diff --git a/apps/backend/ideas.ts b/apps/backend/ideas.ts
index 9ea66ec..316eaba 100644
--- a/apps/backend/ideas.ts
+++ b/apps/backend/ideas.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,9 @@ import prisma from "@repo/db/client";
 import authMiddleware from "./middleware";
 import { GoogleGenAI } from '@google/genai';
 import {SystemPrompt} from "./constant"
+import * as dotenv from 'dotenv';
 
+dotenv.config();
 const router = express.Router();
 
 // Schema validation for idea creation and updates
@@ -109,7 +111,7 @@ router.post("/AIIdeaContent", authMiddleware, async (req: any, res: any) => {
 
         // Create Google Gemini AI instance
         const ai = new GoogleGenAI({
-            apiKey: "AIzaSyAGXspPFiKkmicShhkyuGnUvqxuaWbBtKE",
+            apiKey: process.env.GEMINI_API_KEY ,
         });
 
         const config = {