diff --git a/src/PowderCoating.Web/Controllers/InventoryController.cs b/src/PowderCoating.Web/Controllers/InventoryController.cs
index fe160cb..107f72e 100644
--- a/src/PowderCoating.Web/Controllers/InventoryController.cs
+++ b/src/PowderCoating.Web/Controllers/InventoryController.cs
@@ -1112,61 +1112,50 @@ public class InventoryController : Controller
             .Select(i => i.ManufacturerPartNumber!.Trim().ToLower())
             .ToHashSet();
 
-        // When a vendor is specified, search vendor-scoped first. Only widen to all vendors
-        // if the scoped search returns nothing — prevents a cross-vendor color match from
-        // being returned as the only result when the user clearly intended a specific manufacturer.
-        IEnumerable<PowderCatalogItem> matches;
-        if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(vendorTerm))
-        {
-            matches = await _unitOfWork.PowderCatalog.FindAsync(p =>
-                p.VendorName.ToLower().Contains(vendorTerm) && (
-                    p.Sku.ToLower() == term ||
-                    p.ColorName.ToLower().Contains(term) ||
-                    p.Sku.ToLower().Contains(term)));
-
-            // Fall back to all vendors only when the scoped search finds nothing
-            if (!matches.Any())
-            {
-                matches = await _unitOfWork.PowderCatalog.FindAsync(p =>
-                    p.Sku.ToLower() == term ||
-                    p.ColorName.ToLower().Contains(term) ||
-                    p.Sku.ToLower().Contains(term));
-            }
-        }
-        else
-        {
-            matches = await _unitOfWork.PowderCatalog.FindAsync(p =>
-                p.Sku.ToLower() == term ||
-                p.ColorName.ToLower().Contains(term) ||
-                p.Sku.ToLower().Contains(term));
-        }
+        // Single query — all partial color/SKU matches across all vendors.
+        // Results are ranked: exact vendor + exact color (isExact=true) sorts first and
+        // triggers auto-fill in the JS. Everything else goes to the picker modal.
+        // This means a user who typed "Columbia Coatings" + "Lime Green" gets auto-fill
+        // only when that exact product is in the catalog; otherwise they see a ranked modal
+        // with same-vendor results at the top and a "Not Listed — Search Online" escape hatch.
+        var matches = await _unitOfWork.PowderCatalog.FindAsync(p =>
+            p.ColorName.ToLower().Contains(term) ||
+            p.Sku.ToLower() == term ||
+            p.Sku.ToLower().Contains(term));
 
         var results = matches
             .Where(p => !existingSkus.Contains(p.Sku.ToLower()))
-            .OrderBy(p => p.Sku.ToLower() == term ? 0 : 1)
-            .ThenBy(p => p.ColorName)
-            .Select(p => new
+            .Select(p =>
             {
-                id = p.Id,
-                vendorName = p.VendorName,
-                sku = p.Sku,
-                colorName = p.ColorName,
-                description = p.Description,
-                unitPrice = p.UnitPrice,
-                imageUrl = p.ImageUrl,
-                sdsUrl = p.SdsUrl,
-                tdsUrl = p.TdsUrl,
-                applicationGuideUrl = p.ApplicationGuideUrl,
-                productUrl = p.ProductUrl,
-                isDiscontinued = p.IsDiscontinued,
-                cureTemperatureF = p.CureTemperatureF,
-                cureTimeMinutes = p.CureTimeMinutes,
-                finish = p.Finish,
-                colorFamilies = p.ColorFamilies,
-                requiresClearCoat = p.RequiresClearCoat,
-                coverageSqFtPerLb = p.CoverageSqFtPerLb,
-                specificGravity = p.SpecificGravity,
-                transferEfficiency = GetEffectiveTransferEfficiency(p.TransferEfficiency)
+                var vendorMatch = string.IsNullOrEmpty(vendorTerm) || p.VendorName.ToLower().Contains(vendorTerm);
+                var colorExact  = p.ColorName.ToLower() == term;
+                return (p, isExact: vendorMatch && colorExact, vendorMatch, colorExact);
+            })
+            .OrderBy(x => x.isExact ? 0 : x.vendorMatch ? 1 : x.colorExact ? 2 : 3)
+            .ThenBy(x => x.p.ColorName)
+            .Select(x => new
+            {
+                id = x.p.Id,
+                vendorName = x.p.VendorName,
+                sku = x.p.Sku,
+                colorName = x.p.ColorName,
+                description = x.p.Description,
+                unitPrice = x.p.UnitPrice,
+                imageUrl = x.p.ImageUrl,
+                sdsUrl = x.p.SdsUrl,
+                tdsUrl = x.p.TdsUrl,
+                applicationGuideUrl = x.p.ApplicationGuideUrl,
+                productUrl = x.p.ProductUrl,
+                isDiscontinued = x.p.IsDiscontinued,
+                isExact = x.isExact,
+                cureTemperatureF = x.p.CureTemperatureF,
+                cureTimeMinutes = x.p.CureTimeMinutes,
+                finish = x.p.Finish,
+                colorFamilies = x.p.ColorFamilies,
+                requiresClearCoat = x.p.RequiresClearCoat,
+                coverageSqFtPerLb = x.p.CoverageSqFtPerLb,
+                specificGravity = x.p.SpecificGravity,
+                transferEfficiency = GetEffectiveTransferEfficiency(x.p.TransferEfficiency)
             })
             .ToList();
 
diff --git a/src/PowderCoating.Web/wwwroot/js/inventory-catalog-lookup.js b/src/PowderCoating.Web/wwwroot/js/inventory-catalog-lookup.js
index 6c845d3..7748a31 100644
--- a/src/PowderCoating.Web/wwwroot/js/inventory-catalog-lookup.js
+++ b/src/PowderCoating.Web/wwwroot/js/inventory-catalog-lookup.js
@@ -62,23 +62,25 @@
             const items = await resp.json();
 
             if (items.length === 0) {
-                // No catalog match — fall back to AI if available
-                hideStatus();
-                if (typeof window._runInventoryAiLookup === 'function') {
-                    showStatus('info', '<span class="spinner-border spinner-border-sm me-1"></span>Not in catalog — searching with AI…');
-                    await window._runInventoryAiLookup();
-                } else {
-                    showStatus('warning', 'No match found in the catalog. Enter details manually or enable AI Lookup.');
-                }
+                // Nothing in catalog — go straight to AI
+                await runAiOrWarn();
                 return;
             }
 
-            if (items.length === 1) {
+            // Single exact match (vendor + color name both match precisely) — auto-fill
+            if (items.length === 1 && items[0].isExact) {
                 await fillFields(items[0]);
                 return;
             }
 
-            // Multiple matches — let the user pick via modal
+            // Exact match exists but so do other results — auto-fill the exact one
+            const exactMatches = items.filter(i => i.isExact);
+            if (exactMatches.length === 1) {
+                await fillFields(exactMatches[0]);
+                return;
+            }
+
+            // No exact match (or ambiguous) — show picker modal with "Not Listed" escape hatch
             hideStatus();
             showPickerModal(items);
 
@@ -89,6 +91,18 @@
         }
     });
 
+    // ── AI fallback helper ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+    async function runAiOrWarn() {
+        hideStatus();
+        if (typeof window._runInventoryAiLookup === 'function') {
+            showStatus('info', '<span class="spinner-border spinner-border-sm me-1"></span>Not in catalog — searching online with AI…');
+            await window._runInventoryAiLookup();
+        } else {
+            showStatus('warning', 'No match found in the catalog. Enter details manually or enable AI Lookup.');
+        }
+    }
+
     // ── Fill fields from a catalog result ────────────────────────────────────
 
     async function fillFields(item) {
@@ -368,6 +382,12 @@
               <div class="modal-body p-0">
                 <div class="list-group list-group-flush">${rows}</div>
               </div>
+              <div class="modal-footer py-2 justify-content-start">
+                <button type="button" class="btn btn-sm btn-outline-secondary" id="catalogPickerNotListed">
+                  <i class="bi bi-search me-1"></i>Not listed — search online
+                </button>
+                <span class="text-muted small ms-2">Uses AI to look up the exact product</span>
+              </div>
             </div>
           </div>
         </div>`;
@@ -383,6 +403,11 @@
             });
         });
 
+        document.getElementById('catalogPickerNotListed').addEventListener('click', function () {
+            bsModal.hide();
+            runAiOrWarn();
+        });
+
         bsModal.show();
     }