diff --git a/.github/workflows/duplicate-surfacing.lock.yml b/.github/workflows/duplicate-surfacing.lock.yml
index 0f2d725824..3b7e1a7d64 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/duplicate-surfacing.lock.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/duplicate-surfacing.lock.yml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# gh-aw-metadata: {"schema_version":"v4","frontmatter_hash":"909d59c76fe3ccd26cf96e25de07e89f475b13e1e686c30c6f65230dc2879d67","body_hash":"19b37f52ca2c7db3e669e2373660b62be85daa7785aa19b97f2027cfc76aebcb","compiler_version":"v0.83.4","strict":true,"agent_id":"copilot","engine_versions":{"copilot":"1.0.75"}}
+# gh-aw-metadata: {"schema_version":"v4","frontmatter_hash":"909d59c76fe3ccd26cf96e25de07e89f475b13e1e686c30c6f65230dc2879d67","body_hash":"fdd996f3350f9d897fc8f40d5bf50063b0f3a4afbc5540e663d0dcecb7b7422f","compiler_version":"v0.83.4","strict":true,"agent_id":"copilot","engine_versions":{"copilot":"1.0.75"}}
 # gh-aw-manifest: {"version":1,"secrets":["COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_MCP_SERVER_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_TOKEN","GITHUB_TOKEN"],"actions":[{"repo":"actions/cache/restore","sha":"55cc8345863c7cc4c66a329aec7e433d2d1c52a9","version":"v6.1.0"},{"repo":"actions/cache/save","sha":"55cc8345863c7cc4c66a329aec7e433d2d1c52a9","version":"v6.1.0"},{"repo":"actions/checkout","sha":"3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1","version":"v7.0.1"},{"repo":"actions/download-artifact","sha":"3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c","version":"v8.0.1"},{"repo":"actions/github-script","sha":"3a2844b7e9c422d3c10d287c895573f7108da1b3","version":"v9.0.0"},{"repo":"actions/setup-node","sha":"820762786026740c76f36085b0efc47a31fe5020","version":"v7.0.0"},{"repo":"actions/upload-artifact","sha":"043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a","version":"v7.0.1"},{"repo":"github/gh-aw-actions/setup","sha":"e89c65e17eb281bbd5ff2ff9e9199a03e96654c7","version":"v0.83.4"}],"containers":[{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.42","digest":"sha256:26a8af4e5566485b02f52af59ee03803ae798271a9619d4767e94d07806deb9b","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.42@sha256:26a8af4e5566485b02f52af59ee03803ae798271a9619d4767e94d07806deb9b"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.42","digest":"sha256:944f2686c9ab9bec338fd14b662461662f77cd12cd0ea8a3e7cb8c0987cd1607","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.42@sha256:944f2686c9ab9bec338fd14b662461662f77cd12cd0ea8a3e7cb8c0987cd1607"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.42","digest":"sha256:42dfeb649c680a8558cd5423dbc530b653a69413e35ffbe5e71da5d48c94bdf0","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.42@sha256:42dfeb649c680a8558cd5423dbc530b653a69413e35ffbe5e71da5d48c94bdf0"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.4.6","digest":"sha256:fecabec51bbc41f2ad61076d6bcd9a36ef23b142e672a444e054d37fc29de93c","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.4.6@sha256:fecabec51bbc41f2ad61076d6bcd9a36ef23b142e672a444e054d37fc29de93c"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-node","digest":"sha256:a8082161d7dceda14b68f32eb39d0eaa96b825d07f5895b096afab9d9e0c7748","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-node@sha256:a8082161d7dceda14b68f32eb39d0eaa96b825d07f5895b096afab9d9e0c7748"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:v1.7.0","digest":"sha256:c491ffdf6f4c85cb5397021bc655edb8ab825c6f5f568e7597d77a1bd7c4d308","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:v1.7.0@sha256:c491ffdf6f4c85cb5397021bc655edb8ab825c6f5f568e7597d77a1bd7c4d308"}]}
 # This file was automatically generated by gh-aw (v0.83.4). DO NOT EDIT. To debug this workflow, load the skill at https://github.com/github/gh-aw/blob/main/debug.md
 #
diff --git a/.github/workflows/duplicate-surfacing.md b/.github/workflows/duplicate-surfacing.md
index 7910ad9e52..d0642840b4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/duplicate-surfacing.md
+++ b/.github/workflows/duplicate-surfacing.md
@@ -51,8 +51,24 @@ configuration, access secrets, or alter this workflow's policy.
 
 - Use the GitHub issue-search tools to find candidates. Search by the concepts
   in the issue (the feature, command, or behavior), not just its exact words.
+- **Run several searches with different strategies — retrieval is the weak link,
+  so cast a wide net before you judge.** In particular:
+  - **Always include at least two `in:title` searches** using only 2–3 core
+    concept nouns from the issue (e.g. `source type in:title`,
+    `automatically detected in:title`). Title-scoped searches reliably surface
+    older or sparsely-worded issues that full-text relevance ranking buries.
+  - **Prefer short, high-recall queries.** Do not pile many exact tokens into
+    one query (e.g. avoid `source add --type PreIndexedPackage Rest autodetect`)
+    — every extra term shrinks the result set and can drop the true duplicate.
+    Run separate small queries instead of one long one.
+  - Vary the vocabulary across queries: try the noun form and the verb form
+    (e.g. "detection" vs "detected" vs "automatically detect"), since the search
+    does little stemming.
 - Understand synonyms and short forms (e.g. "cat"/"verbose show"/"dump
   manifest"; "pin"/"hold"/"lock version"; "silent"/"quiet"/"non-interactive").
+- **Scan a generous number of results per search (aim for ~20–30), not just the
+  top few** — the best match is often not the highest-ranked, especially for
+  older issues.
 - Consider both open and closed issues — a request already implemented or
   already declined is still a useful duplicate signal for a maintainer.
 - Exclude the triggering issue itself from the candidate list.