diff --git a/backend/open_webui/config.py b/backend/open_webui/config.py
index 4a2c756b7..5e0e4f0a1 100644
--- a/backend/open_webui/config.py
+++ b/backend/open_webui/config.py
@@ -1957,7 +1957,7 @@ RAG_WEB_LOADER_ENGINE = PersistentConfig(
 RAG_WEB_SEARCH_TRUST_ENV = PersistentConfig(
     "RAG_WEB_SEARCH_TRUST_ENV",
     "rag.web.search.trust_env",
-    os.getenv("RAG_WEB_SEARCH_TRUST_ENV", False),
+    os.getenv("RAG_WEB_SEARCH_TRUST_ENV", "False").lower() == "true",
 )
 
 PLAYWRIGHT_WS_URI = PersistentConfig(