diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d9ea44c..d10cbaa 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ Options:
   --format <value>           Process output folder with formatter? ['biome', 'prettier']
   --lint   <value>           Process output folder with linter? ['eslint', 'biome']
   --operationId              Use operation ID to generate operation names?
-  --serviceResponse <value>  Define shape of returned value from service calls ['body', 'response']
+  --serviceResponse <value>  Define shape of returned value from service calls ['body', 'response'] (default: "body")
   --base <value>             Manually set base in OpenAPI config instead of inferring from server value
   --enums <value>            Generate JavaScript objects from enum definitions? ['javascript', 'typescript']
   --useDateType              Use Date type instead of string for date types for models, this will not convert the data to a Date object
diff --git a/src/cli.mts b/src/cli.mts
index d7c808f..9120cce 100644
--- a/src/cli.mts
+++ b/src/cli.mts
@@ -64,7 +64,9 @@ async function setupProgram() {
       new Option(
         "--serviceResponse <value>",
         "Define shape of returned value from service calls"
-      ).choices(["body", "response"])
+      )
+        .choices(["body", "response"])
+        .default("body")
     )
     .option(
       "--base <value>",