diff --git a/proxyd/backend.go b/proxyd/backend.go
index 793c86c..3d0c62c 100644
--- a/proxyd/backend.go
+++ b/proxyd/backend.go
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ var (
 	}
 	ErrNoBackends = &RPCErr{
 		Code:          JSONRPCErrorInternal - 11,
-		Message:       "no backends available for method",
+		Message:       "no backend is currently healthy to serve traffic",
 		HTTPErrorCode: 503,
 	}
 	ErrBackendOverCapacity = &RPCErr{
diff --git a/proxyd/integration_tests/batching_test.go b/proxyd/integration_tests/batching_test.go
index c1f8b38..af27307 100644
--- a/proxyd/integration_tests/batching_test.go
+++ b/proxyd/integration_tests/batching_test.go
@@ -66,8 +66,8 @@ func TestBatching(t *testing.T) {
 				NewRPCReq("2", "eth_chainId", nil),
 			},
 			expectedRes: asArray(
-				`{"error":{"code":-32011,"message":"no backends available for method"},"id":1,"jsonrpc":"2.0"}`,
-				`{"error":{"code":-32011,"message":"no backends available for method"},"id":2,"jsonrpc":"2.0"}`,
+				`{"error":{"code":-32011,"message":"no backend is currently healthy to serve traffic"},"id":1,"jsonrpc":"2.0"}`,
+				`{"error":{"code":-32011,"message":"no backend is currently healthy to serve traffic"},"id":2,"jsonrpc":"2.0"}`,
 			),
 			maxUpstreamBatchSize: 10,
 			numExpectedForwards:  1,
@@ -80,8 +80,8 @@ func TestBatching(t *testing.T) {
 				NewRPCReq("2", "eth_chainId", nil),
 			},
 			expectedRes: asArray(
-				`{"error":{"code":-32011,"message":"no backends available for method"},"id":1,"jsonrpc":"2.0"}`,
-				`{"error":{"code":-32011,"message":"no backends available for method"},"id":2,"jsonrpc":"2.0"}`,
+				`{"error":{"code":-32011,"message":"no backend is currently healthy to serve traffic"},"id":1,"jsonrpc":"2.0"}`,
+				`{"error":{"code":-32011,"message":"no backend is currently healthy to serve traffic"},"id":2,"jsonrpc":"2.0"}`,
 			),
 			maxUpstreamBatchSize: 1,
 			numExpectedForwards:  2,
diff --git a/proxyd/integration_tests/failover_test.go b/proxyd/integration_tests/failover_test.go
index 1d371a6..78252ef 100644
--- a/proxyd/integration_tests/failover_test.go
+++ b/proxyd/integration_tests/failover_test.go
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ import (
 
 const (
 	goodResponse       = `{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "result": "hello", "id": 999}`
-	noBackendsResponse = `{"error":{"code":-32011,"message":"no backends available for method"},"id":999,"jsonrpc":"2.0"}`
+	noBackendsResponse = `{"error":{"code":-32011,"message":"no backend is currently healthy to serve traffic"},"id":999,"jsonrpc":"2.0"}`
 	unexpectedResponse = `{"error":{"code":-32011,"message":"some error"},"id":999,"jsonrpc":"2.0"}`
 )
 
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ func TestFailover(t *testing.T) {
 		}))
 		res, statusCode, _ := client.SendRPC("eth_chainId", nil)
 		require.Equal(t, 503, statusCode)
-		RequireEqualJSON(t, []byte(noBackendsResponse), res) // return no backend available since both failed
+		RequireEqualJSON(t, []byte(noBackendsResponse), res) // return currently not healthy since both failed
 		require.Equal(t, 1, len(goodBackend.Requests()))
 		require.Equal(t, 1, len(badBackend.Requests())) // bad backend is still called
 		goodBackend.Reset()