diff --git a/app/backend/approaches/approach.py b/app/backend/approaches/approach.py
index bc2f918860..7dc81814bd 100644
--- a/app/backend/approaches/approach.py
+++ b/app/backend/approaches/approach.py
@@ -261,6 +261,7 @@ async def run_agentic_retrieval(
         filter_add_on: Optional[str] = None,
         minimum_reranker_score: Optional[float] = None,
         max_docs_for_reranker: Optional[int] = None,
+        results_merge_strategy: Optional[str] = None,
     ) -> tuple[KnowledgeAgentRetrievalResponse, list[Document]]:
         # STEP 1: Invoke agentic retrieval
         response = await agent_client.retrieve(
@@ -298,7 +299,13 @@ async def run_agentic_retrieval(
 
         results = []
         if response and response.references:
-            for reference in response.references:
+            if results_merge_strategy == "interleaved":
+                # Use interleaved reference order
+                references = sorted(response.references, key=lambda reference: int(reference.id))
+            else:
+                # Default to descending strategy
+                references = response.references
+            for reference in references:
                 if isinstance(reference, KnowledgeAgentAzureSearchDocReference) and reference.source_data:
                     results.append(
                         Document(
diff --git a/app/backend/approaches/chatreadretrieveread.py b/app/backend/approaches/chatreadretrieveread.py
index 772529ec7d..ed87976e3b 100644
--- a/app/backend/approaches/chatreadretrieveread.py
+++ b/app/backend/approaches/chatreadretrieveread.py
@@ -235,6 +235,7 @@ async def run_agentic_retrieval_approach(
         search_index_filter = self.build_filter(overrides, auth_claims)
         top = overrides.get("top", 3)
         max_subqueries = overrides.get("max_subqueries", 10)
+        results_merge_strategy = overrides.get("results_merge_strategy", "interleaved")
         # 50 is the amount of documents that the reranker can process per query
         max_docs_for_reranker = max_subqueries * 50
 
@@ -246,6 +247,7 @@ async def run_agentic_retrieval_approach(
             filter_add_on=search_index_filter,
             minimum_reranker_score=minimum_reranker_score,
             max_docs_for_reranker=max_docs_for_reranker,
+            results_merge_strategy=results_merge_strategy,
         )
 
         text_sources = self.get_sources_content(results, use_semantic_captions=False, use_image_citation=False)
@@ -259,6 +261,7 @@ async def run_agentic_retrieval_approach(
                     {
                         "reranker_threshold": minimum_reranker_score,
                         "max_docs_for_reranker": max_docs_for_reranker,
+                        "results_merge_strategy": results_merge_strategy,
                         "filter": search_index_filter,
                     },
                 ),
diff --git a/app/backend/approaches/retrievethenread.py b/app/backend/approaches/retrievethenread.py
index 032fa1a90c..d59f903b0e 100644
--- a/app/backend/approaches/retrievethenread.py
+++ b/app/backend/approaches/retrievethenread.py
@@ -186,6 +186,7 @@ async def run_agentic_retrieval_approach(
         search_index_filter = self.build_filter(overrides, auth_claims)
         top = overrides.get("top", 3)
         max_subqueries = overrides.get("max_subqueries", 10)
+        results_merge_strategy = overrides.get("results_merge_strategy", "interleaved")
         # 50 is the amount of documents that the reranker can process per query
         max_docs_for_reranker = max_subqueries * 50
 
@@ -197,6 +198,7 @@ async def run_agentic_retrieval_approach(
             filter_add_on=search_index_filter,
             minimum_reranker_score=minimum_reranker_score,
             max_docs_for_reranker=max_docs_for_reranker,
+            results_merge_strategy=results_merge_strategy,
         )
 
         text_sources = self.get_sources_content(results, use_semantic_captions=False, use_image_citation=False)
@@ -210,6 +212,7 @@ async def run_agentic_retrieval_approach(
                     {
                         "reranker_threshold": minimum_reranker_score,
                         "max_docs_for_reranker": max_docs_for_reranker,
+                        "results_merge_strategy": results_merge_strategy,
                         "filter": search_index_filter,
                     },
                 ),
diff --git a/app/frontend/src/api/models.ts b/app/frontend/src/api/models.ts
index d6014ba25f..63ff5c31f4 100644
--- a/app/frontend/src/api/models.ts
+++ b/app/frontend/src/api/models.ts
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ export type ChatAppRequestOverrides = {
     seed?: number;
     top?: number;
     max_subqueries?: number;
+    results_merge_strategy?: string;
     temperature?: number;
     minimum_search_score?: number;
     minimum_reranker_score?: number;
diff --git a/app/frontend/src/components/Settings/Settings.tsx b/app/frontend/src/components/Settings/Settings.tsx
index 7d101abf36..a1c4f46632 100644
--- a/app/frontend/src/components/Settings/Settings.tsx
+++ b/app/frontend/src/components/Settings/Settings.tsx
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ export interface SettingsProps {
     temperature: number;
     retrieveCount: number;
     maxSubqueryCount: number;
+    resultsMergeStrategy: string;
     seed: number | null;
     minimumSearchScore: number;
     minimumRerankerScore: number;
@@ -55,6 +56,7 @@ export const Settings = ({
     temperature,
     retrieveCount,
     maxSubqueryCount,
+    resultsMergeStrategy,
     seed,
     minimumSearchScore,
     minimumRerankerScore,
@@ -108,6 +110,7 @@ export const Settings = ({
     const retrieveCountFieldId = useId("retrieveCountField");
     const maxSubqueryCountId = useId("maxSubqueryCount");
     const maxSubqueryCountFieldId = useId("maxSubqueryCountField");
+    const resultsMergeStrategyFieldId = useId("resultsMergeStrategy");
     const includeCategoryId = useId("includeCategory");
     const includeCategoryFieldId = useId("includeCategoryField");
     const excludeCategoryId = useId("excludeCategory");
@@ -218,8 +221,8 @@ export const Settings = ({
                     className={styles.settingsSeparator}
                     label={t("labels.maxSubqueryCount")}
                     type="number"
-                    min={1}
-                    max={20}
+                    min={2}
+                    max={40}
                     defaultValue={maxSubqueryCount.toString()}
                     onChange={(_ev, val) => onChange("maxSubqueryCount", parseInt(val || "10"))}
                     aria-labelledby={maxSubqueryCountId}
@@ -227,6 +230,24 @@ export const Settings = ({
                 />
             )}
 
+            {showAgenticRetrievalOption && useAgenticRetrieval && (
+                <Dropdown
+                    id={resultsMergeStrategyFieldId}
+                    className={styles.settingsSeparator}
+                    label={t("labels.resultsMergeStrategy")}
+                    selectedKey={resultsMergeStrategy}
+                    onChange={(_ev?: React.FormEvent<HTMLElement | HTMLInputElement>, option?: IDropdownOption) =>
+                        onChange("resultsMergeStrategy", option?.key)
+                    }
+                    aria-labelledby={includeCategoryId}
+                    options={[
+                        { key: "interleaved", text: t("labels.resultsMergeStrategyOptions.interleaved") },
+                        { key: "descending", text: t("labels.resultsMergeStrategyOptions.descending") }
+                    ]}
+                    onRenderLabel={props => renderLabel(props, includeCategoryId, includeCategoryFieldId, t("helpTexts.resultsMergeStrategy"))}
+                />
+            )}
+
             <TextField
                 id={retrieveCountFieldId}
                 className={styles.settingsSeparator}
diff --git a/app/frontend/src/locales/en/translation.json b/app/frontend/src/locales/en/translation.json
index b44e4f259b..8445407290 100644
--- a/app/frontend/src/locales/en/translation.json
+++ b/app/frontend/src/locales/en/translation.json
@@ -84,6 +84,11 @@
         "minimumRerankerScore": "Minimum reranker score",
         "retrieveCount": "Retrieve this many search results:",
         "maxSubqueryCount": "Max subqueries",
+        "resultsMergeStrategy": "Results merge strategy",
+        "resultsMergeStrategyOptions": {
+            "interleaved": "Interleaved",
+            "descending": "Descending"
+        },
         "includeCategory": "Include category",
         "includeCategoryOptions": {
             "all": "All"
@@ -144,6 +149,8 @@
              "Sets the number of search results to retrieve from Azure AI search. More results may increase the likelihood of finding the correct answer, but may lead to the model getting 'lost in the middle'.",
         "maxSubqueryCount":
             "Sets the maximum number of subqueries to use for the agentic retrieval query plan.",
+        "resultsMergeStrategy":
+            "Sets the strategy for merging results from multiple subqueries. Interleaved picks the top results from each subquery in round robin order, while descending sorts all results by reranker score.",
         "includeCategory":
             "Specifies a category to include in the search results. There are no categories used in the default data set.",
          "excludeCategory":
diff --git a/app/frontend/src/pages/ask/Ask.tsx b/app/frontend/src/pages/ask/Ask.tsx
index 6a1fae1a2b..022a2a362b 100644
--- a/app/frontend/src/pages/ask/Ask.tsx
+++ b/app/frontend/src/pages/ask/Ask.tsx
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ export function Component(): JSX.Element {
     const [retrievalMode, setRetrievalMode] = useState<RetrievalMode>(RetrievalMode.Hybrid);
     const [retrieveCount, setRetrieveCount] = useState<number>(3);
     const [maxSubqueryCount, setMaxSubqueryCount] = useState<number>(10);
+    const [resultsMergeStrategy, setResultsMergeStrategy] = useState<string>("interleaved");
     const [useSemanticRanker, setUseSemanticRanker] = useState<boolean>(true);
     const [useSemanticCaptions, setUseSemanticCaptions] = useState<boolean>(false);
     const [useQueryRewriting, setUseQueryRewriting] = useState<boolean>(false);
@@ -102,6 +103,9 @@ export function Component(): JSX.Element {
             setShowSpeechOutputAzure(config.showSpeechOutputAzure);
             setShowAgenticRetrievalOption(config.showAgenticRetrievalOption);
             setUseAgenticRetrieval(config.showAgenticRetrievalOption);
+            if (config.showAgenticRetrievalOption) {
+                setRetrieveCount(10);
+            }
         });
     };
 
@@ -136,6 +140,7 @@ export function Component(): JSX.Element {
                         exclude_category: excludeCategory.length === 0 ? undefined : excludeCategory,
                         top: retrieveCount,
                         max_subqueries: maxSubqueryCount,
+                        results_merge_strategy: resultsMergeStrategy,
                         temperature: temperature,
                         minimum_reranker_score: minimumRerankerScore,
                         minimum_search_score: minimumSearchScore,
@@ -196,6 +201,9 @@ export function Component(): JSX.Element {
             case "maxSubqueryCount":
                 setMaxSubqueryCount(value);
                 break;
+            case "resultsMergeStrategy":
+                setResultsMergeStrategy(value);
+                break;
             case "useSemanticRanker":
                 setUseSemanticRanker(value);
                 break;
@@ -347,6 +355,7 @@ export function Component(): JSX.Element {
                     temperature={temperature}
                     retrieveCount={retrieveCount}
                     maxSubqueryCount={maxSubqueryCount}
+                    resultsMergeStrategy={resultsMergeStrategy}
                     seed={seed}
                     minimumSearchScore={minimumSearchScore}
                     minimumRerankerScore={minimumRerankerScore}
diff --git a/app/frontend/src/pages/chat/Chat.tsx b/app/frontend/src/pages/chat/Chat.tsx
index 8813d5c4a7..579ad05fea 100644
--- a/app/frontend/src/pages/chat/Chat.tsx
+++ b/app/frontend/src/pages/chat/Chat.tsx
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ const Chat = () => {
     const [minimumSearchScore, setMinimumSearchScore] = useState<number>(0);
     const [retrieveCount, setRetrieveCount] = useState<number>(3);
     const [maxSubqueryCount, setMaxSubqueryCount] = useState<number>(10);
+    const [resultsMergeStrategy, setResultsMergeStrategy] = useState<string>("interleaved");
     const [retrievalMode, setRetrievalMode] = useState<RetrievalMode>(RetrievalMode.Hybrid);
     const [useSemanticRanker, setUseSemanticRanker] = useState<boolean>(true);
     const [useQueryRewriting, setUseQueryRewriting] = useState<boolean>(false);
@@ -135,6 +136,9 @@ const Chat = () => {
             setShowChatHistoryCosmos(config.showChatHistoryCosmos);
             setShowAgenticRetrievalOption(config.showAgenticRetrievalOption);
             setUseAgenticRetrieval(config.showAgenticRetrievalOption);
+            if (config.showAgenticRetrievalOption) {
+                setRetrieveCount(10);
+            }
         });
     };
 
@@ -215,6 +219,8 @@ const Chat = () => {
                         include_category: includeCategory.length === 0 ? undefined : includeCategory,
                         exclude_category: excludeCategory.length === 0 ? undefined : excludeCategory,
                         top: retrieveCount,
+                        max_subqueries: maxSubqueryCount,
+                        results_merge_strategy: resultsMergeStrategy,
                         temperature: temperature,
                         minimum_reranker_score: minimumRerankerScore,
                         minimum_search_score: minimumSearchScore,
@@ -312,6 +318,9 @@ const Chat = () => {
             case "maxSubqueryCount":
                 setMaxSubqueryCount(value);
                 break;
+            case "resultsMergeStrategy":
+                setResultsMergeStrategy(value);
+                break;
             case "useSemanticRanker":
                 setUseSemanticRanker(value);
                 break;
@@ -534,6 +543,7 @@ const Chat = () => {
                         temperature={temperature}
                         retrieveCount={retrieveCount}
                         maxSubqueryCount={maxSubqueryCount}
+                        resultsMergeStrategy={resultsMergeStrategy}
                         seed={seed}
                         minimumSearchScore={minimumSearchScore}
                         minimumRerankerScore={minimumRerankerScore}
diff --git a/tests/snapshots/test_app/test_ask_rtr_text_agent/agent_client0/result.json b/tests/snapshots/test_app/test_ask_rtr_text_agent/agent_client0/result.json
index 827d9ace6d..ec9bbf3360 100644
--- a/tests/snapshots/test_app/test_ask_rtr_text_agent/agent_client0/result.json
+++ b/tests/snapshots/test_app/test_ask_rtr_text_agent/agent_client0/result.json
@@ -18,7 +18,8 @@
                 "props": {
                     "filter": null,
                     "max_docs_for_reranker": 500,
-                    "reranker_threshold": 0
+                    "reranker_threshold": 0,
+                    "results_merge_strategy": "interleaved"
                 },
                 "title": "Use agentic retrieval"
             },
diff --git a/tests/snapshots/test_app/test_ask_rtr_text_agent_filter/agent_auth_client0/result.json b/tests/snapshots/test_app/test_ask_rtr_text_agent_filter/agent_auth_client0/result.json
index 909fbe1fda..029348cb23 100644
--- a/tests/snapshots/test_app/test_ask_rtr_text_agent_filter/agent_auth_client0/result.json
+++ b/tests/snapshots/test_app/test_ask_rtr_text_agent_filter/agent_auth_client0/result.json
@@ -18,7 +18,8 @@
                 "props": {
                     "filter": "category ne 'excluded' and (oids/any(g:search.in(g, 'OID_X')) or groups/any(g:search.in(g, 'GROUP_Y, GROUP_Z')))",
                     "max_docs_for_reranker": 500,
-                    "reranker_threshold": 0
+                    "reranker_threshold": 0,
+                    "results_merge_strategy": "interleaved"
                 },
                 "title": "Use agentic retrieval"
             },
diff --git a/tests/snapshots/test_app/test_chat_text_agent/agent_client0/result.json b/tests/snapshots/test_app/test_chat_text_agent/agent_client0/result.json
index 9e618d61b1..5f813bd45d 100644
--- a/tests/snapshots/test_app/test_chat_text_agent/agent_client0/result.json
+++ b/tests/snapshots/test_app/test_chat_text_agent/agent_client0/result.json
@@ -18,7 +18,8 @@
                 "props": {
                     "filter": null,
                     "max_docs_for_reranker": 500,
-                    "reranker_threshold": 0
+                    "reranker_threshold": 0,
+                    "results_merge_strategy": "interleaved"
                 },
                 "title": "Use agentic retrieval"
             },
diff --git a/tests/snapshots/test_app/test_chat_text_filter_agent/agent_auth_client0/result.json b/tests/snapshots/test_app/test_chat_text_filter_agent/agent_auth_client0/result.json
index 40e7000667..1069d6870e 100644
--- a/tests/snapshots/test_app/test_chat_text_filter_agent/agent_auth_client0/result.json
+++ b/tests/snapshots/test_app/test_chat_text_filter_agent/agent_auth_client0/result.json
@@ -18,7 +18,8 @@
                 "props": {
                     "filter": "category ne 'excluded' and (oids/any(g:search.in(g, 'OID_X')) or groups/any(g:search.in(g, 'GROUP_Y, GROUP_Z')))",
                     "max_docs_for_reranker": 500,
-                    "reranker_threshold": 0
+                    "reranker_threshold": 0,
+                    "results_merge_strategy": "interleaved"
                 },
                 "title": "Use agentic retrieval"
             },