How to use web search tools with ChatAnthropicVertex in Python?

[codethestudent]

Hi, I’m trying to use Claude models on Vertex AI through ChatAnthropicVertex in Python, and I’m not sure how tool usage (especially web search tools) is supposed to work.

I couldn’t find any documentation or examples explaining whether:

Tools should be passed directly when constructing the ChatAnthropicVertex model, or

Tools should be attached using BaseChatModel.bind_tools() after creating the model.

I’ve tried both approaches, but tool-calling doesn’t seem to work properly, and I can’t find clear guidance in the docs. (the only docs about web search I found are ChatAnthropic(), ChatVertexAI())

Is ChatAnthropicVertex supposed to support tool-calling (like web search tools)?
If so, what is the correct way to attach tools for Claude models running on Vertex?

Any official docs, examples, or guidance would be really appreciated. Thanks