diff --git a/cli/aibridged_internal_test.go b/cli/aibridged_internal_test.go
index 6b3e1eb7ac..4f1c969027 100644
--- a/cli/aibridged_internal_test.go
+++ b/cli/aibridged_internal_test.go
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ func buildFromEnv(t *testing.T, cfg codersdk.AIBridgeConfig) ([]aibridge.Provide
 	db, _ := dbtestutil.NewDB(t)
 	ctx := testutil.Context(t, testutil.WaitShort)
 	logger := slogtest.Make(t, nil)
-	if err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, logger); err != nil {
+	if _, err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, logger); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	providers, _, err := BuildProviders(ctx, db, cfg, logger)
diff --git a/cli/server.go b/cli/server.go
index b2fa89fd3b..9d9441a947 100644
--- a/cli/server.go
+++ b/cli/server.go
@@ -1024,14 +1024,19 @@ func (r *RootCmd) Server(newAPI func(context.Context, *coderd.Options) (*coderd.
 			//nolint:gocritic // Production timeout, not a test wait.
 			aibridgeInitCtx, aibridgeInitCancel := context.WithTimeout(context.WithoutCancel(ctx), 30*time.Second)
 			defer aibridgeInitCancel()
-			if err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(
+			ineffective, err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(
 				aibridgeInitCtx,
 				options.Database,
 				vals.AI.BridgeConfig,
 				logger.Named("aibridge.envseed"),
-			); err != nil {
+			)
+			if err != nil {
 				return xerrors.Errorf("seed ai providers from env: %w", err)
 			}
+			// This runs unconditionally for both editions (enterprise
+			// reuses this AGPL server runner), so it is the authoritative
+			// setter for the deprecated-env-drift warning banner.
+			coderAPI.AIProvidersEnvDrift.Store(ineffective)
 
 			// In-memory aibridge daemon. Registered on coderd so chatd can
 			// dispatch LLM requests via the in-process transport without
diff --git a/coderd/ai_providers_migrate.go b/coderd/ai_providers_migrate.go
index 055877ecce..3cf6aad430 100644
--- a/coderd/ai_providers_migrate.go
+++ b/coderd/ai_providers_migrate.go
@@ -26,9 +26,16 @@ import (
 // derived AI provider configuration with rows in the ai_providers
 // table at server startup. Concurrent server starts are serialized via a
 // Postgres advisory lock; rows that already exist with a matching
-// canonical hash are left alone, missing rows are inserted, and rows
-// whose hash differs from the env-derived value cause startup to fail
-// with a descriptive error.
+// canonical hash are left alone and missing rows are inserted.
+//
+// AI-provider configuration via CODER_AIBRIDGE_* env vars is deprecated
+// in favor of managing providers through the API/UI, where the database
+// is the source of truth. When an env-derived provider differs from the
+// row already stored in the database ("drift"), startup does NOT fail:
+// the env change is ineffective, so the existing row is left untouched, a
+// warning is logged, and the returned ineffective flag is set to true so
+// callers can surface a banner to admins. Other missing providers in the
+// same config are still inserted.
 //
 // API keys derived from env vars are inserted into ai_provider_keys at
 // the time the provider row is first created. We do NOT add env-sourced
@@ -45,13 +52,13 @@ func SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(
 	db database.Store,
 	cfg codersdk.AIBridgeConfig,
 	logger slog.Logger,
-) error {
+) (ineffective bool, err error) {
 	desired, err := providersFromEnv(ctx, cfg, logger)
 	if err != nil {
-		return xerrors.Errorf("compute providers from env: %w", err)
+		return false, xerrors.Errorf("compute providers from env: %w", err)
 	}
 	if len(desired) == 0 {
-		return nil
+		return false, nil
 	}
 
 	// Audit entries are attributed to the deployment rather than a user.
@@ -65,11 +72,19 @@ func SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(
 	var (
 		insertedProviders []database.AIProvider
 		insertedKeys      []database.AIProviderKey
+		// drift records whether any env-derived provider differs from a
+		// row already in the database. driftedNames collects the affected
+		// provider names for the warning log. Both are reset at the top of
+		// the InTx closure so a transaction retry recomputes them cleanly.
+		drift        bool
+		driftedNames []string
 	)
 
 	err = db.InTx(func(tx database.Store) error {
 		insertedProviders = insertedProviders[:0]
 		insertedKeys = insertedKeys[:0]
+		drift = false
+		driftedNames = driftedNames[:0]
 
 		// Acquire the advisory lock. The lock is released when the
 		// transaction ends.
@@ -136,7 +151,16 @@ func SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(
 				if existingHash == dp.Hash {
 					continue
 				}
-				return xerrors.Errorf("AI provider %q already exists in the database and differs from the current environment configuration; update the provider through the API or remove the CODER_AIBRIDGE_* env vars to stop seeding it", dp.Name)
+				// The env-derived config drifted from the stored row.
+				// CODER_AIBRIDGE_* env config is deprecated, so this is
+				// not fatal: the database is the source of truth, the
+				// existing row is left untouched, and the env change is
+				// ineffective. Flag it (the warning is emitted after the
+				// transaction commits, like the insert logs below) and keep
+				// reconciling the remaining providers.
+				drift = true
+				driftedNames = append(driftedNames, dp.Name)
+				continue
 			}
 
 			row, err := tx.InsertAIProvider(sysCtx, database.InsertAIProviderParams{
@@ -183,7 +207,7 @@ func SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(
 		return nil
 	}, nil)
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		return false, err
 	}
 
 	for _, row := range insertedProviders {
@@ -201,7 +225,12 @@ func SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(
 			slog.F("api_key", aibridgeutils.MaskSecret(keyRow.APIKey)),
 		)
 	}
-	return nil
+	if drift {
+		logger.Warn(sysCtx, "deprecated AI provider env configuration is ineffective; the database is the source of truth, so update these providers through the API or remove their CODER_AIBRIDGE_* env vars",
+			slog.F("providers", driftedNames),
+		)
+	}
+	return drift, nil
 }
 
 // canonicalAIProvider is the shape we hash to detect drift between the
diff --git a/coderd/ai_providers_migrate_test.go b/coderd/ai_providers_migrate_test.go
index 89165002b0..6242ca8cb6 100644
--- a/coderd/ai_providers_migrate_test.go
+++ b/coderd/ai_providers_migrate_test.go
@@ -24,8 +24,9 @@ func TestSeedAIProvidersFromEnv(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Parallel()
 		db, _ := dbtestutil.NewDB(t)
 		ctx := testutil.Context(t, testutil.WaitShort)
-		err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, codersdk.AIBridgeConfig{}, testLogger(t))
+		ineffective, err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, codersdk.AIBridgeConfig{}, testLogger(t))
 		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.False(t, ineffective)
 	})
 
 	t.Run("LegacyOpenAI", func(t *testing.T) {
@@ -40,7 +41,7 @@ func TestSeedAIProvidersFromEnv(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 		}
 		var firstSeedLogs bytes.Buffer
-		err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, capturedLogger(&firstSeedLogs))
+		_, err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, capturedLogger(&firstSeedLogs))
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 
 		// One row exists for "openai".
@@ -65,7 +66,7 @@ func TestSeedAIProvidersFromEnv(t *testing.T) {
 		// Re-running with the same config is a no-op and emits no new
 		// env-seed log lines.
 		var rerunLogs bytes.Buffer
-		err = coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, capturedLogger(&rerunLogs))
+		_, err = coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, capturedLogger(&rerunLogs))
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 		require.NotContains(t, rerunLogs.String(), "env-seeded ai provider")
 
@@ -78,7 +79,7 @@ func TestSeedAIProvidersFromEnv(t *testing.T) {
 		require.Len(t, keys, 1)
 	})
 
-	t.Run("DriftFailsStartup", func(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("DriftIsNonFatalAndFlagged", func(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Parallel()
 		db, _ := dbtestutil.NewDB(t)
 		ctx := testutil.Context(t, testutil.WaitShort)
@@ -89,22 +90,38 @@ func TestSeedAIProvidersFromEnv(t *testing.T) {
 				Key:     serpent.String("sk-original"),
 			},
 		}
-		require.NoError(t, coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t)))
+		ineffective, err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.False(t, ineffective)
 
-		// Changing the API key counts as drift: keys are included
-		// in the canonical hash so operators notice when env-var
-		// credential changes are ignored by an existing provider.
+		// Changing the API key counts as drift: keys are included in the
+		// canonical hash. Because CODER_AIBRIDGE_* config is deprecated,
+		// drift no longer fails startup; the env change is ineffective,
+		// the stored row is left untouched, and the call reports it.
 		cfg.LegacyOpenAI.Key = serpent.String("sk-rotated")
-		err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
-		require.Error(t, err)
-		require.Contains(t, err.Error(), "differs from the current environment configuration")
+		ineffective, err = coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.True(t, ineffective)
 
-		// Changing the base URL is also real drift.
+		// The database still holds the original key.
+		row, err := db.GetAIProviderByName(ctx, "openai")
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		keys, err := db.GetAIProviderKeysByProviderID(ctx, row.ID)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.Len(t, keys, 1)
+		require.Equal(t, "sk-original", keys[0].APIKey)
+
+		// Changing the base URL is also drift, and also non-fatal.
 		cfg.LegacyOpenAI.Key = serpent.String("sk-original")
 		cfg.LegacyOpenAI.BaseURL = serpent.String("https://api.openai.com/v2")
-		err = coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
-		require.Error(t, err)
-		require.Contains(t, err.Error(), "differs from the current environment configuration")
+		ineffective, err = coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.True(t, ineffective)
+
+		// The stored base URL is unchanged.
+		row, err = db.GetAIProviderByName(ctx, "openai")
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.Equal(t, "https://api.openai.com/v1", row.BaseUrl)
 	})
 
 	t.Run("BedrockCredentialChangeIsDrift", func(t *testing.T) {
@@ -120,24 +137,35 @@ func TestSeedAIProvidersFromEnv(t *testing.T) {
 				Model:           serpent.String("anthropic.claude-3-5-sonnet"),
 			},
 		}
-		require.NoError(t, coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t)))
+		_, err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
 
-		// Rotating the Bedrock access key in env trips the drift
-		// check so operators know the change did not take effect.
+		// Rotating the Bedrock access key in env is drift. It is
+		// non-fatal for the deprecated env path: the call reports the
+		// change is ineffective and the stored credentials are unchanged.
 		cfg.LegacyBedrock.AccessKey = serpent.String("AKIA-rotated")
 		cfg.LegacyBedrock.AccessKeySecret = serpent.String("secret-rotated")
-		err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
-		require.Error(t, err)
-		require.Contains(t, err.Error(), "differs from the current environment configuration")
+		ineffective, err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.True(t, ineffective)
 
-		// Changing the Bedrock region (a non-credential field) is
-		// also real drift.
+		row, err := db.GetAIProviderByName(ctx, "anthropic")
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.Contains(t, row.Settings.String, "AKIA-original")
+		require.Contains(t, row.Settings.String, "secret-original")
+
+		// Changing the Bedrock region (a non-credential field) is also
+		// drift, and also non-fatal.
 		cfg.LegacyBedrock.AccessKey = serpent.String("AKIA-original")
 		cfg.LegacyBedrock.AccessKeySecret = serpent.String("secret-original")
 		cfg.LegacyBedrock.Region = serpent.String("us-west-2")
-		err = coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
-		require.Error(t, err)
-		require.Contains(t, err.Error(), "differs from the current environment configuration")
+		ineffective, err = coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.True(t, ineffective)
+
+		row, err = db.GetAIProviderByName(ctx, "anthropic")
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.Contains(t, row.Settings.String, "us-east-1")
 	})
 
 	t.Run("LegacyBedrockOnlyKeepsBedrockSettings", func(t *testing.T) {
@@ -156,7 +184,8 @@ func TestSeedAIProvidersFromEnv(t *testing.T) {
 				SmallFastModel:  serpent.String("anthropic.claude-3-5-haiku"),
 			},
 		}
-		require.NoError(t, coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t)))
+		_, err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
 
 		row, err := db.GetAIProviderByName(ctx, "anthropic")
 		require.NoError(t, err)
@@ -191,7 +220,8 @@ func TestSeedAIProvidersFromEnv(t *testing.T) {
 
 		cfg := dv.AI.BridgeConfig
 		cfg.LegacyAnthropic.Key = serpent.String("sk-ant-only")
-		require.NoError(t, coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t)))
+		_, err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
 
 		row, err := db.GetAIProviderByName(ctx, "anthropic")
 		require.NoError(t, err)
@@ -216,7 +246,8 @@ func TestSeedAIProvidersFromEnv(t *testing.T) {
 				Model:  serpent.String("anthropic.claude-3-5-sonnet"),
 			},
 		}
-		require.NoError(t, coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t)))
+		_, err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
 
 		row, err := db.GetAIProviderByName(ctx, "anthropic")
 		require.NoError(t, err)
@@ -241,7 +272,8 @@ func TestSeedAIProvidersFromEnv(t *testing.T) {
 				Model:           serpent.String("anthropic.claude-3-5-sonnet"),
 			},
 		}
-		require.NoError(t, coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t)))
+		_, err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
 		row, err := db.GetAIProviderByName(ctx, "anthropic")
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 		require.Contains(t, row.Settings.String, "us-east-1")
@@ -275,7 +307,8 @@ func TestSeedAIProvidersFromEnv(t *testing.T) {
 				},
 			},
 		}
-		require.NoError(t, coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t)))
+		_, err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
 
 		oa, err := db.GetAIProviderByName(ctx, "primary-openai")
 		require.NoError(t, err)
@@ -319,34 +352,55 @@ func TestSeedAIProvidersFromEnv(t *testing.T) {
 				},
 			},
 		}
-		require.NoError(t, coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t)))
+		_, err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
 
 		// Reordering keys must not count as drift. The canonical hash
 		// sorts keys before hashing, so equivalent key sets remain
 		// stable across restarts.
 		cfg.Providers[0].Keys = []string{"sk-openai-2", "sk-openai-1"}
 		cfg.Providers[1].Keys = []string{"sk-ant-2", "sk-ant-1"}
-		require.NoError(t, coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t)))
+		ineffective, err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.False(t, ineffective)
 
-		// Changing one key on one provider must block startup even
-		// when multiple providers are configured.
+		// Changing one key on one provider is drift even when multiple
+		// providers are configured. Drift is non-fatal: it must not block
+		// a brand-new provider in the same config from being inserted,
+		// which exercises the continue-after-drift path.
 		cfg.Providers[1].Keys = []string{"sk-ant-2", "sk-ant-rotated"}
-		err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
-		require.Error(t, err)
-		require.Contains(t, err.Error(), "differs from the current environment configuration")
-		require.Contains(t, err.Error(), `"primary-anthropic"`)
+		cfg.Providers = append(cfg.Providers, codersdk.AIProviderConfig{
+			Type:    "openai",
+			Name:    "secondary-openai",
+			BaseURL: "https://api.openai.com/v1",
+			Keys:    []string{"sk-new"},
+		})
+		ineffective, err = coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.True(t, ineffective)
 
+		// The non-drifting provider is still present with its original keys.
 		oa, err := db.GetAIProviderByName(ctx, "primary-openai")
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 		oaKeys, err := db.GetAIProviderKeysByProviderID(ctx, oa.ID)
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 		require.ElementsMatch(t, []string{"sk-openai-1", "sk-openai-2"}, []string{oaKeys[0].APIKey, oaKeys[1].APIKey})
 
+		// The drifted provider keeps its original keys; the env change
+		// was ignored.
 		an, err := db.GetAIProviderByName(ctx, "primary-anthropic")
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 		anKeys, err := db.GetAIProviderKeysByProviderID(ctx, an.ID)
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 		require.ElementsMatch(t, []string{"sk-ant-1", "sk-ant-2"}, []string{anKeys[0].APIKey, anKeys[1].APIKey})
+
+		// The new provider was inserted despite the drift on another row.
+		sec, err := db.GetAIProviderByName(ctx, "secondary-openai")
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		secKeys, err := db.GetAIProviderKeysByProviderID(ctx, sec.ID)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.Len(t, secKeys, 1)
+		require.Equal(t, "sk-new", secKeys[0].APIKey)
 	})
 
 	t.Run("BedrockIndexedProviderHasNoKeys", func(t *testing.T) {
@@ -367,7 +421,8 @@ func TestSeedAIProvidersFromEnv(t *testing.T) {
 				},
 			},
 		}
-		require.NoError(t, coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t)))
+		_, err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
 
 		row, err := db.GetAIProviderByName(ctx, "bedrock-anthropic")
 		require.NoError(t, err)
@@ -398,7 +453,9 @@ func TestSeedAIProvidersFromEnv(t *testing.T) {
 				},
 			},
 		}
-		err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
+		// Pre-transaction validation: a legacy/indexed name conflict is
+		// still fatal.
+		_, err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
 		require.Error(t, err)
 		require.Contains(t, err.Error(), "conflicts")
 	})
@@ -417,7 +474,8 @@ func TestSeedAIProvidersFromEnv(t *testing.T) {
 				},
 			},
 		}
-		err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
+		// Pre-transaction validation: an invalid name is still fatal.
+		_, err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
 		require.Error(t, err)
 		require.Contains(t, err.Error(), "invalid AI provider name")
 	})
@@ -446,7 +504,8 @@ func TestSeedAIProvidersFromEnv(t *testing.T) {
 				},
 			},
 		}
-		require.NoError(t, coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t)))
+		_, err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
 
 		all, err := db.GetAIProviders(ctx, database.GetAIProvidersParams{})
 		require.NoError(t, err)
@@ -465,7 +524,8 @@ func TestSeedAIProvidersFromEnv(t *testing.T) {
 				Key:     serpent.String("sk-original"),
 			},
 		}
-		require.NoError(t, coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t)))
+		_, err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
 
 		row, err := db.GetAIProviderByName(ctx, "openai")
 		require.NoError(t, err)
@@ -473,14 +533,15 @@ func TestSeedAIProvidersFromEnv(t *testing.T) {
 
 		// Re-run seed; the soft-deleted row should remain soft-deleted
 		// and no new row should be created.
-		require.NoError(t, coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t)))
+		_, err = coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
 
 		all, err := db.GetAIProviders(ctx, database.GetAIProvidersParams{})
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 		require.Empty(t, all, "expected no active rows after soft-delete + re-seed")
 	})
 
-	t.Run("ExistingKeysBlockOnDrift", func(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("ExistingKeysDriftKeepsOriginalKeys", func(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Parallel()
 		db, _ := dbtestutil.NewDB(t)
 		ctx := testutil.Context(t, testutil.WaitShort)
@@ -491,17 +552,19 @@ func TestSeedAIProvidersFromEnv(t *testing.T) {
 				Key:     serpent.String("sk-original"),
 			},
 		}
-		require.NoError(t, coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t)))
+		_, err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
 
 		row, err := db.GetAIProviderByName(ctx, "openai")
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 
-		// Operator rotates the env key. The seed now blocks startup
-		// because the keys differ, alerting the operator.
+		// Operator rotates the env key. The seed reports the change is
+		// ineffective rather than blocking startup, and the database row
+		// is left untouched.
 		cfg.LegacyOpenAI.Key = serpent.String("sk-rotated")
-		err = coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
-		require.Error(t, err)
-		require.Contains(t, err.Error(), "differs from the current environment configuration")
+		ineffective, err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.True(t, ineffective)
 
 		// The original key is still in the database.
 		keys, err := db.GetAIProviderKeysByProviderID(ctx, row.ID)
@@ -533,7 +596,8 @@ func TestSeedAIProvidersFromEnv(t *testing.T) {
 				},
 			},
 		}
-		require.NoError(t, coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t)))
+		_, err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
 
 		all, err := db.GetAIProviders(ctx, database.GetAIProvidersParams{})
 		require.NoError(t, err)
@@ -563,7 +627,8 @@ func TestSeedAIProvidersFromEnv(t *testing.T) {
 				},
 			},
 		}
-		require.NoError(t, coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t)))
+		_, err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
 
 		all, err := db.GetAIProviders(ctx, database.GetAIProvidersParams{})
 		require.NoError(t, err)
@@ -579,7 +644,8 @@ func TestSeedAIProvidersFromEnv(t *testing.T) {
 		db, _ := dbtestutil.NewDB(t)
 		ctx := testutil.Context(t, testutil.WaitShort)
 
-		// Same name, different canonical fields: must be rejected.
+		// Same name, different canonical fields: pre-transaction
+		// validation rejects this, so it is still fatal.
 		cfg := codersdk.AIBridgeConfig{
 			Providers: []codersdk.AIProviderConfig{
 				{
@@ -596,7 +662,7 @@ func TestSeedAIProvidersFromEnv(t *testing.T) {
 				},
 			},
 		}
-		err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
+		_, err := coderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(ctx, db, cfg, testLogger(t))
 		require.Error(t, err)
 		require.Contains(t, err.Error(), "conflicting fields")
 	})
diff --git a/coderd/coderd.go b/coderd/coderd.go
index c87adc5647..a08e95a444 100644
--- a/coderd/coderd.go
+++ b/coderd/coderd.go
@@ -2180,6 +2180,12 @@ type API struct {
 	WebpushDispatcher webpush.Dispatcher
 	QuotaCommitter    atomic.Pointer[proto.QuotaCommitter]
 	AppearanceFetcher atomic.Pointer[appearance.Fetcher]
+	// AIProvidersEnvDrift is set to true at startup when deprecated
+	// CODER_AIBRIDGE_* env configuration differs from the AI provider rows
+	// already stored in the database. The appearance fetchers read it to
+	// warn admins that their env changes are ineffective. The zero value
+	// (false) needs no initialization.
+	AIProvidersEnvDrift atomic.Bool
 	// WorkspaceProxyHostsFn returns the hosts of healthy workspace proxies
 	// for header reasons.
 	WorkspaceProxyHostsFn atomic.Pointer[func() []*proxyhealth.ProxyHost]
diff --git a/enterprise/cli/server.go b/enterprise/cli/server.go
index 37febd028b..eee7a52210 100644
--- a/enterprise/cli/server.go
+++ b/enterprise/cli/server.go
@@ -178,14 +178,19 @@ func (r *RootCmd) Server(_ func()) *serpent.Command {
 			//nolint:gocritic // Production timeout, not a test wait.
 			aibridgeInitCtx, aibridgeInitCancel := context.WithTimeout(context.WithoutCancel(ctx), 30*time.Second)
 			defer aibridgeInitCancel()
-			if err := agplcoderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(
+			ineffective, err := agplcoderd.SeedAIProvidersFromEnv(
 				aibridgeInitCtx,
 				options.Database,
 				options.DeploymentValues.AI.BridgeConfig,
 				options.Logger.Named("aibridge.envseed"),
-			); err != nil {
+			)
+			if err != nil {
 				return nil, nil, xerrors.Errorf("seed ai providers from env: %w", err)
 			}
+			// Belt-and-suspenders: the agplcli re-seed after newAPI
+			// overwrites this with the same deterministic value. Use the
+			// computed flag rather than a hardcoded true.
+			api.AGPL.AIProvidersEnvDrift.Store(ineffective)
 			aiBridgeProxyCloser, err := newAIBridgeProxyDaemon(api)
 			if err != nil {
 				_ = closers.Close()