diff --git a/crates/g3-cli/src/ui_writer_impl.rs b/crates/g3-cli/src/ui_writer_impl.rs
index 96e2ed4..09c1b4e 100644
--- a/crates/g3-cli/src/ui_writer_impl.rs
+++ b/crates/g3-cli/src/ui_writer_impl.rs
@@ -231,8 +231,6 @@ impl UiWriter for ConsoleUiWriter {
     }
 
     fn print_tool_timing(&self, duration_str: &str, tokens_delta: u32, context_percentage: f32) {
-        // Add blank line before footer for visual separation
-        println!();
         // Parse the duration string to determine color
         // Format is like "1.5s", "500ms", "2m 30.0s"
         let color_code = if duration_str.ends_with("ms") {
@@ -274,6 +272,12 @@ impl UiWriter for ConsoleUiWriter {
             ""
         };
 
+        // Add blank line before footer for research tool (its output is a full report)
+        if let Some(tool_name) = self.current_tool_name.lock().unwrap().as_ref() {
+            if tool_name == "research" {
+                println!();
+            }
+        }
         println!("└─ ⚡️ {}{}\x1b[0m  \x1b[2m{} ◉ | {:.0}%\x1b[0m", color_code, duration_str, tokens_delta, context_percentage);
         println!();
         // Clear the stored tool info
diff --git a/crates/g3-core/src/lib.rs b/crates/g3-core/src/lib.rs
index 7505959..d5bdb7f 100644
--- a/crates/g3-core/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/g3-core/src/lib.rs
@@ -851,8 +851,14 @@ impl<W: UiWriter> Agent<W> {
 
         // Add assistant response to context window only if not empty
         // This prevents the "Skipping empty message" warning when only tools were executed
-        if !response_content.trim().is_empty() {
-            let assistant_message = Message::new(MessageRole::Assistant, response_content.clone());
+        // Also strip timing footer - it's display-only and shouldn't be in context
+        let content_for_context = if let Some(timing_pos) = response_content.rfind("\n\n⏱️") {
+            response_content[..timing_pos].to_string()
+        } else {
+            response_content.clone()
+        };
+        if !content_for_context.trim().is_empty() {
+            let assistant_message = Message::new(MessageRole::Assistant, content_for_context);
             self.context_window.add_message(assistant_message);
         } else {
             debug!("Assistant response was empty (likely only tool execution), skipping message addition");
diff --git a/crates/g3-core/src/tools/research.rs b/crates/g3-core/src/tools/research.rs
index 14181a0..6032b36 100644
--- a/crates/g3-core/src/tools/research.rs
+++ b/crates/g3-core/src/tools/research.rs
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ use tokio::process::Command;
 
 use crate::ui_writer::UiWriter;
 use crate::ToolCall;
+use g3_config::WebDriverBrowser;
 
 use super::executor::ToolContext;
 
@@ -156,14 +157,21 @@ pub async fn execute_research<W: UiWriter>(
     let g3_path = std::env::current_exe()
         .unwrap_or_else(|_| std::path::PathBuf::from("g3"));
 
-    // Spawn the scout agent
-    let mut child = Command::new(&g3_path)
+    // Build the command with appropriate webdriver flags
+    let mut cmd = Command::new(&g3_path);
+    cmd
         .arg("--agent")
         .arg("scout")
-        .arg("--webdriver")  // Scout needs webdriver for web research
         .arg("--new-session")  // Always start fresh for research
-        .arg("--quiet")  // Suppress log file creation
-        .arg(query)
+        .arg("--quiet");  // Suppress log file creation
+
+    // Propagate the webdriver browser choice from the parent g3 instance
+    match ctx.config.webdriver.browser {
+        WebDriverBrowser::ChromeHeadless => { cmd.arg("--chrome-headless"); }
+        WebDriverBrowser::Safari => { cmd.arg("--webdriver"); }
+    }
+
+    let mut child = cmd.arg(query)
         .stdout(Stdio::piped())
         .stderr(Stdio::piped())
         .spawn()