diff --git a/modules/completion/vertico/doctor.el b/modules/completion/vertico/doctor.el
index 943e12244..db18883ca 100644
--- a/modules/completion/vertico/doctor.el
+++ b/modules/completion/vertico/doctor.el
@@ -7,12 +7,14 @@
             module)))
 
 (when (require 'consult nil t)
-  ;; FIXME: This throws an error if grep is missing.
-  (unless (consult--grep-lookahead-p "grep" "-P")
-    (warn! "The installed grep binary was not built with support for PCRE lookaheads")
-    (explain! "Some advanced consult filtering features will not work as a result, see the module readme."))
-
-  ;; TODO: Move this to core in v3.0
-  (unless (consult--grep-lookahead-p "rg" "-P")
-    (warn! "The installed ripgrep binary was not built with support for PCRE lookaheads.")
-    (explain! "Some advanced consult filtering features will not work as a result, see the module readme.")))
+  (if (executable-find "rg")
+      ;; TODO: Move this to core in v3.0
+      (unless (consult--grep-lookahead-p "rg" "-P")
+        (warn! "The installed ripgrep binary was not built with support for PCRE lookaheads.")
+        (explain! "Some advanced consult filtering features will not work as a result, see the module readme."))
+    (if (executable-find "grep")
+        (unless (consult--grep-lookahead-p "grep" "-P")
+          (warn! "The installed grep binary was not built with support for PCRE lookaheads")
+          (explain! "Some advanced consult filtering features will not work as a result, see the module readme."))
+      (error! "Neither grep nor ripgrep are available on this system")
+      (explain! "Various file and project search features won't be available"))))