diff --git a/packages/cli/src/config/config.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/config/config.test.ts
index 0ec7924fb2..7b1e888e87 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/config/config.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/config/config.test.ts
@@ -2070,7 +2070,7 @@ describe('loadCliConfig model selection', () => {
       argv,
     );
 
-    expect(config.getModel()).toBe(DEFAULT_GEMINI_MODEL);
+    expect(config.getModel()).toBe('auto');
   });
 
   it('always prefers model from argvs', async () => {
@@ -2506,7 +2506,7 @@ describe('loadCliConfig useRipgrep', () => {
         'test-session',
         argv,
       );
-      expect(config.getUseModelRouter()).toBe(false);
+      expect(config.getUseModelRouter()).toBe(true);
     });
 
     it('should be true when useModelRouter is set to true in settings', async () => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/config/config.ts b/packages/cli/src/config/config.ts
index 5d44dabffa..35c6a88aa7 100755
--- a/packages/cli/src/config/config.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/config/config.ts
@@ -669,7 +669,7 @@ export async function loadCliConfig(
     );
   }
 
-  const useModelRouter = settings.experimental?.useModelRouter ?? false;
+  const useModelRouter = settings.experimental?.useModelRouter ?? true;
   const defaultModel = useModelRouter
     ? DEFAULT_GEMINI_MODEL_AUTO
     : DEFAULT_GEMINI_MODEL;
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.test.ts
index 4088151049..67757637ec 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.test.ts
@@ -328,7 +328,7 @@ describe('SettingsSchema', () => {
       ).toBe('Experimental');
       expect(
         getSettingsSchema().experimental.properties.useModelRouter.default,
-      ).toBe(false);
+      ).toBe(true);
     });
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.ts b/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.ts
index 3ad7e6c2dc..6716825812 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.ts
@@ -1071,7 +1071,7 @@ const SETTINGS_SCHEMA = {
         label: 'Use Model Router',
         category: 'Experimental',
         requiresRestart: true,
-        default: false,
+        default: true,
         description:
           'Enable model routing to route requests to the best model based on complexity.',
         showInDialog: true,