diff --git a/enterprise/aibridgeproxyd/reload_test.go b/enterprise/aibridgeproxyd/reload_test.go
index f07462d970c..ae83a00a07c 100644
--- a/enterprise/aibridgeproxyd/reload_test.go
+++ b/enterprise/aibridgeproxyd/reload_test.go
@@ -149,17 +149,15 @@ func newReloadTestHarness(t *testing.T) *reloadTestHarness {
 	t.Helper()
 
 	recorder := &aibridgedRecorder{}
-	bridged := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+	// Keep-alives are disabled so the proxy cannot reuse a stale pooled
+	// connection to aibridged, which would surface as a bare EOF on
+	// Windows (see AIGOV-430).
+	bridged := testutil.NewUnstartedHTTPServer(t, http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		recorder.record(r.URL.Path)
 		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
 		_, _ = w.Write([]byte("aibridged"))
 	}))
-	// The proxy reuses pooled connections to aibridged, but net/http will
-	// not retry a POST on a closed pooled conn, so a stale reuse fails
-	// with a bare EOF on Windows. Force a fresh conn per request.
-	// https://github.com/coder/internal/issues/1564 (AIGOV-430)
-	bridged.Config.SetKeepAlivesEnabled(false)
-	t.Cleanup(bridged.Close)
+	bridged.Start()
 
 	store := &providerStore{}
 	metrics := aibridgeproxyd.NewMetrics(prometheus.NewRegistry())
diff --git a/testutil/http_server.go b/testutil/http_server.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..84d8036a130
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testutil/http_server.go
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+package testutil
+
+import (
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// NewUnstartedHTTPServer is httptest.NewUnstartedServer with keep-alives
+// disabled by default. Tests that proxy or pool connections to a bare
+// httptest.Server can intermittently fail on Windows with a bare EOF when
+// a stale pooled connection is reused, because net/http does not retry a
+// non-replayable request (e.g. a POST) on a closed pooled connection.
+// Disabling keep-alives forces a fresh connection per request, eliminating
+// that class of flake. Call Start before sending requests. See
+// https://github.com/coder/internal/issues/1564 (AIGOV-430).
+func NewUnstartedHTTPServer(t testing.TB, handler http.Handler) *httptest.Server {
+	t.Helper()
+	srv := httptest.NewUnstartedServer(handler)
+	srv.Config.SetKeepAlivesEnabled(false)
+	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
+	return srv
+}
diff --git a/testutil/http_server_test.go b/testutil/http_server_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..fb7fc2e2a72
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testutil/http_server_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+package testutil_test
+
+import (
+	"bufio"
+	"fmt"
+	"net"
+	"net/http"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+
+	"github.com/coder/coder/v2/testutil"
+)
+
+// TestNewUnstartedHTTPServerDisablesKeepAlives verifies the helper
+// disables keep-alives on the underlying server, which is the property
+// that prevents stale pooled-connection reuse (see AIGOV-430). A server
+// with keep-alives disabled closes the connection after a response, so a
+// second request on the same raw connection must fail.
+func TestNewUnstartedHTTPServerDisablesKeepAlives(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	srv := testutil.NewUnstartedHTTPServer(t, http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+	}))
+	srv.Start()
+
+	conn, err := net.Dial("tcp", srv.Listener.Addr().String())
+	require.NoError(t, err, "dial")
+	defer conn.Close()
+
+	send := func() error {
+		_, err := fmt.Fprintf(conn, "GET / HTTP/1.1\r\nHost: x\r\n\r\n")
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		resp, err := http.ReadResponse(bufio.NewReader(conn), nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		_ = resp.Body.Close()
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	// First request on this connection succeeds.
+	require.NoError(t, send(), "first request")
+	// Keep-alives disabled means the server closes the conn, so the
+	// second request on the same conn fails.
+	require.Error(t, send(), "second request on reused connection must fail")
+}