diff --git a/test/query_agent/test_query_model.py b/test/query_agent/test_query_model.py
index 7ec2e7c..67420a9 100644
--- a/test/query_agent/test_query_model.py
+++ b/test/query_agent/test_query_model.py
@@ -1032,15 +1032,15 @@ async def fake_post_with_capture(self, url, headers=None, json=None, timeout=Non
     agent._headers = dummy_client.additional_headers
 
     # Test with effort set
-    results = await agent.search("test query", limit=2, effort="low")
+    results = await agent.search("test query", limit=2, effort="medium")
     assert isinstance(results, AsyncSearchModeResponse)
-    assert captured["json"]["effort"] == "low"
+    assert captured["json"]["effort"] == "medium"
 
     # Reset captured json, then paginate — effort should persist
     captured = {}
     results_2 = await results.next(limit=2, offset=1)
     assert isinstance(results_2, AsyncSearchModeResponse)
-    assert captured["json"]["effort"] == "low"
+    assert captured["json"]["effort"] == "medium"
 
 
 async def test_async_search_only_mode_failure(monkeypatch):
diff --git a/weaviate_agents/query/classes/request.py b/weaviate_agents/query/classes/request.py
index 55a8fdc..32ad730 100644
--- a/weaviate_agents/query/classes/request.py
+++ b/weaviate_agents/query/classes/request.py
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ class SearchModeRequestBase(BaseModel):
     offset: int
     filtering: Optional[Literal["recall", "precision"]] = None
     diversity_weight: Optional[float] = None
-    effort: Optional[Literal["low", "medium", "high"]] = None
+    effort: Optional[Literal["medium", "high", "ultrahigh"]] = None
 
 
 class SearchModeExecutionRequest(SearchModeRequestBase):
diff --git a/weaviate_agents/query/query_agent.py b/weaviate_agents/query/query_agent.py
index b38975c..3a0df10 100644
--- a/weaviate_agents/query/query_agent.py
+++ b/weaviate_agents/query/query_agent.py
@@ -1405,7 +1405,7 @@ def search(
         collections: Union[list[Union[str, QueryAgentCollectionConfig]], None] = None,
         filtering: Optional[Literal["recall", "precision"]] = None,
         diversity_weight: Optional[float] = None,
-        effort: Optional[Literal["low", "medium", "high"]] = None,
+        effort: Optional[Literal["medium", "high", "ultrahigh"]] = None,
     ) -> SearchModeResponse:
         """Run the Query Agent search-only mode.
 
@@ -1428,7 +1428,7 @@ def search(
                 Higher values push for more topical variety at the cost of relevance.
                 Defaults to None (no diversity).
             effort: The amount of effort the agent should put into the search.
-                One of "low", "medium", or "high". Higher effort may improve
+                One of "medium", "high", or "ultrahigh". Higher effort may improve
                 result quality at the expense of increased latency and cost.
 
         Returns:
@@ -2262,7 +2262,7 @@ async def search(
         collections: Union[list[Union[str, QueryAgentCollectionConfig]], None] = None,
         filtering: Optional[Literal["recall", "precision"]] = None,
         diversity_weight: Optional[float] = None,
-        effort: Optional[Literal["low", "medium", "high"]] = None,
+        effort: Optional[Literal["medium", "high", "ultrahigh"]] = None,
     ) -> AsyncSearchModeResponse:
         """Run the Query Agent search-only mode.
 
@@ -2286,7 +2286,7 @@ async def search(
                 Higher values push for more topical variety at the cost of relevance.
                 Defaults to None (no diversity).
             effort: The amount of effort the agent should put into the search.
-                One of "low", "medium", or "high". Higher effort may improve
+                One of "medium", "high", or "ultrahigh". Higher effort may improve
                 result quality at the expense of increased latency and cost.
 
         Returns:
diff --git a/weaviate_agents/query/search.py b/weaviate_agents/query/search.py
index 28d9d48..83b45e5 100644
--- a/weaviate_agents/query/search.py
+++ b/weaviate_agents/query/search.py
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ def __init__(
         system_prompt: Optional[str],
         filtering: Optional[Literal["recall", "precision"]] = None,
         diversity_weight: Optional[float] = None,
-        effort: Optional[Literal["low", "medium", "high"]] = None,
+        effort: Optional[Literal["medium", "high", "ultrahigh"]] = None,
     ):
         self.headers = headers
         self.connection_headers = connection_headers