diff --git a/src/commands/search.rs b/src/commands/search.rs
index 633bc0d..4ce68d2 100644
--- a/src/commands/search.rs
+++ b/src/commands/search.rs
@@ -63,6 +63,29 @@ fn endpoint(path: &str, authenticated: bool) -> String {
     }
 }
 
+/// Older servers still return `description`; fold it into `snippet` when no
+/// snippet exists and drop the field — the CLI never outputs `description`.
+fn fold_description_into_snippet(data: &mut Value) {
+    let Some(results) = data["results"].as_array_mut() else {
+        return;
+    };
+    for result in results {
+        let Some(obj) = result.as_object_mut() else {
+            continue;
+        };
+        let Some(desc) = obj.remove("description") else {
+            continue;
+        };
+        let has_snippet = obj
+            .get("snippet")
+            .and_then(Value::as_str)
+            .is_some_and(|s| !s.is_empty());
+        if !has_snippet && desc.as_str().is_some_and(|d| !d.is_empty()) {
+            obj.insert("snippet".into(), desc);
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 fn print_yaml(data: &Value) {
     match serde_yaml::to_string(data) {
         Ok(yaml) => print!("{}", yaml),
@@ -308,7 +331,8 @@ pub async fn search(
     let api_key = key_override(api_key);
     let api_key = api_key.as_deref();
     match execute(&req, api_key).await {
-        Ok(data) => {
+        Ok(mut data) => {
+            fold_description_into_snippet(&mut data);
             if human {
                 ui::header(&format!("keenable search \"{}\"", query));
                 if let Some(results) = data["results"].as_array() {
@@ -320,16 +344,17 @@ pub async fn search(
                     for (i, result) in results.iter().enumerate() {
                         let title = result["title"].as_str().unwrap_or("Untitled");
                         let url = result["url"].as_str().unwrap_or("");
-                        let description = result["description"].as_str().unwrap_or("");
-                        let desc_truncated: String = description.chars().take(200).collect();
+                        let snippet = result["snippet"].as_str().unwrap_or("");
+                        let snippet_flat = snippet.split_whitespace().collect::<Vec<_>>().join(" ");
+                        let snippet_truncated: String = snippet_flat.chars().take(200).collect();
                         let published = result["published_at"].as_str().unwrap_or("");
                         let acquired = result["acquired_at"].as_str().unwrap_or("");
 
                         let num = format!("{:>2}.", i + 1).dimmed();
                         eprintln!("   {} {}", num, title.bold());
                         eprintln!("      {}", url.cyan());
-                        if !desc_truncated.is_empty() {
-                            eprintln!("      {}", desc_truncated.dimmed());
+                        if !snippet_truncated.is_empty() {
+                            eprintln!("      {}", snippet_truncated.dimmed());
                         }
                         if !published.is_empty() || !acquired.is_empty() {
                             let mut dates = Vec::new();
@@ -365,7 +390,10 @@ pub async fn fetch(url: &str, human: bool, api_key: Option<&str>) {
     let api_key = key_override(api_key);
     let api_key = api_key.as_deref();
     match execute(&req, api_key).await {
-        Ok(data) => {
+        Ok(mut data) => {
+            if let Some(obj) = data.as_object_mut() {
+                obj.remove("description");
+            }
             if human {
                 ui::header("keenable fetch");
                 let title = data["title"].as_str().unwrap_or("Untitled");
diff --git a/tests/e2e/test_fetch.py b/tests/e2e/test_fetch.py
index d743510..27cb689 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/test_fetch.py
+++ b/tests/e2e/test_fetch.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ def test_fetch_single_url(kn):
     assert data["title"] == "Example Domain"
     assert data["url"].startswith("https://example.com")
     assert "# Example Domain" in data["content"]
+    assert "description" not in data
 
 
 def test_pretty_fetch(kn):
diff --git a/tests/e2e/test_search.py b/tests/e2e/test_search.py
index 5058fe3..84d5fbe 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/test_search.py
+++ b/tests/e2e/test_search.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 from conftest import SEARCH_QUERY, host_of, host_under, parse_ts, results_of, search_results, utc
 
 # published_at is omitted (not nulled) for pages with no known publish date
-RESULT_FIELDS = ("url", "title", "description", "snippet", "acquired_at")
+RESULT_FIELDS = ("url", "title", "snippet", "acquired_at")
 
 
 # --- 2.1 core ---
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ def test_basic_search(basic_search):
     for r in results:
         for field in RESULT_FIELDS:
             assert field in r, f"result missing {field}: {list(r)}"
+        assert "description" not in r
 
 
 def test_pretty_output(kn):
diff --git a/tests/e2e/test_semantic.py b/tests/e2e/test_semantic.py
index b03f4d8..1798b8b 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/test_semantic.py
+++ b/tests/e2e/test_semantic.py
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
 
 
 def blob(result) -> str:
-    return " ".join(str(result.get(f) or "") for f in ("title", "description", "snippet"))
+    return " ".join(str(result.get(f) or "") for f in ("title", "snippet"))
 
 
 def test_gold_fact_mozart(kn):