diff --git a/src/query/agent.test.ts b/src/query/agent.test.ts
index 88a799b..b9e6ddf 100644
--- a/src/query/agent.test.ts
+++ b/src/query/agent.test.ts
@@ -640,6 +640,112 @@ it("search-only mode defaults filtering to recall", async () => {
   expect(capturedBodies[0].filtering).toBeUndefined();
 });
 
+it("search-only mode sends ranking_instructions verbatim and persists through pagination", async () => {
+  const mockClient = {
+    getConnectionDetails: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+      host: "test-cluster",
+      bearerToken: "test-token",
+      headers: { "X-Provider": "test-key" },
+    }),
+  } as unknown as WeaviateClient;
+
+  // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
+  const capturedBodies: any[] = [];
+
+  const apiSuccess: ApiSearchModeResponse = {
+    searches: [
+      {
+        query: "search query",
+        collection: "test_collection",
+      },
+    ],
+    usage: {
+      model_units: 1,
+      usage_in_plan: true,
+      remaining_plan_requests: 2,
+    },
+    total_time: 1.0,
+    search_results: { objects: [] },
+  };
+
+  global.fetch = jest.fn((url, init?: RequestInit) => {
+    if (init && init.body) {
+      capturedBodies.push(JSON.parse(init.body as string));
+    }
+    return Promise.resolve({
+      ok: true,
+      json: () => Promise.resolve(apiSuccess),
+    } as Response);
+  }) as jest.Mock;
+
+  const agent = new QueryAgent(mockClient);
+
+  const instructions = "Prioritize the most recent documents.";
+  const first = await agent.search("test query", {
+    collections: ["test_collection"],
+    rankingInstructions: instructions,
+  });
+
+  // First (generation) request should include the instructions verbatim
+  expect(capturedBodies[0].ranking_instructions).toBe(instructions);
+
+  // Paginated (execution) request should also include them
+  await first.next({ limit: 20, offset: 1 });
+  expect(capturedBodies[1].ranking_instructions).toBe(instructions);
+});
+
+it("search-only mode omits ranking_instructions when not provided", async () => {
+  const mockClient = {
+    getConnectionDetails: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+      host: "test-cluster",
+      bearerToken: "test-token",
+      headers: { "X-Provider": "test-key" },
+    }),
+  } as unknown as WeaviateClient;
+
+  // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
+  const capturedBodies: any[] = [];
+
+  const apiSuccess: ApiSearchModeResponse = {
+    searches: [
+      {
+        query: "search query",
+        collection: "test_collection",
+      },
+    ],
+    usage: {
+      model_units: 1,
+      usage_in_plan: true,
+      remaining_plan_requests: 2,
+    },
+    total_time: 1.0,
+    search_results: { objects: [] },
+  };
+
+  global.fetch = jest.fn((url, init?: RequestInit) => {
+    if (init && init.body) {
+      capturedBodies.push(JSON.parse(init.body as string));
+    }
+    return Promise.resolve({
+      ok: true,
+      json: () => Promise.resolve(apiSuccess),
+    } as Response);
+  }) as jest.Mock;
+
+  const agent = new QueryAgent(mockClient);
+
+  const first = await agent.search("test query", {
+    collections: ["test_collection"],
+  });
+
+  // The server treats null and absent identically; the client must not invent
+  // a default (e.g. empty string, which is semantically different server-side)
+  expect(capturedBodies[0]).not.toHaveProperty("ranking_instructions");
+
+  await first.next({ limit: 20, offset: 1 });
+  expect(capturedBodies[1]).not.toHaveProperty("ranking_instructions");
+});
+
 it("search-only mode caches empty searches array for precision mode pagination", async () => {
   const mockClient = {
     getConnectionDetails: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({
diff --git a/src/query/agent.ts b/src/query/agent.ts
index b32fd47..d0270ab 100644
--- a/src/query/agent.ts
+++ b/src/query/agent.ts
@@ -606,6 +606,10 @@ export class QueryAgent {
    *   Defaults to no diversity.
    * @param options.filtering - The filtering strategy: `"recall"` for broader retrieval or
    *   `"precision"` for more targeted results. Defaults to `"recall"`.
+   * @param options.rankingInstructions - Optional natural language instructions for the
+   *   instruction-following reranker, guiding which results to prioritize as most relevant.
+   *   Only affects the ordering of results, not which results are retrieved. Limited to
+   *   roughly 500 tokens, enforced server-side.
    * @returns A {@link SearchModeResponse} for the first page of results. Use
    *   `response.next({ limit, offset })` to paginate.
    *
@@ -624,6 +628,7 @@ export class QueryAgent {
       collections,
       diversityWeight,
       filtering,
+      rankingInstructions,
     }: QueryAgentSearchOnlyOptions = {},
   ): Promise<SearchModeResponse> {
     const searcher = new QueryAgentSearcher(
@@ -634,6 +639,7 @@ export class QueryAgent {
       this.agentsHost,
       diversityWeight,
       filtering,
+      rankingInstructions,
     );
 
     return searcher.run({ limit, offset: 0 });
@@ -847,6 +853,12 @@ export type QueryAgentSearchOnlyOptions = {
    * (narrower, more targeted retrieval).
    */
   filtering?: "recall" | "precision";
+  /**
+   * Optional natural language instructions for the instruction-following reranker, guiding
+   * which results to prioritize as most relevant. Only affects the ordering of results, not
+   * which results are retrieved. Limited to roughly 500 tokens, enforced server-side.
+   */
+  rankingInstructions?: string;
 };
 
 /** Options for {@link QueryAgent.suggestQueries}. */
diff --git a/src/query/search.ts b/src/query/search.ts
index 86edb53..9355227 100644
--- a/src/query/search.ts
+++ b/src/query/search.ts
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ export class QueryAgentSearcher {
     private agentsHost: string,
     private diversityWeight: number | undefined,
     private filtering: "recall" | "precision" | undefined,
+    private rankingInstructions: string | undefined,
   ) {}
 
   private buildRequestBody(
@@ -43,6 +44,7 @@ export class QueryAgentSearcher {
       collections: mapCollections(this.collections),
       limit,
       offset,
+      ranking_instructions: this.rankingInstructions,
     } as const;
     if (this.cachedSearches === undefined) {
       return {