diff --git a/scripts/tool_search_livetest2.py b/scripts/tool_search_livetest2.py
index 522b141685c..b81f91f91af 100644
--- a/scripts/tool_search_livetest2.py
+++ b/scripts/tool_search_livetest2.py
@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ def run_one(scenario: Dict[str, Any], mode: str, rep: int, out_dir: Path) -> Dic
         "final_response": base._redact_secrets(final_response)[:500],
     }
     out_path = out_dir / f"{scenario['id']}__{'enabled' if enabled else 'disabled'}__rep{rep}.json"
-    out_path.write_text(json.dumps(rec, indent=1), encoding="utf-8")
+    out_path.write_text(json.dumps(rec, indent=1))
     shutil.rmtree(Path(os.environ["HERMES_HOME"]).parent, ignore_errors=True)
     return rec