diff --git a/src/fabledassistant/config.py b/src/fabledassistant/config.py
index ebb9802..7c447d0 100644
--- a/src/fabledassistant/config.py
+++ b/src/fabledassistant/config.py
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ class Config:
     # Lightweight model for background tasks (title generation, tag suggestions,
     # project summaries, RSS classification). Using a separate model keeps the
     # main model's KV cache intact between user messages, enabling prefix cache hits.
-    OLLAMA_BACKGROUND_MODEL: str = os.environ.get("OLLAMA_BACKGROUND_MODEL", "qwen2.5:3b")
+    OLLAMA_BACKGROUND_MODEL: str = os.environ.get("OLLAMA_BACKGROUND_MODEL", "gemma3:4b")
     # Ollama keep_alive — how long a model stays resident in VRAM after its last
     # request. Main model gets a longer window since it's used interactively;
     # the background model is called sporadically and doesn't need to camp VRAM.