diff --git a/scripts/tool_search_livetest_ue.py b/scripts/tool_search_livetest_ue.py
index 36199e699dc..37940d7ad25 100644
--- a/scripts/tool_search_livetest_ue.py
+++ b/scripts/tool_search_livetest_ue.py
@@ -54,7 +54,8 @@ def _mock_result(tool_name: str) -> str:
 
 
 def load_epic_tools(scale: str) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
-    raw = json.load(open(PROBE))
+    with open(PROBE, encoding="utf-8") as f:
+        raw = json.load(f)
     out = []
     for ts_name, ts in raw["toolsets"].items():
         if not isinstance(ts, dict) or not ts.get("tools"):