diff --git a/lib/ruby_llm/active_record/acts_as.rb b/lib/ruby_llm/active_record/acts_as.rb
index 678a3eea4..248114711 100644
--- a/lib/ruby_llm/active_record/acts_as.rb
+++ b/lib/ruby_llm/active_record/acts_as.rb
@@ -12,8 +12,9 @@ module ActsAs
         def acts_as_chat(message_class: 'Message', tool_call_class: 'ToolCall')
           include ChatMethods
 
+          acts_as_chat_with_tool_call(tool_call_class: tool_call_class) if RubyLLM.config.active_record_use_tool_calls
+
           @message_class = message_class.to_s
-          @tool_call_class = tool_call_class.to_s
 
           has_many :messages,
                    -> { order(created_at: :asc) },
@@ -25,22 +26,20 @@ def acts_as_chat(message_class: 'Message', tool_call_class: 'ToolCall')
                    to: :to_llm
         end
 
-        def acts_as_message(chat_class: 'Chat', tool_call_class: 'ToolCall', touch_chat: false) # rubocop:disable Metrics/MethodLength
+        def acts_as_message(
+          chat_class: 'Chat',
+          chat_foreign_key: 'chat_id',
+          tool_call_class: 'ToolCall',
+          touch_chat: false
+        )
           include MessageMethods
 
-          @chat_class = chat_class.to_s
-          @tool_call_class = tool_call_class.to_s
+          if RubyLLM.config.active_record_use_tool_calls
+            acts_as_message_with_tool_call(tool_call_class: tool_call_class)
+          end
 
-          belongs_to :chat, class_name: @chat_class, touch: touch_chat
-          has_many :tool_calls, class_name: @tool_call_class, dependent: :destroy
-
-          belongs_to :parent_tool_call,
-                     class_name: @tool_call_class,
-                     foreign_key: 'tool_call_id',
-                     optional: true,
-                     inverse_of: :result
-
-          delegate :tool_call?, :tool_result?, :tool_results, to: :to_llm
+          @chat_class = chat_class.to_s
+          belongs_to :chat, class_name: @chat_class, touch: touch_chat, foreign_key: chat_foreign_key
         end
 
         def acts_as_tool_call(message_class: 'Message')
@@ -54,6 +53,29 @@ def acts_as_tool_call(message_class: 'Message')
                   inverse_of: :parent_tool_call,
                   dependent: :nullify
         end
+
+        private
+
+        def acts_as_chat_with_tool_call(tool_call_class:)
+          include ChatToolCallMethods
+
+          @tool_call_class = tool_call_class.to_s
+        end
+
+        def acts_as_message_with_tool_call(tool_call_class:)
+          include MessageToolCallMethods
+
+          @tool_call_class = tool_call_class.to_s
+          has_many :tool_calls, class_name: @tool_call_class, dependent: :destroy
+
+          belongs_to :parent_tool_call,
+                     class_name: @tool_call_class,
+                     foreign_key: 'tool_call_id',
+                     optional: true,
+                     inverse_of: :result
+
+          delegate :tool_call?, :tool_result?, :tool_results, to: :to_llm
+        end
       end
     end
 
@@ -94,16 +116,6 @@ def with_instructions(instructions, replace: false)
         self
       end
 
-      def with_tool(tool)
-        to_llm.with_tool(tool)
-        self
-      end
-
-      def with_tools(*tools)
-        to_llm.with_tools(*tools)
-        self
-      end
-
       def with_model(model_id, provider: nil)
         to_llm.with_model(model_id, provider: provider)
         self
@@ -141,22 +153,48 @@ def persist_new_message
         )
       end
 
-      def persist_message_completion(message) # rubocop:disable Metrics/AbcSize,Metrics/MethodLength
+      def persist_message_completion(message)
         return unless message
 
-        if message.tool_call_id
-          tool_call_id = self.class.tool_call_class.constantize.find_by(tool_call_id: message.tool_call_id).id
-        end
-
         transaction do
           @message.update!(
             role: message.role,
             content: message.content,
             model_id: message.model_id,
-            tool_call_id: tool_call_id,
             input_tokens: message.input_tokens,
             output_tokens: message.output_tokens
           )
+        end
+      end
+    end
+
+    # Methods mixed into chat models to handle tool calls.
+    module ChatToolCallMethods
+      include ChatMethods
+
+      def with_tool(tool)
+        to_llm.with_tool(tool)
+        self
+      end
+
+      def with_tools(*tools)
+        to_llm.with_tools(*tools)
+        self
+      end
+
+      private
+
+      def persist_message_completion(message)
+        return super unless message&.tool_call_id || message&.tool_calls
+
+        transaction do
+          super
+
+          if message.tool_call_id
+            tool_call_id = self.class.tool_call_class.constantize.find_by(tool_call_id: message.tool_call_id).id
+            @message.update!(tool_call_id: tool_call_id)
+          end
+
           persist_tool_calls(message.tool_calls) if message.tool_calls.present?
         end
       end
@@ -179,14 +217,27 @@ def to_llm
         RubyLLM::Message.new(
           role: role.to_sym,
           content: extract_content,
-          tool_calls: extract_tool_calls,
-          tool_call_id: extract_tool_call_id,
           input_tokens: input_tokens,
           output_tokens: output_tokens,
           model_id: model_id
         )
       end
 
+      def extract_content
+        content
+      end
+    end
+
+    # Methods mixed into message models to handle tool calls.
+    module MessageToolCallMethods
+      def to_llm
+        RubyLLM::Message.new(
+          **super.to_h,
+          tool_calls: extract_tool_calls,
+          tool_call_id: extract_tool_call_id
+        )
+      end
+
       def extract_tool_calls
         tool_calls.to_h do |tool_call|
           [
@@ -203,10 +254,6 @@ def extract_tool_calls
       def extract_tool_call_id
         parent_tool_call&.tool_call_id
       end
-
-      def extract_content
-        content
-      end
     end
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/ruby_llm/configuration.rb b/lib/ruby_llm/configuration.rb
index f20185a48..f9733dd58 100644
--- a/lib/ruby_llm/configuration.rb
+++ b/lib/ruby_llm/configuration.rb
@@ -29,7 +29,9 @@ class Configuration
                   :max_retries,
                   :retry_interval,
                   :retry_backoff_factor,
-                  :retry_interval_randomness
+                  :retry_interval_randomness,
+                  # Feature flags
+                  :active_record_use_tool_calls
 
     def initialize
       # Connection configuration
@@ -43,6 +45,8 @@ def initialize
       @default_model = 'gpt-4.1-nano'
       @default_embedding_model = 'text-embedding-3-small'
       @default_image_model = 'dall-e-3'
+
+      @active_record_use_tool_calls = true
     end
   end
 end