diff --git a/frontend-modern/src/components/AI/FindingsPanel.tsx b/frontend-modern/src/components/AI/FindingsPanel.tsx
index 574a5779bf..7970de8266 100644
--- a/frontend-modern/src/components/AI/FindingsPanel.tsx
+++ b/frontend-modern/src/components/AI/FindingsPanel.tsx
@@ -518,7 +518,7 @@ export const FindingsPanel: Component<FindingsPanelProps> = (props) => {
 
   const openFindingInAssistant = async (
     finding: UnifiedFinding,
-    intent: 'discuss' | 'explain',
+    intent: 'discuss' | 'explain' | 'investigate',
   ) => {
     await aiIntelligenceStore.loadPendingApprovals();
     const subject = getFindingSubjectPresentation(finding).label;
@@ -559,15 +559,15 @@ export const FindingsPanel: Component<FindingsPanelProps> = (props) => {
       nextStepAction,
       intent,
     });
-    // Explain is an action-style entry point — clicking the button is the
-    // operator asking "do the explaining for me," not "open chat so I can
-    // type a question." Auto-submit the handoff prompt so the analysis is
-    // already in flight when the drawer is on screen. Discuss with
-    // Assistant keeps the previous behaviour (pre-fill, operator drives)
-    // because that entry is open-ended by intent.
+    // Explain and Investigate are action-style entry points — clicking
+    // the button is the operator asking "do this for me," not "open chat
+    // so I can type a question." Auto-submit the handoff prompt so the
+    // work is already in flight when the drawer is on screen. Discuss
+    // with Assistant keeps the previous behaviour (pre-fill, operator
+    // drives) because that entry is open-ended by intent.
     aiChatStore.openWithPrompt(handoff.prompt, {
       ...handoff.context,
-      autoSendInitialPrompt: intent === 'explain',
+      autoSendInitialPrompt: intent === 'explain' || intent === 'investigate',
     });
   };
 
@@ -581,6 +581,17 @@ export const FindingsPanel: Component<FindingsPanelProps> = (props) => {
     await openFindingInAssistant(finding, 'explain');
   };
 
+  // Investigate is the active counterpart to Explain. Explain says "tell me
+  // what we already know"; Investigate says "go find out what's true right
+  // now." The prompt instructs the LLM to use its Pulse tools (metrics,
+  // alerts, state, recent changes, correlations) rather than just narrate
+  // the attached context, and the surface auto-sends so the work is in
+  // flight when the operator lands.
+  const handleInvestigateFinding = async (finding: UnifiedFinding, e: Event) => {
+    e.stopPropagation();
+    await openFindingInAssistant(finding, 'investigate');
+  };
+
   // Copy a Markdown summary of the finding to the clipboard so the operator
   // can paste it into a chat, ticket, or incident channel. The shape mirrors
   // the seven-question schema (title + impact + recommendation + trust
@@ -1173,7 +1184,7 @@ export const FindingsPanel: Component<FindingsPanelProps> = (props) => {
             type="button"
             onClick={(e) => handleExplainFinding(finding, e)}
             class="px-2 py-1 rounded border border-border hover:bg-surface-hover flex items-center gap-1"
-            title="Open Assistant with an explanation prompt"
+            title="Ask Pulse Assistant to explain what we know about this finding using the attached evidence"
           >
             <svg class="w-3 h-3" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
               <path
@@ -1185,6 +1196,22 @@ export const FindingsPanel: Component<FindingsPanelProps> = (props) => {
             </svg>
             Explain
           </button>
+          <button
+            type="button"
+            onClick={(e) => handleInvestigateFinding(finding, e)}
+            class="px-2 py-1 rounded border border-border hover:bg-surface-hover flex items-center gap-1"
+            title="Ask Pulse Assistant to actively investigate using metrics, alerts, and state — not just summarize"
+          >
+            <svg class="w-3 h-3" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
+              <path
+                stroke-linecap="round"
+                stroke-linejoin="round"
+                stroke-width="2"
+                d="M21 21l-6-6m2-5a7 7 0 11-14 0 7 7 0 0114 0z"
+              />
+            </svg>
+            Investigate
+          </button>
           <button
             type="button"
             onClick={(e) => handleCopyFindingSummary(finding, e)}
diff --git a/frontend-modern/src/features/patrol/__tests__/patrolInvestigationContextModel.test.ts b/frontend-modern/src/features/patrol/__tests__/patrolInvestigationContextModel.test.ts
index 0291478f6d..59df1be676 100644
--- a/frontend-modern/src/features/patrol/__tests__/patrolInvestigationContextModel.test.ts
+++ b/frontend-modern/src/features/patrol/__tests__/patrolInvestigationContextModel.test.ts
@@ -951,6 +951,36 @@ describe('patrolInvestigationContextModel', () => {
     expect(explainPrompt).toContain('vm-101');
   });
 
+  it('seeds an investigate-intent prompt that instructs active tool use, not just narration', () => {
+    // Investigate is the action counterpart to Explain. Where Explain says
+    // "tell me what we know," Investigate says "go find out what's true
+    // right now" — the prompt must explicitly direct the LLM toward its
+    // Pulse tools (metrics, alerts, state) rather than just summarizing
+    // the attached briefing.
+    const prompt = buildPatrolAssistantFindingPrompt({
+      title: 'Backup job failing',
+      subject: 'vm-101',
+      description: 'Datastore quota exhausted',
+      intent: 'investigate',
+    });
+
+    expect(prompt).toContain('Investigate this Patrol finding now');
+    expect(prompt).toContain('Backup job failing');
+    expect(prompt).toContain('vm-101');
+    // Active-tool-use instruction — the differentiator vs Explain.
+    expect(prompt.toLowerCase()).toContain('actively use the pulse tools');
+    expect(prompt.toLowerCase()).toMatch(/metrics|alerts|resource state|recent changes/);
+    // Synthesis instruction — root cause + confidence + safe next step.
+    expect(prompt.toLowerCase()).toContain('root cause');
+    expect(prompt.toLowerCase()).toContain('confidence');
+    expect(prompt.toLowerCase()).toContain('safe next step');
+    // Safety: any command-running must route through governed approval,
+    // not the LLM's own judgment.
+    expect(prompt.toLowerCase()).toContain('governed approval');
+    // Must not be the open-ended Discuss prompt.
+    expect(prompt).not.toContain("I'd like to discuss");
+  });
+
   it('surfaces investigation impact and rollback when the backend record carries them', () => {
     const presentation = buildPatrolInvestigationRecordPresentation({
       id: 'record-2',
diff --git a/frontend-modern/src/features/patrol/patrolInvestigationContextModel.ts b/frontend-modern/src/features/patrol/patrolInvestigationContextModel.ts
index 39accd933b..b31d4163e3 100644
--- a/frontend-modern/src/features/patrol/patrolInvestigationContextModel.ts
+++ b/frontend-modern/src/features/patrol/patrolInvestigationContextModel.ts
@@ -86,7 +86,14 @@ export interface PatrolInvestigationRecordPresentation {
   error?: string;
 }
 
-export type PatrolAssistantFindingIntent = 'discuss' | 'explain';
+// 'discuss' = open-ended chat entry, operator drives.
+// 'explain' = action-style "do the explaining," auto-sent.
+// 'investigate' = action-style "run the investigation now using tools" —
+// the prompt explicitly invites the LLM to query metrics/alerts/state
+// rather than just narrate the attached context, and the surface
+// auto-sends the prompt so the work is already in flight on the screen
+// the operator lands on.
+export type PatrolAssistantFindingIntent = 'discuss' | 'explain' | 'investigate';
 
 export interface PatrolAssistantFindingPromptInput {
   title: string;
@@ -526,10 +533,19 @@ export function buildPatrolAssistantFindingPrompt(
       'Walk me through what we know, why it matters for the affected workloads, ' +
       'how confident the analysis is, and whether the recommended action is the right next step. ' +
       'Use the structured investigation record and operational memory in the attached context as the primary source.';
+  } else if (input.intent === 'investigate') {
+    prompt =
+      `Investigate this Patrol finding now: "${title}" on ${subject}. ` +
+      'Do not just summarize the attached context — actively use the Pulse tools available to you ' +
+      '(metrics, alerts, resource state, recent changes, correlations) to gather fresh evidence ' +
+      'about the current state of the affected resource and any related resources. ' +
+      'Then synthesize: what is the root cause given the current evidence, ' +
+      'what is your confidence, what is the safe next step, and is the recommended action still right? ' +
+      'If any command-running step is involved, surface it for governed approval rather than executing on your own judgment.';
   } else {
     prompt = `I'd like to discuss this Patrol finding: "${title}" on ${subject}.`;
   }
-  if (hasRecord && input.intent !== 'explain') {
+  if (hasRecord && input.intent !== 'explain' && input.intent !== 'investigate') {
     prompt +=
       '\n\nPulse Patrol has a structured investigation record for this finding. Use that record as the main context before suggesting next actions.';
   }