diff --git a/.tmp/proof/issue-123-landing.png b/.tmp/proof/issue-123-landing.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b4aa42a
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diff --git a/.tmp/proof/issue-123-showcase.png b/.tmp/proof/issue-123-showcase.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9b18bb2
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diff --git a/packages/app/public/portal-showcase.png b/packages/app/public/portal-showcase.png
index 317ea3a..9b18bb2 100644
Binary files a/packages/app/public/portal-showcase.png and b/packages/app/public/portal-showcase.png differ
diff --git a/packages/app/src/components/landing/LandingPage.test.tsx b/packages/app/src/components/landing/LandingPage.test.tsx
index 5efd6c8..5ac143d 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/components/landing/LandingPage.test.tsx
+++ b/packages/app/src/components/landing/LandingPage.test.tsx
@@ -15,6 +15,12 @@ describe('LandingPage', () => {
     expect(
       screen.getByText(/Try it as a guest, no account needed/),
     ).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(
+      screen.getByText(/search across your catalog and docs/),
+    ).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(
+      screen.queryByText(/an answer engine grounded in your own docs/),
+    ).not.toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 
   it('links the primary call to action into the showcase', async () => {
diff --git a/packages/app/src/components/landing/LandingPage.tsx b/packages/app/src/components/landing/LandingPage.tsx
index c1a2138..bdb0e0e 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/components/landing/LandingPage.tsx
+++ b/packages/app/src/components/landing/LandingPage.tsx
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ export const LandingPage = () => {
             sx={{ fontWeight: 400, maxWidth: 640 }}
           >
             Software templates that publish to GitHub, a catalog that keeps
-            services findable, and an answer engine grounded in your own docs.
+            services findable, and search across your catalog and docs.
             Try it as a guest, no account needed.
           </Typography>
           <Box sx={{ display: 'flex', gap: 2, flexWrap: 'wrap' }}>
diff --git a/packages/app/src/components/showcase/ShowcaseCard.tsx b/packages/app/src/components/showcase/ShowcaseCard.tsx
index e9738ae..7071f04 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/components/showcase/ShowcaseCard.tsx
+++ b/packages/app/src/components/showcase/ShowcaseCard.tsx
@@ -63,6 +63,11 @@ export const ShowcaseCard = ({ item }: { item: ShowcaseItem }) => {
             fontWeight: 500,
           }}
         />
+        {item.availability && (
+          <Typography variant="body2" sx={{ mb: 1.5, fontWeight: 600 }}>
+            {item.availability}
+          </Typography>
+        )}
         <Typography
           variant="body2"
           color="text.secondary"
diff --git a/packages/app/src/components/showcase/ShowcasePage.test.tsx b/packages/app/src/components/showcase/ShowcasePage.test.tsx
index eaae612..b032828 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/components/showcase/ShowcasePage.test.tsx
+++ b/packages/app/src/components/showcase/ShowcasePage.test.tsx
@@ -1,9 +1,41 @@
-import { screen, fireEvent } from '@testing-library/react';
+import { screen, fireEvent, within } from '@testing-library/react';
 import { renderInTestApp } from '@backstage/test-utils';
 import { ShowcasePage } from './ShowcasePage';
 import { showcaseItems, countByCategory } from './showcaseConfig';
 
 describe('ShowcasePage', () => {
+  it('distinguishes live keyword search from the answer-engine extension', async () => {
+    await renderInTestApp(<ShowcasePage />);
+
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByText(/^Answer Engine \(/));
+
+    expect(screen.getByRole('alert')).toHaveTextContent(
+      'The demo does not generate answers.',
+    );
+    const search = within(
+      screen.getByTestId('showcase-card-answer-engine-search'),
+    );
+    expect(search.getByText('Built-in search')).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(search.getByText('Catalog and Docs Search')).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(
+      search.getByRole('link', { name: 'Search catalog and docs' }),
+    ).toHaveAttribute('href', '/search');
+
+    const extension = within(
+      screen.getByTestId('showcase-card-answer-engine-worker-card'),
+    );
+    expect(extension.getByText('Extension template')).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(
+      extension.getByText(/your own document index and AI Hub/),
+    ).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(extension.getByRole('link', { name: 'Use template' })).toHaveAttribute(
+      'href',
+      '/self-service/templates/default/answer-engine-worker',
+    );
+    expect(screen.queryByText('Answer Engine Search')).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.getByText('2 items available')).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
   it('renders every item with the total count and category chips', async () => {
     await renderInTestApp(<ShowcasePage />);
     const counts = countByCategory(showcaseItems);
diff --git a/packages/app/src/components/showcase/ShowcasePage.tsx b/packages/app/src/components/showcase/ShowcasePage.tsx
index 4054dd3..c2e60bf 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/components/showcase/ShowcasePage.tsx
+++ b/packages/app/src/components/showcase/ShowcasePage.tsx
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import TextField from '@mui/material/TextField';
 import InputAdornment from '@mui/material/InputAdornment';
 import Chip from '@mui/material/Chip';
 import Grid from '@mui/material/Grid';
+import Alert from '@mui/material/Alert';
 import { Page, Header, Content } from '@backstage/core-components';
 import SearchIcon from '@mui/icons-material/Search';
 import {
@@ -39,7 +40,7 @@ export const ShowcasePage = () => {
     <Page themeId="tool">
       <Header
         title="Plugin Showcase"
-        subtitle="Templates, GitHub integration and the answer engine, curated from what this portal already ships"
+        subtitle="Templates, GitHub integration and search, with an answer-engine extension to build on"
       />
       <Content>
         <Box sx={{ mb: 4 }}>
@@ -48,11 +49,18 @@ export const ShowcasePage = () => {
           </Typography>
           <Typography variant="body2" color="text.secondary">
             Start a new service from a proven template, publish it to GitHub,
-            and make it findable through the catalog and answer engine. Pick a
-            card to jump straight to the live surface.
+            and make it findable through the catalog and docs search. Pick a
+            card to explore a portal feature or preview a software template.
           </Typography>
         </Box>
 
+        <Alert severity="info" sx={{ mb: 3 }}>
+          Catalog and TechDocs keyword search runs in this portal. Generated
+          answers are an extension you can build with the Answer Engine Worker
+          template, your own document index and AI Hub. The demo does not generate
+          answers.
+        </Alert>
+
         <Box
           sx={{
             display: 'flex',
diff --git a/packages/app/src/components/showcase/showcaseConfig.ts b/packages/app/src/components/showcase/showcaseConfig.ts
index 88a7116..0722c70 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/components/showcase/showcaseConfig.ts
+++ b/packages/app/src/components/showcase/showcaseConfig.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ export interface ShowcaseItem {
   linkLabel: string;
   tags: string[];
   isRecommended?: boolean;
+  availability?: 'Built-in search' | 'Extension template';
 }
 
 export const showcaseCategoryLabels: Record<ShowcaseCategory, string> = {
@@ -143,25 +144,27 @@ export const showcaseItems: ShowcaseItem[] = [
   },
   {
     id: 'answer-engine-search',
-    name: 'Answer Engine Search',
+    name: 'Catalog and Docs Search',
     description:
-      'Ask questions across the catalog and docs and get cited answers grounded in your own content.',
+      'Find services and documentation with keyword search across the catalog and TechDocs.',
     category: 'answer-engine',
     link: '/search',
-    linkLabel: 'Try search',
-    tags: ['ai', 'search', 'rag'],
+    linkLabel: 'Search catalog and docs',
+    tags: ['catalog', 'search', 'techdocs'],
     isRecommended: true,
+    availability: 'Built-in search',
   },
   {
     id: 'answer-engine-worker-card',
     name: 'Answer Engine Worker Template',
     description:
-      'Start your own answer engine worker with retrieval, citation handling and catalog registration built in.',
+      'Scaffold an answer engine worker to connect to your own document index and AI Hub for cited answers.',
     category: 'answer-engine',
     link: templateShowcaseLink('answer-engine-worker'),
     linkLabel: 'Use template',
     tags: ['ai', 'rag', 'template'],
     isRecommended: true,
+    availability: 'Extension template',
   },
   {
     id: 'platform-techdocs',