diff --git a/src/ai/ai_client.c b/src/ai/ai_client.c
index 41f07e45..aadc1e46 100644
--- a/src/ai/ai_client.c
+++ b/src/ai/ai_client.c
@@ -360,7 +360,7 @@ ai_list_providers(void)
 /* Stateful provider name finder with case-sensitive matching.
  * Maintains position in sorted list for deterministic tab-completion cycling.
  * The autocomplete is kept in sync via ai_add_provider/ai_remove_provider. */
-char*
+gchar*
 ai_providers_find(const char* const search_str, gboolean previous, void* context)
 {
     /* Initialize autocomplete on first use */
@@ -368,8 +368,11 @@ ai_providers_find(const char* const search_str, gboolean previous, void* context
         providers_ac = autocomplete_new();
     }
 
+    /* NULL search_str is treated as empty string for cycling */
+    const char* effective_search = (search_str != NULL) ? search_str : "";
+
     /* Use stateful autocomplete */
-    return autocomplete_complete(providers_ac, search_str, FALSE, previous);
+    return autocomplete_complete(providers_ac, effective_search, FALSE, previous);
 }
 
 gchar*
diff --git a/src/ai/ai_client.h b/src/ai/ai_client.h
index c6aaeca1..f61d6356 100644
--- a/src/ai/ai_client.h
+++ b/src/ai/ai_client.h
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ GList* ai_list_providers(void);
  * @param context Unused
  * @return Provider name, or NULL if not found
  */
-char* ai_providers_find(const char* const search_str, gboolean previous, void* context);
+gchar* ai_providers_find(const char* const search_str, gboolean previous, void* context);
 
 /**
  * Get the API key for a provider.
diff --git a/tests/unittests/test_ai_client.c b/tests/unittests/test_ai_client.c
index d0a38cb6..ee00d316 100644
--- a/tests/unittests/test_ai_client.c
+++ b/tests/unittests/test_ai_client.c
@@ -356,20 +356,18 @@ void
 test_ai_providers_find_forward(void** state)
 {
     /* Test forward iteration - should return first match */
-    char* result = ai_providers_find("o", FALSE, NULL);
+    auto_gchar gchar* result = ai_providers_find("o", FALSE, NULL);
     assert_non_null(result);
     assert_string_equal("openai", result);
-    g_free(result);
 }
 
 void
 test_ai_providers_find_forward_perplexity(void** state)
 {
     /* Test forward iteration for perplexity */
-    char* result = ai_providers_find("p", FALSE, NULL);
+    auto_gchar gchar* result = ai_providers_find("p", FALSE, NULL);
     assert_non_null(result);
     assert_string_equal("perplexity", result);
-    g_free(result);
 }
 
 void
@@ -378,17 +376,16 @@ test_ai_providers_find_forward_custom(void** state)
     /* Add a custom provider and test */
     ai_add_provider("custom", "https://custom.api.com/v1", NULL);
 
-    char* result = ai_providers_find("c", FALSE, NULL);
+    auto_gchar gchar* result = ai_providers_find("c", FALSE, NULL);
     assert_non_null(result);
     assert_string_equal("custom", result);
-    g_free(result);
 }
 
 void
 test_ai_providers_find_forward_no_match(void** state)
 {
     /* Test no match */
-    char* result = ai_providers_find("z", FALSE, NULL);
+    auto_gchar gchar* result = ai_providers_find("z", FALSE, NULL);
     assert_null(result);
 }
 
@@ -396,26 +393,23 @@ void
 test_ai_providers_find_forward_partial_match(void** state)
 {
     /* Test partial match - should return providers starting with "ope" */
-    char* result = ai_providers_find("ope", FALSE, NULL);
+    auto_gchar gchar* result = ai_providers_find("ope", FALSE, NULL);
     assert_non_null(result);
     assert_string_equal("openai", result);
-    g_free(result);
 }
 
 void
 test_ai_providers_find_next(void** state)
 {
     /* Test that stateless implementation returns same result each call */
-    char* result1 = ai_providers_find("o", FALSE, NULL);
+    auto_gchar gchar* result1 = ai_providers_find("o", FALSE, NULL);
     assert_non_null(result1);
     assert_string_equal("openai", result1);
-    g_free(result1);
 
     /* Second call with same params returns same result (stateless) */
-    char* result2 = ai_providers_find("o", FALSE, NULL);
+    auto_gchar gchar* result2 = ai_providers_find("o", FALSE, NULL);
     assert_non_null(result2);
     assert_string_equal("openai", result2);
-    g_free(result2);
 }
 
 void
@@ -423,44 +417,47 @@ test_ai_providers_find_previous(void** state)
 {
     /* Test that previous=TRUE returns last match in list */
     /* With only "openai" starting with "o", both FALSE and TRUE return same result */
-    char* result1 = ai_providers_find("o", FALSE, NULL);
+    auto_gchar gchar* result1 = ai_providers_find("o", FALSE, NULL);
     assert_non_null(result1);
     assert_string_equal("openai", result1);
-    g_free(result1);
 
     /* previous=TRUE also returns "openai" (only one match, so first==last) */
-    char* result2 = ai_providers_find("o", TRUE, NULL);
+    auto_gchar gchar* result2 = ai_providers_find("o", TRUE, NULL);
     assert_non_null(result2);
     assert_string_equal("openai", result2);
-    g_free(result2);
 }
 
 void
 test_ai_providers_find_null_search_str(void** state)
 {
-    char* result = ai_providers_find(NULL, FALSE, NULL);
-    assert_null(result);
+    /* NULL search_str triggers cycling: returns first provider in list */
+    auto_gchar gchar* result = ai_providers_find(NULL, FALSE, NULL);
+    assert_non_null(result);
+    assert_string_equal("openai", result);
 }
 
 void
 test_ai_providers_find_empty_search_str(void** state)
 {
-    char* result = ai_providers_find("", FALSE, NULL);
-    assert_null(result);
+    /* Empty search_str triggers cycling: returns first provider in list */
+    auto_gchar gchar* result = ai_providers_find("", FALSE, NULL);
+    assert_non_null(result);
+    assert_string_equal("openai", result);
 }
 
 void
-test_ai_providers_find_case_sensitive(void** state)
+test_ai_providers_find_case_insensitive(void** state)
 {
-    /* Test that matching is case-sensitive */
-    char* result = ai_providers_find("OPENAI", FALSE, NULL);
-    assert_null(result);
+    /* Test that matching is case-insensitive (via g_ascii_strdown) */
+    auto_gchar gchar* result = ai_providers_find("OPENAI", FALSE, NULL);
+    assert_non_null(result);
+    assert_string_equal("openai", result);
 
     result = ai_providers_find("OpenAI", FALSE, NULL);
-    assert_null(result);
+    assert_non_null(result);
+    assert_string_equal("openai", result);
 
     result = ai_providers_find("openai", FALSE, NULL);
     assert_non_null(result);
     assert_string_equal("openai", result);
-    g_free(result);
 }
diff --git a/tests/unittests/test_ai_client.h b/tests/unittests/test_ai_client.h
index d56d2e26..7593aad8 100644
--- a/tests/unittests/test_ai_client.h
+++ b/tests/unittests/test_ai_client.h
@@ -39,4 +39,4 @@ void test_ai_providers_find_next(void** state);
 void test_ai_providers_find_previous(void** state);
 void test_ai_providers_find_null_search_str(void** state);
 void test_ai_providers_find_empty_search_str(void** state);
-void test_ai_providers_find_case_sensitive(void** state);
+void test_ai_providers_find_case_insensitive(void** state);
diff --git a/tests/unittests/unittests.c b/tests/unittests/unittests.c
index 13698f95..f28b3724 100644
--- a/tests/unittests/unittests.c
+++ b/tests/unittests/unittests.c
@@ -687,7 +687,7 @@ main(int argc, char* argv[])
         cmocka_unit_test_setup_teardown(test_ai_providers_find_previous, ai_client_setup, ai_client_teardown),
         cmocka_unit_test_setup_teardown(test_ai_providers_find_null_search_str, ai_client_setup, ai_client_teardown),
         cmocka_unit_test_setup_teardown(test_ai_providers_find_empty_search_str, ai_client_setup, ai_client_teardown),
-        cmocka_unit_test_setup_teardown(test_ai_providers_find_case_sensitive, ai_client_setup, ai_client_teardown),
+        cmocka_unit_test_setup_teardown(test_ai_providers_find_case_insensitive, ai_client_setup, ai_client_teardown),
         cmocka_unit_test(test_ai_json_escape),
         cmocka_unit_test(test_ai_json_escape_null),
         cmocka_unit_test(test_ai_json_escape_empty),