diff --git a/docs/implplan/SPRINT_20260307_017_DOCS_search_zero_learning_consolidation_strategy.md b/docs/implplan/SPRINT_20260307_017_DOCS_search_zero_learning_consolidation_strategy.md
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+# Sprint 20260307-017 - Search Zero-Learning Consolidation Strategy
+
+## Topic & Scope
+- Capture the search/advisory redesign as a zero-learning product strategy rather than incremental control polish.
+- Record the live suggestion failure that proves current static chips are not corpus-aware.
+- Define phased implementation sprints with clear FE/backend/test ownership.
+- Working directory: `docs/`.
+- Expected evidence: strategy doc, phased sprint files, execution-log evidence for live failure, and explicit optional-telemetry guidance.
+
+## Dependencies & Concurrency
+- Depends on the shipped contextual search and self-serve answer work already documented in `SPRINT_20260307_004` and `SPRINT_20260307_005`.
+- Safe parallelism:
+  - FE and AdvisoryAI implementation can proceed in parallel after this phase freezes the target UX model.
+  - Live E2E work should wait until phases 1-3 stabilize their contracts.
+
+## Documentation Prerequisites
+- `docs/modules/advisory-ai/knowledge-search.md`
+- `docs/modules/advisory-ai/unified-search-architecture.md`
+- `docs/modules/ui/search-zero-learning-primary-entry.md`
+
+## Delivery Tracker
+
+### DOCS-ZL-001 - Record current UX and reliability failures
+Status: DONE
+Dependency: none
+Owners: Project Manager, Documentation author
+Task description:
+- Document the current conceptual overload in search: explicit modes, explicit scope control, recovery-panel language, and split search/chat entry points.
+- Record live evidence showing that rendered suggestion chips can fail because the active corpus is empty or insufficient.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [x] The strategy doc records the current UX problems in product terms.
+- [x] The strategy doc records the live suggestion failure and why it matters.
+
+### DOCS-ZL-002 - Freeze the target interaction model and phase plan
+Status: DONE
+Dependency: DOCS-ZL-001
+Owners: Project Manager
+Task description:
+- Define the target zero-learning search model and break it into delivery phases that implementation teams can execute without ambiguity.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [x] The target interaction rules are explicit.
+- [x] Phase ownership is split across FE, AdvisoryAI, and Playwright verification.
+- [x] Optional telemetry is stated as a non-negotiable requirement.
+
+## Execution Log
+| Date (UTC) | Update | Owner |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| 2026-03-07 | Sprint created to reframe search as Stella Ops' primary self-serve entry point. | Project Manager |
+| 2026-03-07 | Verified a live failure against the running AdvisoryAI service at `http://127.1.0.44`: knowledge rebuild returned `documentCount=0`, `chunkCount=0`, and `doctorProjectionCount=0`; unified rebuild returned only `chunkCount=14`; querying `database connectivity` returned zero cards while the UI still advertised that suggestion. | Test Automation |
+| 2026-03-07 | Published the zero-learning search strategy and phased sprint set for FE consolidation, backend ranking/viability work, and live reliability enforcement. | Documentation author |
+
+## Decisions & Risks
+- Decision: search is the primary entry; AdvisoryAI becomes a secondary deep-dive action launched from search.
+- Decision: explicit search modes and explicit scope controls are product debt and should be removed from the main interaction.
+- Decision: telemetry remains optional and additive.
+- Risk: current static suggestion chips can mislead users when the active corpus is empty.
+- Mitigation: introduce suggestion viability gating and live corpus preflight in later phases.
+
+## Next Checkpoints
+- 2026-03-08: Start phase 1 FE consolidation.
+- 2026-03-09: Start phase 2 backend implicit-scope and suggestion-viability work.
+- 2026-03-10: Run the live reliability matrix over the new contract.
diff --git a/docs/implplan/SPRINT_20260307_018_FE_search_primary_entry_consolidation.md b/docs/implplan/SPRINT_20260307_018_FE_search_primary_entry_consolidation.md
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+# Sprint 20260307-018 - FE Search Primary Entry Consolidation
+
+## Topic & Scope
+- Make search the single primary top-bar entry point and move AdvisoryAI to a secondary icon action beside it.
+- Remove explicit search learning controls from the UI: modes, scope toggle, and recovery panel.
+- Simplify the empty, correction, result, and history states so users do not need to learn how Stella search works before it helps them.
+- Working directory: `src/Web/StellaOps.Web`.
+- Expected evidence: Angular unit tests, focused Playwright coverage, updated UI documentation, and a scoped commit.
+
+## Dependencies & Concurrency
+- Depends on `SPRINT_20260307_017_DOCS_search_zero_learning_consolidation_strategy.md`.
+- Safe parallelism:
+  - AdvisoryAI ranking/viability work in phase 2 can start in parallel once the FE contract assumptions are explicit.
+
+## Documentation Prerequisites
+- `docs/modules/ui/search-zero-learning-primary-entry.md`
+- `docs/modules/advisory-ai/knowledge-search.md`
+
+## Delivery Tracker
+
+### FE-ZL-001 - Search-first top-bar entry with secondary chat launcher
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: none
+Owners: Developer (FE)
+Task description:
+- Keep one primary search input and add a compact AdvisoryAI launcher beside it.
+- Opening chat must inherit page context and current query when present.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] Search remains the primary focus target in the header.
+- [ ] AdvisoryAI launches from a secondary icon/button beside search.
+- [ ] Existing chat handoff still works from result cards and answer panels.
+
+### FE-ZL-002 - Remove explicit mode/scope/recovery controls
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: FE-ZL-001
+Owners: Developer (FE)
+Task description:
+- Remove the `Find / Explain / Act` segmented control, explicit scope chip, and recovery card panel from the main search UI.
+- Move `Did you mean` immediately under the input.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] No explicit mode control remains in the search panel.
+- [ ] No explicit scope toggle remains in the search panel.
+- [ ] No recovery panel remains in empty-result states.
+- [ ] `Did you mean` renders directly under the input when present.
+
+### FE-ZL-003 - History cleanup and low-emphasis clear action
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: FE-ZL-002
+Owners: Developer (FE)
+Task description:
+- Exclude zero-result history entries from the visible recent-search list.
+- Replace the current clear-history button with a discrete icon action.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] Recent history excludes searches with zero results.
+- [ ] Clear-history affordance is icon-based and visually low emphasis.
+- [ ] Search history tests cover the new behavior.
+
+### FE-ZL-004 - Focused FE verification
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: FE-ZL-003
+Owners: Test Automation
+Task description:
+- Add or update Angular and Playwright tests for the consolidated UI model.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] Unit tests cover removed controls and new placement rules.
+- [ ] Playwright covers the new top-bar, history, and `Did you mean` behavior.
+- [ ] Tests do not rely on deprecated `mode` or `scope` UI controls.
+
+## Execution Log
+| Date (UTC) | Update | Owner |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| 2026-03-07 | Sprint created from the zero-learning search strategy. | Project Manager |
+
+## Decisions & Risks
+- Decision: the user should not be asked to choose a search mode before entering a query.
+- Decision: page scope becomes implicit UX, not an explicit control.
+- Risk: removing explicit controls may expose gaps in backend ranking that modes were previously masking.
+- Mitigation: phase 2 adds implicit-scope weighting and answer blending on the backend.
+
+## Next Checkpoints
+- 2026-03-08: Implement FE-ZL-001 through FE-ZL-003.
+- 2026-03-08: Run focused FE verification and commit the slice.
diff --git a/docs/implplan/SPRINT_20260307_019_AdvisoryAI_implicit_scope_weighting_and_suggestion_viability.md b/docs/implplan/SPRINT_20260307_019_AdvisoryAI_implicit_scope_weighting_and_suggestion_viability.md
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+# Sprint 20260307-019 - AdvisoryAI Implicit Scope Weighting and Suggestion Viability
+
+## Topic & Scope
+- Replace explicit user-controlled search modes with backend intent inference and answer blending.
+- Weight current page scope automatically, then surface overflow results from outside the page scope only when they are more sensible than staying narrow.
+- Ensure every surfaced suggestion is executable against the active corpus.
+- Working directory: `src/AdvisoryAI`.
+- Expected evidence: targeted AdvisoryAI tests, live rebuilt-corpus verification, updated API/docs, and a scoped commit.
+
+## Dependencies & Concurrency
+- Depends on `SPRINT_20260307_017_DOCS_search_zero_learning_consolidation_strategy.md`.
+- FE phase 1 can proceed in parallel because this phase preserves additive contracts until FE phase 3 consumes them.
+
+## 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
+
+### AI-ZL-001 - Implicit current-scope weighting with overflow fallback
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: none
+Owners: Developer (AdvisoryAI)
+Task description:
+- Weight current route/domain first, but do not hard-filter the query to that scope.
+- Return an explicit overflow set when outside-scope cards are materially stronger than in-scope cards.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] Current scope is applied as a ranking bias, not a hard toggle.
+- [ ] Query responses can distinguish primary in-scope cards from overflow cards.
+- [ ] Ranking remains deterministic.
+
+### AI-ZL-002 - Intent inference and blended answer summaries
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: AI-ZL-001
+Owners: Developer (AdvisoryAI)
+Task description:
+- Infer answer shape from the query and evidence instead of relying on client-selected `find`, `explain`, or `act` modes.
+- When top results are near-tied, emit a concise blended summary with bounded citations.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] No client mode input is required for good ranking behavior.
+- [ ] Responses can emit a blended summary across close top results.
+- [ ] Single-dominant-result behavior remains grounded and explicit.
+
+### AI-ZL-003 - Suggestion viability and corpus coverage signaling
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: AI-ZL-001
+Owners: Developer (AdvisoryAI)
+Task description:
+- Only return suggestions that are executable against the active corpus or domain coverage.
+- Add bounded coverage diagnostics so FE can suppress misleading chips when the relevant corpus is empty.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] Surfaced suggestions are backed by non-zero evidence or confirmed domain coverage.
+- [ ] Responses expose enough coverage state for FE to suppress dead suggestions.
+- [ ] Live verification covers the previously failing suggestion path.
+
+### AI-ZL-004 - Optional telemetry preservation
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: AI-ZL-001
+Owners: Developer (AdvisoryAI)
+Task description:
+- Preserve telemetry as optional and additive while the ranking and suggestion contracts evolve.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] Search behavior is correct when analytics events are never emitted.
+- [ ] New contracts do not require telemetry to function.
+
+### AI-ZL-005 - Targeted backend and live verification
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: AI-ZL-003
+Owners: Test Automation
+Task description:
+- Add focused tests for implicit scope weighting, overflow results, blended answers, and executable suggestions.
+- Re-run the live rebuilt-corpus lane and confirm the prior suggestion failure is either fixed or suppressed correctly.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] Targeted `.csproj`-level evidence exists for the new ranking contract.
+- [ ] Live verification covers at least one formerly failing suggestion path.
+- [ ] Execution logs record the exact commands and outcomes.
+
+## Execution Log
+| Date (UTC) | Update | Owner |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| 2026-03-07 | Sprint created from the zero-learning search strategy and the reproduced live suggestion failure. | Project Manager |
+
+## Decisions & Risks
+- Decision: implicit scope weighting replaces explicit scope selection in the primary search UX.
+- Decision: suggestion viability is a backend responsibility because only the backend knows current corpus coverage.
+- Risk: live corpora may be partially empty in local/dev deployments.
+- Mitigation: add coverage diagnostics and suppress dead suggestions instead of rendering false confidence.
+
+## Next Checkpoints
+- 2026-03-09: Implement AI-ZL-001 through AI-ZL-003.
+- 2026-03-09: Re-run live verification on the suggestion path.
diff --git a/docs/implplan/SPRINT_20260307_020_FE_search_result_consolidation_and_chat_handoff.md b/docs/implplan/SPRINT_20260307_020_FE_search_result_consolidation_and_chat_handoff.md
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+# Sprint 20260307-020 - FE Search Result Consolidation and Chat Handoff
+
+## Topic & Scope
+- Consume the backend's implicit-scope and suggestion-viability contract.
+- Present search as a zero-learning result flow with primary in-scope answers, optional overflow results, and secondary chat deep-dive actions.
+- Working directory: `src/Web/StellaOps.Web`.
+- Expected evidence: Angular unit tests, Playwright coverage, updated docs, and a scoped commit.
+
+## Dependencies & Concurrency
+- Depends on `SPRINT_20260307_018_FE_search_primary_entry_consolidation.md`.
+- Depends on `SPRINT_20260307_019_AdvisoryAI_implicit_scope_weighting_and_suggestion_viability.md` for the additive response contract.
+
+## Documentation Prerequisites
+- `docs/modules/ui/search-zero-learning-primary-entry.md`
+- `docs/modules/advisory-ai/unified-search-architecture.md`
+
+## Delivery Tracker
+
+### FE-ZL-005 - Render primary and overflow result sections
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: none
+Owners: Developer (FE)
+Task description:
+- Render primary in-scope cards first, then an overflow section only when the backend returns stronger outside-scope evidence.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] Primary and overflow result sections are visually distinct.
+- [ ] Overflow is hidden when not returned.
+- [ ] No manual scope toggle is reintroduced.
+
+### FE-ZL-006 - Executable suggestion rendering
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: FE-ZL-005
+Owners: Developer (FE)
+Task description:
+- Render only backend-confirmed executable suggestions.
+- Hide or downgrade suggestions when the backend signals missing corpus coverage.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] Dead suggestions are not rendered as clickable chips.
+- [ ] Coverage-empty states do not advertise invalid queries.
+- [ ] Existing page-suggestion behavior is migrated to the new contract.
+
+### FE-ZL-007 - Consolidated answer and chat deep-dive handoff
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: FE-ZL-005
+Owners: Developer (FE)
+Task description:
+- Keep answer summaries concise and keep chat as the detailed deep-dive path from the new launcher and answer surfaces.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] Search answers stay concise.
+- [ ] Chat handoff is available from the top bar and the answer surface.
+- [ ] Handoff carries current query, page context, and top evidence.
+
+### FE-ZL-008 - Focused FE verification
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: FE-ZL-006
+Owners: Test Automation
+Task description:
+- Add or update Playwright and unit coverage for overflow results, executable suggestions, and chat handoff.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] Tests assert overflow rendering only when the backend returns it.
+- [ ] Tests assert that every rendered suggestion is executable.
+- [ ] Tests cover the new chat launcher path.
+
+## Execution Log
+| Date (UTC) | Update | Owner |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| 2026-03-07 | Sprint created from the zero-learning search strategy. | Project Manager |
+
+## Decisions & Risks
+- Decision: chat is a deep-dive path, not a parallel start experience.
+- Risk: old FE code may still assume `mode` or explicit scope controls.
+- Mitigation: remove those assumptions in phase 1 before consuming the new contract here.
+
+## Next Checkpoints
+- 2026-03-10: Implement FE-ZL-005 through FE-ZL-007.
+- 2026-03-10: Run focused FE verification and commit the slice.
diff --git a/docs/implplan/SPRINT_20260307_021_FE_playwright_search_live_reliability_matrix.md b/docs/implplan/SPRINT_20260307_021_FE_playwright_search_live_reliability_matrix.md
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+# Sprint 20260307-021 - Playwright Search Live Reliability Matrix
+
+## Topic & Scope
+- Prove the consolidated search experience behaviorally with live and mocked Playwright coverage.
+- Guarantee that surfaced suggestions execute successfully in the environments where they are shown.
+- Add corpus preflight so live tests fail loudly when coverage is missing instead of silently treating dead suggestions as valid UX.
+- Working directory: `src/Web/StellaOps.Web`.
+- Expected evidence: Playwright specs, live corpus preflight, command output, and a scoped commit.
+
+## Dependencies & Concurrency
+- Depends on `SPRINT_20260307_018_FE_search_primary_entry_consolidation.md`.
+- Depends on `SPRINT_20260307_019_AdvisoryAI_implicit_scope_weighting_and_suggestion_viability.md`.
+- Depends on `SPRINT_20260307_020_FE_search_result_consolidation_and_chat_handoff.md`.
+
+## Documentation Prerequisites
+- `docs/modules/ui/search-zero-learning-primary-entry.md`
+- `docs/operations/unified-search-operations.md`
+- `src/AdvisoryAI/__Tests/INFRASTRUCTURE.md`
+
+## Delivery Tracker
+
+### QA-ZL-001 - Live corpus preflight
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: none
+Owners: Test Automation
+Task description:
+- Before running live suggestion flows, assert that the relevant corpus has data for the domains under test.
+- Fail fast when the corpus is empty instead of allowing misleading suggestion passes/failures.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] Live tests verify corpus coverage before exercising knowledge suggestions.
+- [ ] Failure output explains whether the issue is corpus emptiness or UX execution.
+
+### QA-ZL-002 - Suggestion execution guarantee
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: QA-ZL-001
+Owners: Test Automation
+Task description:
+- Assert that every rendered suggestion chip returns visible results or is suppressed.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] Live and mocked specs cover suggestion execution.
+- [ ] Surfaced suggestions have 100% visible-result success in the tested matrix.
+
+### QA-ZL-003 - Zero-learning interaction matrix
+Status: TODO
+Dependency: QA-ZL-002
+Owners: Test Automation
+Task description:
+- Cover doctor, findings, policy, timeline, and release routes.
+- Assert no explicit mode/scope/recovery controls remain in the main search UX.
+
+Completion criteria:
+- [ ] Route matrix covers the main pages that own contextual search.
+- [ ] Tests assert the absence of deprecated controls.
+- [ ] Tests assert `Did you mean` placement, history behavior, and chat launcher behavior.
+
+## Execution Log
+| Date (UTC) | Update | Owner |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| 2026-03-07 | Sprint created from the reproduced live suggestion failure and the zero-learning search strategy. | Project Manager |
+
+## Decisions & Risks
+- Decision: live Playwright must distinguish ingestion emptiness from UX failure.
+- Risk: a green mocked suite can hide a broken live corpus.
+- Mitigation: add explicit live preflight and chip-success assertions.
+
+## Next Checkpoints
+- 2026-03-10: Add live preflight and suggestion execution assertions.
+- 2026-03-10: Run the full live reliability matrix.
diff --git a/docs/modules/ui/search-zero-learning-primary-entry.md b/docs/modules/ui/search-zero-learning-primary-entry.md
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+# Search Zero-Learning Primary Entry
+
+## Why this exists
+- Search must be the default entry into Stella Ops for users who do not know Stella terminology, domain boundaries, or internal product structure.
+- 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.
+
+## Product rules
+1. Search is the primary entry point.
+2. AdvisoryAI is a secondary deep-dive opened from search, not a competing starting point.
+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.
+
+## 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.
+
+### Query understanding
+- Infer likely user intent from the query and visible page context.
+- Weight current page/domain first.
+- If current-scope evidence is weak, show overflow results from outside the page scope below the in-scope section instead of asking the user to broaden scope manually.
+
+### Result presentation
+- Place `Did you mean` directly below the input because it is an input correction, not a result refinement.
+- Remove explicit `Find / Explain / Act` controls.
+- Remove the explicit scope toggle chip.
+- 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.
+
+### Suggestions
+- Page suggestions become executable search intents, not static chips.
+- A suggestion is only shown if:
+  - its preferred domain has live evidence, or
+  - the backend confirms non-zero candidate coverage for it.
+- If the current corpus is empty for that page/domain, suppress those suggestion chips instead of showing dead leads.
+
+### History
+- Persist and render only searches that returned results.
+- Keep history clear as a low-emphasis icon action, not a labeled call-to-action.
+
+## Runtime rules
+### Implicit scope weighting
+- Current route/domain is a ranking boost, not a hard filter.
+- Visible entity keys and last action increase local relevance.
+- Out-of-scope results are still allowed, but only after in-scope candidates are exhausted or materially weaker.
+
+### Answer blending
+- If top-N cards fall within a narrow score band, emit a blended summary with citations from multiple cards.
+- If score separation is strong, emit a single-result grounded answer.
+- The frontend should not ask the user to choose whether they want `find` or `explain`; the backend should infer the dominant answer shape.
+
+### Suggestion viability
+- Suggestions must be validated against the current corpus before rendering.
+- Knowledge/domain emptiness should be detectable so the UI can suppress invalid chips.
+- Live Playwright coverage must assert that every surfaced suggestion returns visible results.
+
+## 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.
+- Phase 4: Live Playwright reliability matrix with corpus preflight and chip-success guarantees.