diff --git a/pkg/config/auto.go b/pkg/config/auto.go
index c11a37f5b..c59e4e14c 100644
--- a/pkg/config/auto.go
+++ b/pkg/config/auto.go
@@ -53,9 +53,9 @@ func (e *AutoModelFallbackError) Error() string {
 }
 
 var DefaultModels = map[string]string{
-	"openai":         "gpt-5-mini",
+	"openai":         "gpt-5",
 	"anthropic":      "claude-sonnet-4-6",
-	"google":         "gemini-2.5-flash",
+	"google":         "gemini-3.5-flash",
 	"dmr":            "ai/qwen3:latest",
 	"mistral":        "mistral-small-latest",
 	"amazon-bedrock": "global.anthropic.claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929-v1:0",
diff --git a/pkg/config/auto_test.go b/pkg/config/auto_test.go
index f7c6499a2..545d58f19 100644
--- a/pkg/config/auto_test.go
+++ b/pkg/config/auto_test.go
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ func TestAutoModelConfig(t *testing.T) {
 				"OPENAI_API_KEY": "test-key",
 			},
 			expectedProvider:  "openai",
-			expectedModel:     "gpt-5-mini",
+			expectedModel:     "gpt-5",
 			expectedMaxTokens: 32000,
 		},
 		{
@@ -186,7 +186,7 @@ func TestAutoModelConfig(t *testing.T) {
 				"GOOGLE_API_KEY": "test-key",
 			},
 			expectedProvider:  "google",
-			expectedModel:     "gemini-2.5-flash",
+			expectedModel:     "gemini-3.5-flash",
 			expectedMaxTokens: 32000,
 		},
 		{
@@ -287,9 +287,9 @@ func TestDefaultModels(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	// Test specific model values
-	assert.Equal(t, "gpt-5-mini", DefaultModels["openai"])
+	assert.Equal(t, "gpt-5", DefaultModels["openai"])
 	assert.Equal(t, "claude-sonnet-4-6", DefaultModels["anthropic"])
-	assert.Equal(t, "gemini-2.5-flash", DefaultModels["google"])
+	assert.Equal(t, "gemini-3.5-flash", DefaultModels["google"])
 	assert.Equal(t, "ai/qwen3:latest", DefaultModels["dmr"])
 	assert.Equal(t, "mistral-small-latest", DefaultModels["mistral"])
 	assert.Equal(t, "global.anthropic.claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929-v1:0", DefaultModels["amazon-bedrock"])
@@ -423,7 +423,7 @@ func TestAutoModelConfig_UserDefaultModel(t *testing.T) {
 			defaultModel:      nil,
 			envVars:           map[string]string{"GOOGLE_API_KEY": "test-key"},
 			expectedProvider:  "google",
-			expectedModel:     "gemini-2.5-flash",
+			expectedModel:     "gemini-3.5-flash",
 			expectedMaxTokens: 32000,
 		},
 		{
diff --git a/pkg/config/builtin-agents/default.yaml b/pkg/config/builtin-agents/default.yaml
index e164404ed..d07911cac 100644
--- a/pkg/config/builtin-agents/default.yaml
+++ b/pkg/config/builtin-agents/default.yaml
@@ -1,6 +1,15 @@
+models:
+  smart:
+    first_available:
+      - anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6
+      - openai/gpt-5
+      - google/gemini-3.5-flash
+      - mistral/mistral-small-latest
+      - dmr/ai/qwen3
+
 agents:
   root:
-    model: auto
+    model: smart
     description: A helpful AI assistant
     welcome_message: |
       Hello! I'm your AI assistant. How can I help you today?
@@ -15,4 +24,4 @@ agents:
     toolsets:
       - type: filesystem
       - type: shell
-      - type: fetch
\ No newline at end of file
+      - type: fetch