Question

You are building a customer-support assistant that has access to a `lookup_order` tool. Many incoming messages are simple greetings or general questions ('What are your hours?') that do not need any tool, while others clearly require an order lookup. You want Claude to answer directly when no tool is needed but call the tool when it is appropriate. Which `tool_choice` setting best fits this requirement?

Accepted Answer

Set `tool_choice` to `{"type": "auto"}` so Claude decides per message whether to use a tool or answer directly.

Answer

Set `tool_choice` to `{"type": "any"}` so Claude always uses one of the available tools.

Answer

Set `tool_choice` to `{"type": "tool", "name": "lookup_order"}` to guarantee consistent behavior.

Answer

Set `tool_choice` to `{"type": "none"}` so Claude never calls tools and stays fast.