diff --git a/packages/app/src/browser-automation/handler.test.ts b/packages/app/src/browser-automation/handler.test.ts
index 5b49b5f45..45ca127c8 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/browser-automation/handler.test.ts
+++ b/packages/app/src/browser-automation/handler.test.ts
@@ -250,7 +250,7 @@ describe("mountBrowserAutomationHandler", () => {
     useWorkspaceLayoutStore.setState({ layoutByWorkspace: {} });
   });
 
-  test("browser_new_tab creates and focuses a workspace browser tab", async () => {
+  test("browser_new_tab creates a workspace browser tab without stealing focus", async () => {
     const browser = new BrowserAutomationHandlerHarness();
     const workspaceKey = buildWorkspaceTabPersistenceKey({
       serverId: "server-1",
@@ -278,16 +278,14 @@ describe("mountBrowserAutomationHandler", () => {
     expect(layout?.root).toEqual(
       expect.objectContaining({
         kind: "pane",
-        pane: expect.objectContaining({ focusedTabId: openedTabs[0]?.tabId }),
+        pane: expect.objectContaining({ focusedTabId: previousFocusedTabId }),
       }),
     );
     expect(openedTabs[0]?.tabId).not.toBe(previousFocusedTabId);
     expect(browser.browser.registeredWorkspaceBrowsers).toEqual([
       { browserId: result.browserId, workspaceId: "wks_workspace_a" },
     ]);
-    expect(browser.browser.activeWorkspaceBrowsers).toEqual([
-      { browserId: result.browserId, workspaceId: "wks_workspace_a" },
-    ]);
+    expect(browser.browser.activeWorkspaceBrowsers).toEqual([]);
     expect(browser.resident.ensuredWebviews).toEqual([
       { browserId: result.browserId, url: "https://example.com" },
     ]);
diff --git a/packages/app/src/browser-automation/handler.ts b/packages/app/src/browser-automation/handler.ts
index 35b3f5599..5647148a7 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/browser-automation/handler.ts
+++ b/packages/app/src/browser-automation/handler.ts
@@ -179,13 +179,12 @@ async function openBrowserTabForRequest(params: {
       message: "Cannot create a browser tab without a workspace context.",
     });
   }
-  useWorkspaceLayoutStore.getState().openTabFocused(workspaceKey, {
+  useWorkspaceLayoutStore.getState().openTabInBackground(workspaceKey, {
     kind: "browser",
     browserId,
   });
 
   await browserHost?.registerWorkspaceBrowser?.({ browserId, workspaceId });
-  await browserHost?.setWorkspaceActiveBrowser?.({ browserId, workspaceId });
 
   if (browserHost?.executeAutomationCommand) {
     ensureResidentBrowserWebview({ browserId, url: normalizedUrl });
diff --git a/packages/server/src/server/browser-tools/tools.ts b/packages/server/src/server/browser-tools/tools.ts
index 981bbdc46..d7b0e0f36 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/server/browser-tools/tools.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/server/browser-tools/tools.ts
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ export function registerBrowserTools(options: RegisterBrowserToolsOptions): void
     {
       title: "Create browser tab",
       description:
-        "Create and focus a new Paseo desktop browser tab in this agent's workspace. Pass an http(s) URL or a scheme-less host URL, which is treated as http; the returned browserId is used by tab-scoped tools.",
+        "Create a new Paseo desktop browser tab in this agent's workspace, opened in the background without switching the user's view. Pass an http(s) URL or a scheme-less host URL, which is treated as http; the returned browserId is used by tab-scoped tools.",
       inputSchema: {
         url: BrowserHttpUrlInputSchema.optional(),
       },