diff --git a/docs/handbook/image-file-formats.rst b/docs/handbook/image-file-formats.rst
index 1e6a832c8ea..28cf015fd84 100644
--- a/docs/handbook/image-file-formats.rst
+++ b/docs/handbook/image-file-formats.rst
@@ -1370,7 +1370,7 @@ The :py:meth:`~PIL.Image.Image.save` method supports the following options:
     YUV range, either "full" or "limited". Defaults to "full"
 
 **codec**
-    AV1 codec to use for encoding. Specific values are "aom", "rav1e", and
+    AV1 codec to use for encoding. Specific values are "rav1e", "aom", and
     "svt", presuming the chosen codec is available. Defaults to "auto", which
     will choose the first available codec in the order of the preceding list.
 
diff --git a/src/_avif.c b/src/_avif.c
index 45f014f86a4..5792d6d0676 100644
--- a/src/_avif.c
+++ b/src/_avif.c
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 #include <Python.h>
 #include "avif/avif.h"
 
+static int have_rav1e = 0;
+
 typedef struct {
     avifPixelFormat subsampling;
     int qmin;
@@ -369,7 +371,11 @@ AvifEncoderNew(PyObject *self_, PyObject *args) {
     enc_options.speed = speed;
 
     if (strcmp(codec, "auto") == 0) {
-        enc_options.codec = AVIF_CODEC_CHOICE_AUTO;
+        if (have_rav1e) {
+            enc_options.codec = AVIF_CODEC_CHOICE_RAV1E;
+        } else {
+            enc_options.codec = AVIF_CODEC_CHOICE_AUTO;
+        }
     } else {
         enc_options.codec = avifCodecChoiceFromName(codec);
     }
@@ -1015,6 +1021,8 @@ setup_module(PyObject *m) {
     PyDict_SetItemString(d, "libavif_version", v ? v : Py_None);
     Py_XDECREF(v);
 
+    have_rav1e = _codec_available("rav1e", AVIF_CODEC_FLAG_CAN_ENCODE);
+
     return 0;
 }