diff --git a/clients/gpt_client.py b/clients/gpt_client.py
index 8bb49e5..eb43d95 100644
--- a/clients/gpt_client.py
+++ b/clients/gpt_client.py
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ class Models(str, Enum):
 
 
 class GPTClient(AIClient):
-    def __init__(self, api_key: str, model: str = Models.GPT4.value):
+    def __init__(self, api_key: str, model: str = Models.GPT3.value):
         openai.api_key = api_key
         self._system_instructions = None
         self._user_prompt = None
@@ -46,6 +46,13 @@ def user_prompt(self, value):
         self._user_prompt = value
 
     def query(self, transcript: str) -> str:
+        if self._system_instructions is None:
+            logger.error("self._system_instructions is None. Aborting the query.")
+            raise RuntimeError("self._system_instructions is None, cannot proceed with query.")
+        if self._user_prompt is None:
+            logger.error("self._user_prompt is None. Aborting the query.")
+            raise RuntimeError("self._user_prompt is None, cannot proceed with query.")
+
         max_retries = 6  # Number of retries
         retry_delay = 10  # Delay between retries in seconds
 
diff --git a/main.py b/main.py
index d3ee432..c9719a2 100644
--- a/main.py
+++ b/main.py
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ def main(idea: str, config: Path = None, verbose: int = 1):
     configure_logging(verbose)
     load_dotenv()
     client = get_ai_client(
-        AIClientType.ChatGPT, AIClientConfig(api_key=os.getenv("openai.api_key"))
+        AIClientType.ChatGPT, AIClientConfig(model="gpt-3.5-turbo", api_key=os.getenv("openai.api_key"))
     )
     if config:
         sme_dict = parse_yaml_config(config)