diff --git a/cli/azd/extensions/azure.ai.agents/test/integrationTests/testUtilities/test_utils.go b/cli/azd/extensions/azure.ai.agents/test/integrationTests/testUtilities/test_utils.go
index d813f6fff00..e09998ad13a 100644
--- a/cli/azd/extensions/azure.ai.agents/test/integrationTests/testUtilities/test_utils.go
+++ b/cli/azd/extensions/azure.ai.agents/test/integrationTests/testUtilities/test_utils.go
@@ -185,15 +185,34 @@ func executeAzdCommand(ctx context.Context, cli *azdcli.CLI, testSuite *Integrat
 
 	cli.WorkingDirectory = testSuite.AzdProjectDir
 	result, err := cli.RunCommandWithStdIn(ctx, "", args...)
-	output := result.Stdout + result.Stderr
+
+	var output string
+	if result != nil {
+		output = result.Stdout + result.Stderr
+	}
 
 	LogCommandOutput(strings.Join(args, " "), []byte(output))
 
-	if err != nil || result.ExitCode != 0 {
-		Logf("Command failed with error: %v, exit code: %d", err, result.ExitCode)
+	if err != nil {
+		var exitCode int = -1 // Default to -1 when result is nil (command failed to start)
+		if result != nil {
+			exitCode = result.ExitCode
+		}
+		Logf("Command failed with error: %v, exit code: %d", err, exitCode)
+		return "", &InitError{
+			Message: output,
+			Err:     fmt.Errorf("exit code %d: %w", exitCode, err),
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Defensive check: handle case where err is nil but exit code is non-zero
+	// This shouldn't normally happen based on RunCommandWithStdIn implementation,
+	// but we check defensively in case the implementation changes
+	if result != nil && result.ExitCode != 0 {
+		Logf("Command failed with exit code: %d", result.ExitCode)
 		return "", &InitError{
 			Message: output,
-			Err:     fmt.Errorf("exit code %d: %w", result.ExitCode, err),
+			Err:     fmt.Errorf("exit code %d", result.ExitCode),
 		}
 	}
 	Logf("Command completed successfully")
@@ -201,7 +220,7 @@ func executeAzdCommand(ctx context.Context, cli *azdcli.CLI, testSuite *Integrat
 	return output, nil
 }
 
-// executeAzdCommand executes an azd command and returns output and agent version if available
+// executeAzdCommandWithExec executes an azd command using exec.Command and returns the output
 func executeAzdCommandWithExec(ctx context.Context, testSuite *IntegrationTestSuite, timeout time.Duration, args []string) (string, error) {
 	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, timeout)
 	defer cancel()