diff --git a/src/endpoints/backends/chat-completions.js b/src/endpoints/backends/chat-completions.js
index c582a099e..ad9557e11 100644
--- a/src/endpoints/backends/chat-completions.js
+++ b/src/endpoints/backends/chat-completions.js
@@ -433,7 +433,7 @@ async function sendMakerSuiteRequest(request, response) {
             generationConfig: generationConfig,
         };
 
-        if (useSystemPrompt && Array.isArray(prompt.system_instruction) && prompt.system_instruction.length) {
+        if (useSystemPrompt && Array.isArray(prompt.system_instruction.parts) && prompt.system_instruction.parts.length) {
             body.systemInstruction = prompt.system_instruction;
         }