diff --git a/tiny_gnupg/tiny_gnupg.py b/tiny_gnupg/tiny_gnupg.py
index 9cb6181..49cf856 100644
--- a/tiny_gnupg/tiny_gnupg.py
+++ b/tiny_gnupg/tiny_gnupg.py
@@ -988,7 +988,7 @@ async def auto_encrypt(
         except LookupError as uid:
             await self.network_import(uid.value)
             return self.encrypt(
-                message, uid, sign=sign, local_user=local_user
+                message, uid.value, sign=sign, local_user=local_user
             )
 
     def decrypt(self, message="", *, local_user=None):