diff --git a/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/background-helper.test.js b/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/background-helper.test.js
index 6a7afc8..6364fb2 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/background-helper.test.js
+++ b/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/background-helper.test.js
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ describe('extension network helper requests', () => {
         sendMessage: done(),
       },
       storage: { local: storage(), session: storage() },
+      tabs: { onUpdated: { addListener: vi.fn() }, update: done() },
       proxy: { settings: { set: done(), clear: done() } },
       privacy: { network: { webRTCIPHandlingPolicy: { set: done(), clear: done() } } },
     });
diff --git a/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/background.js b/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/background.js
index 8e82730..75a8fac 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/background.js
+++ b/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/background.js
@@ -1,10 +1,19 @@
 import { decideInstallTarget, lookupInstalled } from './install-state.js';
 import { PIT_SOCKS_PORT, pitProxyConfig } from './pit-proxy.js';
 import { installPush } from './push-client.js';
+import { w3bsFromSearch } from './w3bs.js';
 
 // Web Push through TronBrowser's configured push service (the engine has none).
 installPush();
 
+// A w3bs:// URI typed in the address bar becomes a web search. w3bs-rules.json
+// redirects that search before it loads, but not when the omnibox serves it
+// from its search prefetch, so catch whatever a tab lands on as well.
+chrome.tabs.onUpdated.addListener((tabId, change) => {
+  const target = change.url && w3bsFromSearch(change.url);
+  if (target) chrome.tabs.update(tabId, { url: target }).catch(() => {});
+});
+
 // Open the AI side panel when the toolbar action is clicked.
 chrome.sidePanel
   .setPanelBehavior({ openPanelOnActionClick: true })
diff --git a/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/w3bs.js b/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/w3bs.js
index 33a2dbb..5d84ec7 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/w3bs.js
+++ b/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/w3bs.js
@@ -8,3 +8,22 @@ export function w3bsUrl(input) {
   const uri = String(input ?? '').trim();
   return /^w3bs:/i.test(uri) ? W3BS_GATEWAY + encodeURIComponent(uri) : null;
 }
+
+/**
+ * The resolver URL for a search results page whose query is a W3BS URI, or
+ * null. Chromium searches a typed w3bs://chovy.hacker instead of opening it,
+ * and when the omnibox serves that search from its prefetch the
+ * declarativeNetRequest rule in w3bs-rules.json never sees a request, so the
+ * background worker also checks every URL a tab lands on.
+ */
+export function w3bsFromSearch(href) {
+  let url;
+  try {
+    url = new URL(href);
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  }
+  if (url.protocol !== 'https:' || url.hostname === 'w3bs.org') return null;
+  const q = url.searchParams.get('q');
+  return q ? w3bsUrl(q) : null;
+}
diff --git a/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/w3bs.test.js b/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/w3bs.test.js
index 71c3a73..301861c 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/w3bs.test.js
+++ b/apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/w3bs.test.js
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
-import { w3bsUrl } from './w3bs.js';
+import { w3bsFromSearch, w3bsUrl } from './w3bs.js';
 
 describe('w3bsUrl', () => {
   it('sends a W3BS URI to the w3bs.org resolver', () => {
@@ -20,3 +20,21 @@ describe('w3bsUrl', () => {
     expect(w3bsUrl('')).toBeNull();
   });
 });
+
+describe('w3bsFromSearch', () => {
+  it('turns a search for a W3BS URI into the resolver', () => {
+    expect(w3bsFromSearch('https://pit.world/search?q=w3bs%3A%2F%2Fchovy.hacker')).toBe(
+      'https://w3bs.org/browse?q=w3bs%3A%2F%2Fchovy.hacker',
+    );
+    expect(w3bsFromSearch('https://duckduckgo.com/?q=W3BS%3A%2F%2Fprompt%2Fw3bs%2Fresearch&ia=web')).toBe(
+      'https://w3bs.org/browse?q=W3BS%3A%2F%2Fprompt%2Fw3bs%2Fresearch',
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('leaves other pages, other searches and w3bs.org alone', () => {
+    expect(w3bsFromSearch('https://pit.world/search?q=hello+w3bs')).toBeNull();
+    expect(w3bsFromSearch('https://w3bs.org/browse?q=w3bs%3A%2F%2Fchovy.hacker')).toBeNull();
+    expect(w3bsFromSearch('chrome://newtab/')).toBeNull();
+    expect(w3bsFromSearch('not a url')).toBeNull();
+  });
+});