diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d79a9a2a1..ee839cb01 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
  * `run_dataset` now has a flag `trace_examples_individually` to create `Tracer`s for each example. Defaults to True.
 
 ### Fixes
-...
+  - ControlModels throw warning instead of error in case a not recommended model is selected.
 ### Deprecations
 ...
 
diff --git a/src/intelligence_layer/core/model.py b/src/intelligence_layer/core/model.py
index f101967a5..dfbac7844 100644
--- a/src/intelligence_layer/core/model.py
+++ b/src/intelligence_layer/core/model.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
+import warnings
 from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
 from functools import lru_cache
-from typing import Literal, Optional
+from typing import Optional
 
 from aleph_alpha_client import (
     CompletionRequest,
@@ -153,8 +154,9 @@ def __init__(
             limited_concurrency_client_from_env() if client is None else client
         )
         if name not in [model["name"] for model in self._client.models()]:
-            raise ValueError(
-                f"Could not find model: {name}. Either model name is invalid or model is currently down."
+            warnings.warn(
+                "The provided model is not a recommended model for this model class."
+                "Make sure that the model you have selected is suited to be use for the prompt template used in this model class."
             )
         self._complete: Task[CompleteInput, CompleteOutput] = _Complete(
             self._client, name
@@ -195,13 +197,16 @@ def tokenize(self, text: str) -> Encoding:
 
 
 class ControlModel(ABC, AlephAlphaModel):
-    AllowedModel: Literal[""]
+    RECOMMENDED_MODELS = [""]
 
     def __init__(
         self, name: str, client: AlephAlphaClientProtocol | None = None
     ) -> None:
-        if name not in self.AllowedModel.__args__ or name == "":  # type: ignore
-            raise ValueError(f"Invalid model name: {name}")
+        if name not in self.RECOMMENDED_MODELS or name == "":
+            warnings.warn(
+                "The provided model is not a recommended model for this model class."
+                "Make sure that the model you have selected is suited to be use for the prompt template used in this model class."
+            )
         super().__init__(name, client)
 
     @abstractmethod
@@ -232,7 +237,7 @@ class LuminousControlModel(ControlModel):
 ### Response:{{response_prefix}}"""
     )
 
-    AllowedModel = Literal[
+    RECOMMENDED_MODELS = [
         "luminous-base-control-20230501",
         "luminous-extended-control-20230501",
         "luminous-supreme-control-20230501",
@@ -246,7 +251,7 @@ class LuminousControlModel(ControlModel):
 
     def __init__(
         self,
-        name: AllowedModel = "luminous-base-control",
+        name: str = "luminous-base-control",
         client: Optional[AlephAlphaClientProtocol] = None,
     ) -> None:
         super().__init__(name, client)
@@ -282,7 +287,7 @@ class Llama2InstructModel(ControlModel):
 
 {{response_prefix}}{% endif %}""")
 
-    AllowedModel = Literal[
+    RECOMMENDED_MODELS = [
         "llama-2-7b-chat",
         "llama-2-13b-chat",
         "llama-2-70b-chat",
@@ -290,7 +295,7 @@ class Llama2InstructModel(ControlModel):
 
     def __init__(
         self,
-        name: AllowedModel = "llama-2-13b-chat",
+        name: str = "llama-2-13b-chat",
         client: Optional[AlephAlphaClientProtocol] = None,
     ) -> None:
         super().__init__(name, client)
@@ -327,14 +332,14 @@ class Llama3InstructModel(ControlModel):
     )
     EOT_TOKEN = "<|eot_id|>"
 
-    AllowedModel = Literal[
+    RECOMMENDED_MODELS = [
         "llama-3-8b-instruct",
         "llama-3-70b-instruct",
     ]
 
     def __init__(
         self,
-        name: AllowedModel = "llama-3-8b-instruct",
+        name: str = "llama-3-8b-instruct",
         client: Optional[AlephAlphaClientProtocol] = None,
     ) -> None:
         super().__init__(name, client)
diff --git a/tests/core/test_model.py b/tests/core/test_model.py
index d59bc36ff..b54035fec 100644
--- a/tests/core/test_model.py
+++ b/tests/core/test_model.py
@@ -97,17 +97,17 @@ def test_models_know_their_context_size(client: AlephAlphaClientProtocol) -> Non
     )
 
 
-def test_models_are_strict_about_instantiation(
+def test_models_warn_about_non_recommended_models(
     client: AlephAlphaClientProtocol,
 ) -> None:
-    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+    with pytest.warns(UserWarning):
         assert LuminousControlModel(client=client, name="llama-2-7b-chat")  # type: ignore
 
-    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+    with pytest.warns(UserWarning):
         assert Llama2InstructModel(client=client, name="luminous-base")  # type: ignore
 
-    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+    with pytest.warns(UserWarning):
         assert Llama3InstructModel(client=client, name="llama-2-7b-chat")  # type: ignore
 
-    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+    with pytest.warns(UserWarning):
         assert AlephAlphaModel(client=client, name="No model")  # type: ignore