diff --git a/agent/prompt_builder.py b/agent/prompt_builder.py
index 6bd88fa194f97..d4053fc869231 100644
--- a/agent/prompt_builder.py
+++ b/agent/prompt_builder.py
@@ -424,7 +424,7 @@ def _strip_yaml_frontmatter(content: str) -> str:
     "- System state: OS, CPU, memory, disk, ports, processes → use terminal\n"
     "- File contents, sizes, line counts → use read_file, search_files, or terminal\n"
     "- Git history, branches, diffs → use terminal\n"
-    "- Current facts (weather, news, versions) → use web_search\n"
+    "- Current facts (weather, news, versions) → use an appropriate permitted retrieval/search tool\n"
     "Your memory and user profile describe the USER, not the system you are "
     "running on. The execution environment may differ from what the user profile "
     "says about their personal setup.\n"
@@ -458,8 +458,8 @@ def _strip_yaml_frontmatter(content: str) -> str:
     "\n"
     "<missing_context>\n"
     "- If required context is missing, do NOT guess or hallucinate an answer.\n"
-    "- Use the appropriate lookup tool when missing information is retrievable "
-    "(search_files, web_search, read_file, etc.).\n"
+    "- Use the appropriate permitted lookup tool when missing information is "
+    "retrievable (search_files, read_file, or an available retrieval/search tool).\n"
     "- Ask a clarifying question only when the information cannot be retrieved by tools.\n"
     "- If you must proceed with incomplete information, label assumptions explicitly.\n"
     "</missing_context>"
diff --git a/model_tools.py b/model_tools.py
index 9c354194b85fb..99cadd9030abd 100644
--- a/model_tools.py
+++ b/model_tools.py
@@ -285,6 +285,38 @@ def _clear_tool_defs_cache() -> None:
     _tool_defs_cache.clear()
 
 
+def _apply_browser_retrieval_hints(
+    definitions: List[Dict[str, Any]],
+    available_tool_names: set[str],
+) -> None:
+    """Name retrieval helpers in browser schemas only when they are available.
+
+    Static tool schemas must stay toolset-neutral because registry availability is
+    resolved at runtime. This layer may safely add concrete names after check_fn
+    filtering has produced ``available_tool_names``.
+    """
+    web_tools = [name for name in ("web_search", "web_extract") if name in available_tool_names]
+
+    for index, tool_definition in enumerate(definitions):
+        function = tool_definition.get("function", {})
+        name = function.get("name")
+        description = str(function.get("description") or "")
+        hint = ""
+
+        if name == "browser_navigate" and web_tools:
+            joined = " and ".join(web_tools)
+            noun = "tool" if len(web_tools) == 1 else "tools"
+            hint = f" Available lightweight retrieval {noun}: {joined}."
+        elif name == "browser_cdp" and "web_extract" in available_tool_names:
+            hint = " The web_extract tool is available for fetching CDP documentation URLs."
+
+        if hint and hint not in description:
+            definitions[index] = {
+                **tool_definition,
+                "function": {**function, "description": description + hint},
+            }
+
+
 def get_tool_definitions(
     enabled_toolsets: Optional[List[str]] = None,
     disabled_toolsets: Optional[List[str]] = None,
@@ -506,25 +538,9 @@ def _compute_tool_definitions(
                         filtered_tools[i] = {"type": "function", "function": dynamic}
                         break
 
-    # Strip web tool cross-references from browser_navigate description when
-    # web_search / web_extract are not available.  The static schema says
-    # "prefer web_search or web_extract" which causes the model to hallucinate
-    # those tools when they're missing.
-    if "browser_navigate" in available_tool_names:
-        web_tools_available = {"web_search", "web_extract"} & available_tool_names
-        if not web_tools_available:
-            for i, td in enumerate(filtered_tools):
-                if td.get("function", {}).get("name") == "browser_navigate":
-                    desc = td["function"].get("description", "")
-                    desc = desc.replace(
-                        " For simple information retrieval, prefer web_search or web_extract (faster, cheaper).",
-                        "",
-                    )
-                    filtered_tools[i] = {
-                        "type": "function",
-                        "function": {**td["function"], "description": desc},
-                    }
-                    break
+    # Static schemas stay toolset-neutral. Add concrete retrieval tool names
+    # only after check_fn filtering has established what is actually available.
+    _apply_browser_retrieval_hints(filtered_tools, available_tool_names)
 
     if not quiet_mode:
         if filtered_tools:
diff --git a/tests/agent/test_prompt_builder.py b/tests/agent/test_prompt_builder.py
index 28def42c05095..072f3c1f1c814 100644
--- a/tests/agent/test_prompt_builder.py
+++ b/tests/agent/test_prompt_builder.py
@@ -889,6 +889,9 @@ def test_guidance_covers_verification(self):
         assert "correctness" in text
 
 
+    def test_guidance_does_not_mandate_specific_web_tool(self):
+        assert "→ use web_search" not in OPENAI_MODEL_EXECUTION_GUIDANCE
+        assert "appropriate permitted retrieval/search tool" in OPENAI_MODEL_EXECUTION_GUIDANCE
 
     def test_guidance_is_string(self):
         assert isinstance(OPENAI_MODEL_EXECUTION_GUIDANCE, str)
@@ -920,4 +923,3 @@ def test_has_a_heading(self):
 # Budget warning history stripping
 # =========================================================================
 
-
diff --git a/tests/test_model_tools.py b/tests/test_model_tools.py
index 5110f42162993..5b460d808ba78 100644
--- a/tests/test_model_tools.py
+++ b/tests/test_model_tools.py
@@ -404,3 +404,43 @@ def test_disabling_coding_preserves_core_but_atomic_disables_still_remove(self):
             )
         }
         assert "write_file" not in no_file
+
+
+class TestBrowserRetrievalHints:
+    @staticmethod
+    def _definitions():
+        return [
+            {"type": "function", "function": {"name": "browser_navigate", "description": "Navigate."}},
+            {"type": "function", "function": {"name": "browser_cdp", "description": "CDP docs."}},
+        ]
+
+    def test_names_only_tools_that_are_available(self):
+        from model_tools import _apply_browser_retrieval_hints
+
+        definitions = self._definitions()
+        _apply_browser_retrieval_hints(definitions, {"browser_navigate", "browser_cdp", "web_search"})
+
+        navigate = definitions[0]["function"]["description"]
+        cdp = definitions[1]["function"]["description"]
+        assert "web_search" in navigate
+        assert "web_extract" not in navigate
+        assert "web_extract" not in cdp
+
+    def test_adds_extract_hint_only_when_extract_is_available(self):
+        from model_tools import _apply_browser_retrieval_hints
+
+        definitions = self._definitions()
+        _apply_browser_retrieval_hints(definitions, {"browser_navigate", "browser_cdp", "web_extract"})
+
+        assert "web_extract" in definitions[0]["function"]["description"]
+        assert "web_extract" in definitions[1]["function"]["description"]
+
+    def test_leaves_names_absent_when_web_tools_are_unavailable(self):
+        from model_tools import _apply_browser_retrieval_hints
+
+        definitions = self._definitions()
+        _apply_browser_retrieval_hints(definitions, {"browser_navigate", "browser_cdp"})
+
+        rendered = " ".join(item["function"]["description"] for item in definitions)
+        assert "web_search" not in rendered
+        assert "web_extract" not in rendered
diff --git a/tests/tools/test_browser_hardening.py b/tests/tools/test_browser_hardening.py
index 185bd7c73efe1..c09c53dd1b9bd 100644
--- a/tests/tools/test_browser_hardening.py
+++ b/tests/tools/test_browser_hardening.py
@@ -47,6 +47,26 @@ def test_browser_close_schema_removed(self):
         assert "browser_close" not in names
 
 
+class TestBrowserNavigateSchemaToolReferences:
+    def test_static_description_is_toolset_neutral(self):
+        from tools.browser_tool import BROWSER_TOOL_SCHEMAS
+
+        schema = next(item for item in BROWSER_TOOL_SCHEMAS if item["name"] == "browser_navigate")
+        description = schema["description"]
+
+        assert "web_search" not in description
+        assert "web_extract" not in description
+        assert "lightweight retrieval tool" in description
+
+    def test_cdp_static_description_is_toolset_neutral(self):
+        from tools.browser_cdp_tool import BROWSER_CDP_SCHEMA
+
+        description = BROWSER_CDP_SCHEMA["description"]
+
+        assert "web_extract" not in description
+        assert "available documentation lookup or extraction tool" in description
+
+
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Caching: _find_agent_browser
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/tools/browser_cdp_tool.py b/tools/browser_cdp_tool.py
index eccd8f8fc1c56..7b70667dba330 100644
--- a/tools/browser_cdp_tool.py
+++ b/tools/browser_cdp_tool.py
@@ -549,8 +549,9 @@ def browser_cdp(
         "Firecrawl) — those expose CDP per session but live-session routing is "
         "a follow-up. Camofox is REST-only and will never support CDP. If the "
         "tool is in your toolset at all, a CDP endpoint is already reachable.\n\n"
-        f"**CDP method reference:** {CDP_DOCS_URL} — use web_extract on a "
-        "method's URL (e.g. '/tot/Page/#method-handleJavaScriptDialog') "
+        f"**CDP method reference:** {CDP_DOCS_URL} — use an available "
+        "documentation lookup or extraction tool on a method's URL "
+        "(e.g. '/tot/Page/#method-handleJavaScriptDialog') "
         "to look up parameters and return shape.\n\n"
         "**Common patterns:**\n"
         "- List tabs: method='Target.getTargets', params={}\n"
diff --git a/tools/browser_tool.py b/tools/browser_tool.py
index d81bab4406096..72f0b9083eab8 100644
--- a/tools/browser_tool.py
+++ b/tools/browser_tool.py
@@ -1944,7 +1944,7 @@ def _update_session_activity(task_id: str):
 BROWSER_TOOL_SCHEMAS = [
     {
         "name": "browser_navigate",
-        "description": "Navigate to a URL in the browser. Initializes the session and loads the page. Must be called before other browser tools. For simple information retrieval, prefer web_search or web_extract (faster, cheaper). For plain-text endpoints — URLs ending in .md, .txt, .json, .yaml, .yml, .csv, .xml, raw.githubusercontent.com, or any documented API endpoint — prefer curl via the terminal tool or web_extract; the browser stack is overkill and much slower for these. Use browser tools when you need to interact with a page (click, fill forms, dynamic content). Returns a compact page snapshot with interactive elements and ref IDs — no need to call browser_snapshot separately after navigating.",
+        "description": "Navigate to a URL in the browser. Initializes the session and loads the page. Must be called before other browser tools. For simple information retrieval, prefer a lightweight retrieval tool when one is available (faster, cheaper). For plain-text endpoints — URLs ending in .md, .txt, .json, .yaml, .yml, .csv, .xml, raw.githubusercontent.com, or any documented API endpoint — prefer an available text-extraction or terminal-fetch tool; the browser stack is overkill and much slower for these. Use browser tools when you need to interact with a page (click, fill forms, dynamic content). Returns a compact page snapshot with interactive elements and ref IDs — no need to call browser_snapshot separately after navigating.",
         "parameters": {
             "type": "object",
             "properties": {