diff --git a/haystack/token_counters/tiktoken_counter.py b/haystack/token_counters/tiktoken_counter.py
index 57298234074..e76d00df892 100644
--- a/haystack/token_counters/tiktoken_counter.py
+++ b/haystack/token_counters/tiktoken_counter.py
@@ -69,12 +69,16 @@ def count(self, messages: list[ChatMessage], tools: ToolsType | None = None) ->
 
         :param messages: The messages to measure.
         :param tools: Tools whose schemas are sent alongside the messages, and so consume tokens too.
-        :returns: The estimated token count, or `0` when there is nothing to measure.
+        :returns: The estimated token count, or `0` when there is nothing to measure. Special-token strings in the
+            messages are counted as ordinary text.
         """
         if not messages and not tools:
             return 0
         self.warm_up()
-        text_tokens = len(self._encoder.encode(_rendered_conversation(messages) + _rendered_tools(tools)))
+        # `encode_ordinary` treats special-token strings such as `<|endoftext|>` as ordinary text. Plain `encode`
+        # raises on them, which would break counting for conversations that merely mention them.
+        rendered = _rendered_conversation(messages) + _rendered_tools(tools)
+        text_tokens = len(self._encoder.encode_ordinary(rendered))
         return text_tokens + _non_text_tokens(
             messages, tokens_per_image=self.tokens_per_image, tokens_per_file=self.tokens_per_file
         )
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/fix-special-tokens-in-tiktoken-counter-7b1c2d4e5f6a8b90.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/fix-special-tokens-in-tiktoken-counter-7b1c2d4e5f6a8b90.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..74d6cb8ff60
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/fix-special-tokens-in-tiktoken-counter-7b1c2d4e5f6a8b90.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+fixes:
+  - |
+    `TiktokenCounter` no longer raises a `ValueError` when the messages or tool schemas being counted contain
+    literal special-token strings such as `<|endoftext|>`. They are now counted as ordinary text.
diff --git a/test/token_counters/test_tiktoken_counter.py b/test/token_counters/test_tiktoken_counter.py
index bd19f1e5871..2701ca9886c 100644
--- a/test/token_counters/test_tiktoken_counter.py
+++ b/test/token_counters/test_tiktoken_counter.py
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ class _FakeEncoder:
     def __init__(self) -> None:
         self.encoded: list[str] = []
 
-    def encode(self, text: str) -> list[int]:
+    def encode_ordinary(self, text: str) -> list[int]:
         self.encoded.append(text)
         return list(range(len(text.split())))
 
@@ -160,3 +160,13 @@ def test_an_image_is_charged_at_the_flat_rate(self):
         counter = TiktokenCounter(tokens_per_image=85)
 
         assert counter.count([ChatMessage.from_user(content_parts=[IMAGE])]) > 85
+
+
+@pytest.mark.integration
+def test_special_token_strings_are_counted_as_literal_text():
+    # `tiktoken.Encoding.encode` rejects these by default, so a conversation that merely mentions one
+    # must not make counting fail.
+    counter = TiktokenCounter()
+    messages = [ChatMessage.from_user("What does <|endoftext|> mean?")]
+
+    assert counter.count(messages) > 0