diff --git a/src/providers/compatible.rs b/src/providers/compatible.rs
index 32c94be31..8dbc49924 100644
--- a/src/providers/compatible.rs
+++ b/src/providers/compatible.rs
@@ -186,6 +186,12 @@ impl OpenAiCompatibleProvider {
         }
     }
 
+    /// Disable native tool calling, forcing prompt-guided tool use instead.
+    pub fn without_native_tools(mut self) -> Self {
+        self.native_tool_calling = false;
+        self
+    }
+
     /// Override the HTTP request timeout for LLM API calls.
     pub fn with_timeout_secs(mut self, timeout_secs: u64) -> Self {
         self.timeout_secs = timeout_secs;
diff --git a/src/providers/mod.rs b/src/providers/mod.rs
index bfc788cb8..0d808088e 100644
--- a/src/providers/mod.rs
+++ b/src/providers/mod.rs
@@ -1163,9 +1163,12 @@ fn create_provider_with_url_and_options(
         "telnyx" => Ok(Box::new(telnyx::TelnyxProvider::new(key))),
 
         // ── OpenAI-compatible providers ──────────────────────
-        "venice" => Ok(compat(OpenAiCompatibleProvider::new(
-            "Venice", "https://api.venice.ai", key, AuthStyle::Bearer,
-        ))),
+        "venice" => Ok(compat(
+            OpenAiCompatibleProvider::new(
+                "Venice", "https://api.venice.ai", key, AuthStyle::Bearer,
+            )
+            .without_native_tools(),
+        )),
         "vercel" | "vercel-ai" => Ok(compat(OpenAiCompatibleProvider::new(
             "Vercel AI Gateway",
             VERCEL_AI_GATEWAY_BASE_URL,
@@ -2460,7 +2463,11 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[test]
     fn factory_venice() {
-        assert!(create_provider("venice", Some("vn-key")).is_ok());
+        let provider = create_provider("venice", Some("vn-key")).unwrap();
+        assert!(
+            !provider.capabilities().native_tool_calling,
+            "Venice should use prompt-guided tools, not native tool calling"
+        );
     }
 
     #[test]