diff --git a/docs/source/en/chat_templating.md b/docs/source/en/chat_templating.md
index 430396ceb8..7a2e2507b9 100644
--- a/docs/source/en/chat_templating.md
+++ b/docs/source/en/chat_templating.md
@@ -287,14 +287,12 @@ JSON schemas permit highly detailed parameter specifications, so you can pass in
 arguments. Be careful, however - we find that in practice this can degrade performance, even for state-of-the-art 
 models. We recommend trying to keep your tool schemas simple and flat where possible.
 
-### Automated function conversion
+### Automated function conversion for tool use
 
 Although JSON schemas are precise, widely-supported and language-agnostic, they can be a bit verbose, which means
 that writing them can be annoying. Don't panic, though, we have a solution!
 
-TODO Should descriptions come from the docstrings or the type hints? 
-
-TODO Do we need to define a special format for args in the docstrings?
+TODO Explain function conversion with examples
 
 ### Arguments for retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)
 
diff --git a/src/transformers/utils/__init__.py b/src/transformers/utils/__init__.py
index 3769a0b4c7..9552296137 100755
--- a/src/transformers/utils/__init__.py
+++ b/src/transformers/utils/__init__.py
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ from packaging import version
 
 from .. import __version__
 from .backbone_utils import BackboneConfigMixin, BackboneMixin
+from .chat_template_utils import get_json_schema
 from .constants import IMAGENET_DEFAULT_MEAN, IMAGENET_DEFAULT_STD, IMAGENET_STANDARD_MEAN, IMAGENET_STANDARD_STD
 from .doc import (
     add_code_sample_docstrings,
diff --git a/src/transformers/utils/chat_template_utils.py b/src/transformers/utils/chat_template_utils.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f34a7ecbc4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/transformers/utils/chat_template_utils.py
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+import inspect
+import re
+from typing import Any, Union, get_origin, get_type_hints
+
+
+BASIC_TYPES = (int, float, str, bool, Any)
+
+
+def get_json_schema(func):
+    doc = inspect.getdoc(func).strip()
+    if not doc:
+        raise ValueError(f"Cannot generate JSON schema for {func.__name__} because it has no docstring!")
+    param_descriptions = _get_argument_descriptions_from_docstring(doc)
+
+    json_schema = _convert_type_hints_to_json_schema(func)
+    for arg in json_schema["properties"]:
+        if arg not in param_descriptions:
+            raise ValueError(
+                f"Cannot generate JSON schema for {func.__name__} because the docstring has no description for the argument '{arg}'"
+            )
+        json_schema["properties"][arg]["description"] = param_descriptions[arg]
+
+    return json_schema
+
+
+def _get_argument_descriptions_from_docstring(doc):
+    param_pattern = r":param (\w+): (.+)"
+    params = re.findall(param_pattern, doc)
+    return dict(params)
+
+
+def _convert_type_hints_to_json_schema(func):
+    type_hints = get_type_hints(func)
+    properties = {}
+
+    signature = inspect.signature(func)
+    required = [
+        param_name for param_name, param in signature.parameters.items() if param.default == inspect.Parameter.empty
+    ]
+
+    for param_name, param_type in type_hints.items():
+        if param_name == "return":
+            continue
+
+        if origin := get_origin(param_type) is not None:
+            if origin is Union:
+                if all(t in BASIC_TYPES for t in param_type.__args__):
+                    properties[param_name] = {
+                        "type": [_get_json_schema_type(t)["type"] for t in param_type.__args__ if t != type(None)],
+                        "nullable": type(None) in param_type.__args__,
+                    }
+                else:
+                    properties[param_name] = {
+                        "anyOf": [_get_json_schema_type(t) for t in param_type.__args__ if t != type(None)],
+                        "nullable": type(None) in param_type.__args__,
+                    }
+            elif origin is list:
+                properties[param_name] = {"type": "array", "items": _get_json_schema_type(param_type.__args__[0])}
+            elif origin is dict:
+                properties[param_name] = {
+                    "type": "object",
+                    "additionalProperties": _get_json_schema_type(param_type.__args__[1]),
+                }
+        else:
+            properties[param_name] = _get_json_schema_type(param_type)
+
+    schema = {"type": "object", "properties": properties, "required": required}
+
+    return schema
+
+
+def _get_json_schema_type(param_type):
+    if param_type == int:
+        return {"type": "integer"}
+    elif param_type == float:
+        return {"type": "number"}
+    elif param_type == str:
+        return {"type": "string"}
+    elif param_type == bool:
+        return {"type": "boolean"}
+    elif param_type == Any:
+        return {}
+    else:
+        return {"type": "object"}