diff --git a/apps/web/src/page/settings/kit/org-membership.test.ts b/apps/web/src/page/settings/kit/org-membership.test.ts
index 4f9e39a0e6..25784a1999 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/page/settings/kit/org-membership.test.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/page/settings/kit/org-membership.test.ts
@@ -22,10 +22,22 @@ describe("leaveEligibility", () => {
 })
 
 describe("toOrgRole", () => {
-	it("reads unknown Clerk roles as member", () => {
+	it("reads unknown Clerk roles as observer, the least a person can hold", () => {
 		expect(toOrgRole("org:admin")).toBe("org:admin")
-		expect(toOrgRole("org:billing")).toBe("org:member")
-		expect(orgRoleLabel("org:viewer")).toBe("Member")
+		expect(toOrgRole("org:billing")).toBe("org:observer")
+		expect(orgRoleLabel("org:viewer")).toBe("Observer")
+	})
+
+	it("shows root, which has no entry of its own, as a member", () => {
+		expect(orgRoleLabel("root")).toBe("Member")
+	})
+
+	it("names the observer role in a role change prompt", () => {
+		expect(roleChangePrompt("Ada", "org:observer")).toEqual({
+			question:
+				"Make Ada an observer? Follows incidents, reliability, product analytics and cost, without changing anything.",
+			confirmLabel: "Make observer",
+		})
 	})
 })
 
diff --git a/apps/web/src/page/settings/kit/org-membership.ts b/apps/web/src/page/settings/kit/org-membership.ts
index 81f933be72..4b421a693f 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/page/settings/kit/org-membership.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/page/settings/kit/org-membership.ts
@@ -7,9 +7,10 @@ export type OrgRole = Policy.ClerkRoleKey
 /** The assignable Clerk role keys, lowest role first. */
 export const orgRoleKeys: ReadonlyArray<OrgRole> = Arr.map(Policy.assignableRoles, (entry) => entry.clerkKey)
 
-const [memberEntry] = Policy.assignableRoles
+// `root`, which Clerk never assigns, has no entry of its own and shows as a member.
+const memberEntry = Policy.assignableRoles[1]
 
-/** A Clerk role string's entry, read through `Policy.roleOf` (unknown roles are members). */
+/** A Clerk role string's entry, read through `Policy.roleOf` (unknown roles are observers). */
 const entryOf = (role: string): Policy.AssignableRole => {
 	const policyRole = Policy.roleOf(role)
 	return Option.getOrElse(
diff --git a/packages/domain/src/policy/policy.test.ts b/packages/domain/src/policy/policy.test.ts
index ae4febfa64..1e5631d6af 100644
--- a/packages/domain/src/policy/policy.test.ts
+++ b/packages/domain/src/policy/policy.test.ts
@@ -113,17 +113,20 @@ describe("Policy.grantsOf", () => {
 describe("roleOf", () => {
 	it("maps the Clerk keys the Members page assigns", () => {
 		expect(Arr.map(Policy.assignableRoles, (entry) => Policy.roleOf(entry.clerkKey))).toEqual([
+			"observer",
 			"member",
 			"engineer",
 			"admin",
 		])
 	})
 
-	it("reads the observer key as observer, below every assignable role", () => {
-		expect(Policy.roleOf("org:observer")).toBe("observer")
-		for (const entry of Policy.assignableRoles) {
-			expect(Policy.outranks(entry.role, "observer")).toBe(true)
-		}
+	it("lists the assignable roles lowest first, so each outranks the one before it", () => {
+		const roles = Arr.map(Policy.assignableRoles, (entry) => entry.role)
+		expect(
+			Arr.every(Arr.zip(roles, Arr.drop(roles, 1)), ([lower, higher]) =>
+				Policy.outranks(higher, lower),
+			),
+		).toBe(true)
 	})
 })
 
diff --git a/packages/domain/src/policy/roles.ts b/packages/domain/src/policy/roles.ts
index db865fd59a..8ba1dcfefc 100644
--- a/packages/domain/src/policy/roles.ts
+++ b/packages/domain/src/policy/roles.ts
@@ -20,6 +20,12 @@ const byRank: Order.Order<Role> = Order.mapInput(Order.Number, (role) => RANK[ro
 
 /** What the Members page shows for a role a person can be given in Clerk. */
 export const assignableRoles = [
+	{
+		role: "observer",
+		clerkKey: "org:observer",
+		label: "Observer",
+		summary: "Follows incidents, reliability, product analytics and cost, without changing anything.",
+	},
 	{
 		role: "member",
 		clerkKey: "org:member",
@@ -43,16 +49,6 @@ export const assignableRoles = [
 export type AssignableRole = (typeof assignableRoles)[number]
 export type ClerkRoleKey = AssignableRole["clerkKey"]
 
-/** Read-only, for people who follow the product without operating it. Not offered on the Members page yet. */
-const observerRole = {
-	role: "observer",
-	clerkKey: "org:observer",
-	label: "Observer",
-	summary: "Follows incidents, reliability, product analytics and cost. Changes nothing.",
-} as const satisfies { role: Role; clerkKey: string; label: string; summary: string }
-
-const clerkRoles = [observerRole, ...assignableRoles] as const
-
 /**
  * A Clerk or session role string as a {@link Role}. A role this code does not know reads as
  * observer, the least it can hold.
@@ -61,7 +57,7 @@ export const roleOf = (name: string): Role => {
 	if (name === "root") return "root"
 	return Option.getOrElse(
 		Option.map(
-			Arr.findFirst(clerkRoles, (entry) => entry.clerkKey === name),
+			Arr.findFirst(assignableRoles, (entry) => entry.clerkKey === name),
 			(entry): Role => entry.role,
 		),
 		(): Role => "observer",