az provider register without `--subscription` does not enable web_search feature as expected

[kohei3110]

Describe the bug

When enabling the Azure OpenAI web search tool by unregistering the feature flag OpenAI.BlockedTools.web_search, running:

az provider register -n Microsoft.CognitiveServices

does not properly apply the change to the intended subscription.

As a result, even after:

• Successfully unregistering the feature flag
• Running the provider registration command

the web search tool remains unavailable and returns the following error:

Tool 'web_search_preview' disabled for this organization.

However, when explicitly specifying the subscription:

az provider register -n Microsoft.CognitiveServices --subscription <subscription-id>

the issue is resolved and the web search tool starts working correctly.

This indicates that the CLI command without --subscription may not target the expected subscription, or the documentation does not clearly state the requirement.

Related command

az feature unregister \
  --name OpenAI.BlockedTools.web_search \
  --namespace Microsoft.CognitiveServices

az provider register -n Microsoft.CognitiveServices

Working command:

az provider register -n Microsoft.CognitiveServices --subscription <subscription-id>

Errors

Error code: 400
{
  "error": {
    "message": "Tool 'web_search_preview' disabled for this organization.",
    "type": "invalid_request_error",
    "param": "tools"
  }
}

Issue script & Debug output

Example request:

from openai import OpenAI
import os

client = OpenAI(
    api_key=os.getenv("AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY"),
    base_url="https://<resource>.openai.azure.com/openai/v1/",
)

response = client.responses.create(
    model="gpt-5-4-deployment",  # deployment name
    tools=[{"type": "web_search"}],
    input="Give me a positive news story from the web today"
)

print(response.output_text)

Observed behavior:

• Even after unregistering the feature flag and running az provider register
• The request is still routed to web_search_preview and fails

After running:

az provider register -n Microsoft.CognitiveServices --subscription <subscription-id>

The same request succeeds.

Expected behavior

• Running:

az provider register -n Microsoft.CognitiveServices

should correctly apply to the active subscription context (as per az account show)

OR

• Documentation should clearly state that --subscription must be explicitly specified to ensure correct propagation

Environment Summary

azure-cli                         2.84.0

core                              2.84.0
telemetry                          1.1.0

Extensions:
communication                     1.14.0
containerapp                     1.3.0b4
ml                                2.42.0

Dependencies:
msal                            1.35.0b1
azure-mgmt-resource               24.0.0

Python location '/opt/homebrew/Cellar/azure-cli/2.84.0/libexec/bin/python'
Config directory '/Users/koheisaito/.azure'
Extensions directory '/Users/koheisaito/.azure/cliextensions'

Python (Darwin) 3.13.12 (main, Feb  3 2026, 17:53:27) [Clang 17.0.0 (clang-1700.6.3.2)]

Additional context

• The issue is likely to occur in environments where:
  • Multiple subscriptions exist under the same tenant
  • The default subscription context is not clearly aligned with the target Azure OpenAI resource
• Current official documentation and CLI guidance only mention:

az provider register -n Microsoft.CognitiveServices

without clarifying subscription scope

This can lead to silent misconfiguration where:

• Feature flag appears correctly set

• But provider registration is not applied to the correct subscription

• Suggestion:

  • Update documentation to explicitly recommend:

  az provider register -n Microsoft.CognitiveServices --subscription <subscription-id>
  

  • Or clarify how subscription context is resolved

[yonzhan]

Thank you for opening this issue, we will look into it.

[microsoft-github-policy-service]

🔔 Routing this issue to @act-identity-squad.