diff --git a/chatapi/src/utils/chat-helpers.utils.ts b/chatapi/src/utils/chat-helpers.utils.ts
index 57e91cc369..5e08a5fd84 100644
--- a/chatapi/src/utils/chat-helpers.utils.ts
+++ b/chatapi/src/utils/chat-helpers.utils.ts
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ export async function aiChatNonStream(
 
       return await retrieveResponse(thread.id);
     } catch (error) {
-      return `Error processing request ${error}`;
+      throw new Error(`Error processing request ${error}`);
     }
   }