak enough to justify it.
+- [ ] Coverage metadata still explains the winning scope without requiring frontend heuristics.
+
+### AI-SC-002 - Tighten answer dominance vs blend behavior
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: AI-SC-001
+Owners: Developer
+Task description:
+- Adjust the answer composer so a single dominant result yields a decisive answer while genuinely close clusters yield a blended summary with citations.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] Service tests cover decisive-answer and blended-answer cases separately.
+- [ ] The answer status and citations remain deterministic.
+- [ ] Clarify and insufficient fallbacks remain explicit.
+
+### AI-SC-003 - Keep telemetry optional
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: AI-SC-002
+Owners: Developer
+Task description:
+- Ensure analytics, feedback, and quality telemetry can be disabled by configuration without affecting retrieval, suggestions, history rendering, or chat handoff.
+- Document the configuration and fallback behavior.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] Search behavior remains identical with telemetry disabled.
+- [ ] Tests cover telemetry-disabled behavior.
+- [ ] Docs state clearly that telemetry is optional and not a functional dependency.
+
+## Execution Log
+| Date (UTC) | Update | Owner |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| 2026-03-07 | Sprint created to finish the backend half of the consolidated search UX after operator feedback on weighting, blending, and telemetry. | Project Manager |
+
+## Decisions & Risks
+- Decision: ranking/explanation behavior must be driven by corpus evidence and page context, not by a user-selected mode.
+- Decision: telemetry is optional infrastructure, not part of the search correctness path.
+- Risk: over-weighting current scope could hide clearly better out-of-scope answers.
+- Mitigation: keep additive coverage metadata and explicit overflow criteria in tests.
+- Reference: `docs/modules/ui/search-zero-learning-primary-entry.md`
+
+## Next Checkpoints
+- 2026-03-09: land stronger current-scope thresholds and answer-blending tests.
+- 2026-03-10: land telemetry-off verification and doc updates.
diff --git a/docs/implplan/SPRINT_20260307_029_FE_live_consolidated_search_journeys.md b/docs/implplan/SPRINT_20260307_029_FE_live_consolidated_search_journeys.md
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+++ b/docs/implplan/SPRINT_20260307_029_FE_live_consolidated_search_journeys.md
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+# Sprint 20260307-029 - FE Live Consolidated Search Journeys
+
+## Topic & Scope
+- Prove the consolidated search experience end to end with both deterministic mocks and live ingested corpora.
+- Cover the operator journeys that matter after the redesign: empty-state suggestions, did-you-mean, grounded answer, overflow fallback, search history hygiene, and assistant deep-dive.
+- Working directory: `src/Web/StellaOps.Web/tests/e2e/`.
+- Expected evidence: Playwright suites, exact setup commands, execution logs, and scoped commits.
+
+## Dependencies & Concurrency
+- Depends on `SPRINT_20260307_026_FE_global_assistant_drawer_unification.md`.
+- Depends on `SPRINT_20260307_027_FE_zero_learning_search_surface_collapse.md`.
+- Depends on `SPRINT_20260307_028_AdvisoryAI_consolidated_ranking_blending_and_optional_telemetry.md`.
+- Safe parallelism: live suites may run in parallel only when they use isolated services or a read-only shared corpus.
+
+## Documentation Prerequisites
+- `docs/modules/ui/search-zero-learning-primary-entry.md`
+- `docs/modules/advisory-ai/knowledge-search.md`
+- `src/AdvisoryAI/__Tests/INFRASTRUCTURE.md`
+
+## Delivery Tracker
+
+### QA-SC-001 - Expand deterministic Playwright coverage
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: none
+Owners: Test Automation
+Task description:
+- Extend mock-backed Playwright coverage to the redesigned search/assistant flows so UI regressions are caught quickly.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] Deterministic E2E covers top-bar assistant open, did-you-mean placement, history hygiene, overflow rendering, and no-dead-end suggestions.
+- [ ] No route-jump to `/security/triage` remains in the search-first flows.
+
+### QA-SC-002 - Expand live ingested search coverage
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: QA-SC-001
+Owners: Test Automation
+Task description:
+- Keep live Doctor coverage and expand to additional supported domains when ingestion parity exists.
+- Fail fast on empty corpus/setup errors before UI assertions begin.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] Live E2E keeps corpus readiness preflight.
+- [ ] Every surfaced live suggestion on covered pages resolves to a non-dead-end state.
+- [ ] Execution log records exact live commands and pass counts.
+
+### QA-SC-003 - Verify telemetry-off behavior
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: QA-SC-002
+Owners: Test Automation
+Task description:
+- Add test coverage for telemetry-disabled search usage so optional analytics does not regress the operator flow.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] Search remains usable when telemetry endpoints/config are disabled.
+- [ ] The assistant handoff still works with telemetry disabled.
+- [ ] The sprint log records the telemetry-off evidence path.
+
+## Execution Log
+| Date (UTC) | Update | Owner |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| 2026-03-07 | Sprint created to prove the consolidated search experience from all relevant angles after the redesign phases land. | Project Manager |
+
+## Decisions & Risks
+- Decision: live E2E remains mandatory because mocked suggestions cannot prove corpus viability.
+- Risk: findings/policy/VEX live coverage may lag until ingestion parity exists for those domains.
+- Mitigation: keep deterministic E2E broad, keep Doctor live coverage strict, and expand live domains only when ingestion parity is confirmed.
+- Reference: `docs/modules/ui/search-zero-learning-primary-entry.md`
+
+## Next Checkpoints
+- 2026-03-10: rerun the live Doctor matrix on the consolidated UX.
+- 2026-03-11: add the next supported live domain after ingestion parity verification.
diff --git a/docs/modules/ui/search-zero-learning-primary-entry.md b/docs/modules/ui/search-zero-learning-primary-entry.md
index fd7e68571..e77ea699d 100644
--- a/docs/modules/ui/search-zero-learning-primary-entry.md
+++ b/docs/modules/ui/search-zero-learning-primary-entry.md
@@ -5,20 +5,29 @@
 - The current model asks the user to understand too many concepts before they can succeed: `Find/Explain/Act`, explicit scope switching, recovery actions, and a separate AdvisoryAI destination.
 - Live verification also shows a real reliability gap: suggestion chips can render even when the active corpus cannot answer them. On 2026-03-07, the running AdvisoryAI service at `http://127.1.0.44` rebuilt with `documentCount=0`, `chunkCount=0`, and `doctorProjectionCount=0`, while unified overlays rebuilt with only `chunkCount=14`. Querying `database connectivity` then returned zero cards. The current UX still offered that suggestion.
 
+## What still fails after the first pass
+- The product still exposes two entry mental models: global search and a route-jumping AdvisoryAI experience. Search-originated chat actions currently navigate into `/security/triage`, which breaks page continuity and makes AdvisoryAI feel like a separate destination.
+- The assistant still exposes `Find / Explain / Act` framing in chat. That pushes the user to learn the system's internal reasoning model instead of simply asking for help.
+- Empty-state search still carries too much product education: domain guides, quick actions, context exposition, and explanatory labels. That is useful for experts but too loud for a self-serve default.
+- Current-scope behavior is correct as a ranking concept, but the UI still talks about the mechanism instead of simply showing the best in-scope answer first and only then out-of-scope overflow.
+- Suggestion reliability is fixed only when the active corpus is actually ingested. A healthy process with an empty corpus is still a bad operator experience unless the UI suppresses or fails those paths explicitly.
+
 ## Product rules
 1. Search is the primary entry point.
-2. AdvisoryAI is a secondary deep-dive opened from search, not a competing starting point.
+2. AdvisoryAI is a secondary deep-dive opened from search, not a competing starting point or route jump.
 3. Search should infer relevance and intent; the user should not need to choose a mode.
 4. Search should bias to the current page context automatically; the user should not need to toggle scope.
 5. Search should never advertise a suggestion that cannot execute against the active corpus.
 6. Search history should contain only successful searches.
 7. Telemetry remains optional. Search behavior must not depend on analytics emission.
+8. Search UI must avoid teaching Stella terminology or search mechanics before the operator has even started.
 
 ## Target interaction model
 ### Entry
 - Keep one primary search field in the top bar.
 - Add a compact AdvisoryAI launcher icon beside the search input.
 - Opening chat from that icon inherits the current page, current query, and top evidence when available.
+- Opening chat must stay on the current page through a global drawer or equivalent shell-level host. Search should not navigate the operator into a different feature route just to ask follow-up questions.
 
 ### Query understanding
 - Infer likely user intent from the query and visible page context.
@@ -33,6 +42,7 @@
 - Remove the recovery panel.
 - If top results are close in score, compose one short summary across them.
 - If one result is clearly dominant, present that answer first and then cards.
+- Prefer concise operator-facing labels over implementation-facing labels. The UI should show "best match here" and "also relevant elsewhere", not expose ranking jargon.
 
 ### Suggestions
 - Page suggestions become executable search intents, not static chips.
@@ -44,6 +54,7 @@
 ### History
 - Persist and render only searches that returned results.
 - Keep history clear as a low-emphasis icon action, not a labeled call-to-action.
+- Existing history entries with zero results should be ignored on load so prior failed experiments do not pollute the empty state.
 
 ## Runtime rules
 ### Implicit scope weighting
@@ -63,10 +74,28 @@
 - Live Playwright coverage must assert that every surfaced suggestion returns visible results.
 - A service health check alone is not enough. On 2026-03-07, `http://127.1.0.44/health` returned `200` while the live knowledge rebuild returned `documentCount=0`; the product still surfaced dead chips. Corpus readiness is the gate, not process liveness.
 
-## Phase map
-- Phase 1: FE primary-entry consolidation and removal of explicit search controls.
-- Phase 2: AdvisoryAI implicit scope weighting, answer blending, and suggestion viability.
-- Phase 3: FE consumption of overflow results and executable suggestion contracts.
-  - Implemented on 2026-03-07: backend `contextAnswer` is now preferred over frontend heuristics, overflow renders as a secondary result section, and suggestion viability preflight suppresses dead chips before they are shown.
-- Phase 4: Live Playwright reliability matrix with corpus preflight and chip-success guarantees.
-  - Implemented on 2026-03-07: the live suite now rebuilds the active corpus, fails fast on empty knowledge projections, iterates every surfaced Doctor suggestion, and verifies Ask-AdvisoryAI inherits the live search context.
+## Corrective execution phases
+### Phase A - Search-first and assistant-second shell behavior
+- Replace route-jumping chat opens with a global assistant drawer hosted by the shell.
+- Remove mode switching from the assistant UI and prompt generation.
+- Make the top-bar search icon the canonical assistant entry from any page.
+
+### Phase B - Zero-learning search surface collapse
+- Remove or minimize empty-state product education that teaches Stella structure instead of solving the current question.
+- Keep `Did you mean` immediately under the input and keep overflow presentation subtle.
+- Keep suggestions executable, short, and page-aware without extra explanation burden.
+
+### Phase C - Ranking, answer blending, and optional telemetry
+- Refine current-page/entity/action weighting so in-scope answers dominate when sensible.
+- Blend answers only when the top evidence cluster is genuinely close; otherwise show a decisive primary answer.
+- Ensure analytics, feedback, and quality telemetry can be disabled without breaking search, suggestions, history, or chat handoff.
+
+### Phase D - Live ingestion-backed reliability matrix
+- Keep mock-backed E2E for deterministic UI shape.
+- Add live ingested E2E for the actual suggestions and answer experience on supported domains.
+- Fail fast when corpus rebuild/readiness is missing so dead suggestions are treated as setup failures, not flaky UI tests.
+
+## Current state
+- Implemented before the corrective phases: explicit scope/mode/recovery controls were removed from the main search flow, implicit current-scope weighting and overflow contracts were added, and suggestion viability preflight now suppresses dead chips before render.
+- Implemented before the corrective phases: the live Doctor suggestion suite now rebuilds the active corpus, fails on empty knowledge projections, iterates every surfaced suggestion, and verifies Ask-AdvisoryAI inherits the live search context.
+- Still pending from the corrective phases: shell-level assistant unification, assistant de-mode-ing, empty-state collapse, broader live-page matrices, and explicit client-side telemetry opt-out.