diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 7431f997d9..0bb8f8e920 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -17,6 +17,16 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
   scoping, and native web search. Existing unknown model IDs continue to pass
   through unchanged.
 
+### Fixed
+
+- API-backed `[search]` providers visibly degrade to the keyless Bing tail
+  instead of DuckDuckGo when unavailable: DuckDuckGo is unreachable from
+  mainland-China networks (DNS poisoning plus SNI reset), while Bing serves
+  its global and China endpoints without a key. The all-backends-down error
+  now suggests every selectable API-backed provider, including SearXNG and
+  Sofya, and the `web_search` tool description no longer claims a
+  DuckDuckGo hop for configured API backends.
+
 ## [0.9.5] - 2026-08-08
 
 Codewhale v0.9.5 consolidates the terminal application into one compiled
diff --git a/crates/tui/src/tools/web/backend.rs b/crates/tui/src/tools/web/backend.rs
index 6ae36b0f40..e270963b0b 100644
--- a/crates/tui/src/tools/web/backend.rs
+++ b/crates/tui/src/tools/web/backend.rs
@@ -261,7 +261,8 @@ async fn run_backend_chain(
         .join(", ");
     Err(ToolError::not_available(format!(
         "web search backends unavailable: {backend_ids}; \
-         configure an API-backed [search] provider (tavily, bocha, metaso, baidu, volcengine) for dependable results"
+         configure an API-backed [search] provider (tavily, bocha, metaso, searxng, baidu, \
+         volcengine, sofya) for dependable results"
     )))
 }
 
diff --git a/crates/tui/src/tools/web_search.rs b/crates/tui/src/tools/web_search.rs
index b2f5c0ed60..7ac1c569bb 100644
--- a/crates/tui/src/tools/web_search.rs
+++ b/crates/tui/src/tools/web_search.rs
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 //! Web search tool backed by a bounded backend chain: the active route's
-//! documented provider-native search, configured API search, then DuckDuckGo
-//! HTML scrape with a one-way Bing fallback. Explicit Bing and private
-//! DuckDuckGo-compatible routes remain single-provider. API adapters
+//! documented provider-native search, configured API search, then a keyless
+//! Bing tail chosen by reachability; API outages never route through
+//! DuckDuckGo. The configured DuckDuckGo route keeps its own one-way Bing
+//! scrape fallback. Explicit Bing and private DuckDuckGo-compatible routes
+//! remain single-provider. API adapters
 //! include Tavily, Bocha (博查),
 //! Metaso API (<https://metaso.cn>), SearXNG JSON API, Baidu AI Search,
 //! Volcengine Ark, and Sofya (<https://sofya.co>).
@@ -103,7 +105,7 @@ impl ToolSpec for WebSearchTool {
     }
 
     fn description(&self) -> &'static str {
-        "Search the web and return ranked results with URLs, snippets, session-scoped ref_ids, and an execution receipt. Open a result ref_id with `web.run` when the short summary is not enough; fetch only the few sources needed. When the exact active route reports a documented first-party server-side search tool, it is tried first; otherwise the default backend is DuckDuckGo with Bing fallback. Configured API backends visibly degrade through DuckDuckGo then Bing when unavailable, and every hop is recorded. Configuration and network-policy errors fail closed. Explicit Bing and private DuckDuckGo-compatible routes do not cross providers. Set `[search] provider = \"bing\" | \"tavily\" | \"bocha\" | \"metaso\" | \"searxng\" | \"baidu\" | \"volcengine\" | \"sofya\"` in config.toml, or `[search] base_url` for a private DuckDuckGo-compatible endpoint or trusted SearXNG instance. For a known canonical URL, prefer `fetch_url` directly."
+        "Search the web and return ranked results with URLs, snippets, session-scoped ref_ids, and an execution receipt. Open a result ref_id with `web.run` when the short summary is not enough; fetch only the few sources needed. When the exact active route reports a documented first-party server-side search tool, it is tried first; otherwise the default backend is DuckDuckGo with Bing fallback. Configured API backends visibly degrade through the keyless Bing tail when unavailable, and every hop is recorded. Configuration and network-policy errors fail closed. Explicit Bing and private DuckDuckGo-compatible routes do not cross providers. Set `[search] provider = \"bing\" | \"tavily\" | \"bocha\" | \"metaso\" | \"searxng\" | \"baidu\" | \"volcengine\" | \"sofya\"` in config.toml, or `[search] base_url` for a private DuckDuckGo-compatible endpoint or trusted SearXNG instance. For a known canonical URL, prefer `fetch_url` directly."
     }
 
     fn input_schema(&self) -> Value {