diff --git a/src/ai/genkit.ts b/src/ai/genkit.ts
index 0451ea6..fd2d05a 100644
--- a/src/ai/genkit.ts
+++ b/src/ai/genkit.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,14 @@
 import {genkit} from 'genkit';
 import {googleAI} from '@genkit-ai/googleai';
 
+// Validate API key exists
+const apiKey = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_GOOGLE_API_KEY;
+
+if (!apiKey) {
+  console.error('Missing Google AI API key. Please set GOOGLE_GENAI_API_KEY or GEMINI_API_KEY environment variable.');
+  throw new Error('Google AI API key is required for Genkit configuration');
+}
+
 export const ai = genkit({
   plugins: [googleAI()],
   model: 'googleai/gemini-2.5-pro-preview-05-06',