diff --git a/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/config_manager.py b/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/config_manager.py
index 5adc604cf..63bb003f8 100644
--- a/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/config_manager.py
+++ b/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/config_manager.py
@@ -169,6 +169,25 @@ def _init_config(self):
                     )
                     config.embeddings_provider_id = None
 
+                # if the currently selected language or embedding model ids are
+                # not associated with models, set them to `None` and log a warning.
+                if (
+                    lm_id is not None
+                    and not get_lm_provider(lm_id, self._lm_providers)[1]
+                ):
+                    self.log.warning(
+                        f"No language model is associated with '{lm_id}'. Setting to None."
+                    )
+                    config.model_provider_id = None
+                if (
+                    em_id is not None
+                    and not get_em_provider(em_id, self._em_providers)[1]
+                ):
+                    self.log.warning(
+                        f"No embedding model is associated with '{em_id}'. Setting to None."
+                    )
+                    config.embeddings_provider_id = None
+
                 # re-write to the file to validate the config and apply any
                 # updates to the config file immediately
                 self._write_config(config)
diff --git a/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/tests/test_config_manager.py b/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/tests/test_config_manager.py
index dafba7adf..8fa59ab6a 100644
--- a/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/tests/test_config_manager.py
+++ b/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/tests/test_config_manager.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import json
 import logging
 import os
+from unittest.mock import mock_open, patch
 
 import pytest
 from jupyter_ai.config_manager import (
@@ -9,7 +10,7 @@
     KeyInUseError,
     WriteConflictError,
 )
-from jupyter_ai.models import DescribeConfigResponse, UpdateConfigRequest
+from jupyter_ai.models import DescribeConfigResponse, GlobalConfig, UpdateConfigRequest
 from jupyter_ai_magics.utils import get_em_providers, get_lm_providers
 from pydantic import ValidationError
 
@@ -83,6 +84,29 @@ def reset(config_path, schema_path):
         pass
 
 
+@pytest.fixture
+def config_with_bad_provider_ids(tmp_path):
+    """Fixture that creates a `config.json` with `model_provider_id` and  `embeddings_provider_id` values that would not associate with models. File is created in `tmp_path` folder. Function returns path to the file."""
+    config_data = {
+        "model_provider_id:": "foo:bar",
+        "embeddings_provider_id": "buzz:fizz",
+        "api_keys": {},
+        "send_with_shift_enter": False,
+        "fields": {},
+    }
+    config_path = tmp_path / "config.json"
+    with open(config_path, "w") as file:
+        json.dump(config_data, file)
+    return str(config_path)
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def cm_with_bad_provider_ids(common_cm_kwargs, config_with_bad_provider_ids):
+    """Config manager instance created with `config_path` set to mocked `config.json` with `model_provider_id` and `embeddings_provider_id` values that would not associate with models."""
+    common_cm_kwargs["config_path"] = config_with_bad_provider_ids
+    return ConfigManager(**common_cm_kwargs)
+
+
 def configure_to_cohere(cm: ConfigManager):
     """Configures the ConfigManager to use Cohere language and embedding models
     with the API key set. Returns a 3-tuple of the keyword arguments used."""
@@ -290,3 +314,9 @@ def test_forbid_deleting_key_in_use(cm: ConfigManager):
 
     with pytest.raises(KeyInUseError):
         cm.delete_api_key("COHERE_API_KEY")
+
+
+def test_handle_bad_provider_ids(cm_with_bad_provider_ids):
+    config_desc = cm_with_bad_provider_ids.get_config()
+    assert config_desc.model_provider_id is None
+    assert config_desc.embeddings_provider_id is None