diff --git a/nixos/modules/programs/command-not-found/command-not-found.pl b/nixos/modules/programs/command-not-found/command-not-found.pl
index ab7aa204653..a48c077f53a 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/programs/command-not-found/command-not-found.pl
+++ b/nixos/modules/programs/command-not-found/command-not-found.pl
@@ -36,16 +36,17 @@ EOF
         exec("nix-shell", "-p", $package, "--run", shell_quote("exec", @ARGV));
     } else {
         print STDERR <<EOF;
-The program ‘$program’ is currently not installed. You can install it by typing:
-  nix-env -iA nixos.$package
+The program ‘$program’ is not in your PATH. You can make it available in a
+ephemeral shell by typing:
+  nix-shell -p $package
 EOF
     }
 } else {
     print STDERR <<EOF;
-The program ‘$program’ is currently not installed. It is provided by
-several packages. You can install it by typing one of the following:
+The program ‘$program’ is not in your PATH. It is provided by several packages.
+You can make it available in a ephemeral shell by typing one of the following:
 EOF
-    print STDERR "  nix-env -iA nixos.$_->{package}\n" foreach @$res;
+    print STDERR "  nix-shell -p $_->{package}\n" foreach @$res;
 }
 
 exit 127;