diff --git a/prophet/app.py b/prophet/app.py
index b7839b8..2c8b296 100644
--- a/prophet/app.py
+++ b/prophet/app.py
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 import hashlib
 import json
-import os
 import pickle
 import re
 from dataclasses import dataclass, field
@@ -15,6 +14,8 @@ from fastapi.responses import HTMLResponse
 from fastapi_utils.tasks import repeat_every
 from groq import Groq
 
+from prophet.config import AiConfig
+
 BEE_FEED = "https://babylonbee.com/feed"
 BEE_FEED_TEST = "test/resources/feed_short.atom"  # NOTE: Switch out when done testing
 
@@ -22,6 +23,8 @@ PICKLE_DIR = "/tmp/pollenprophet"
 
 REFRESH_PERIOD = 3600  # between fetching articles, in seconds
 
+config_ai: AiConfig = AiConfig.from_env()
+
 
 @dataclass
 class Original:  # BadJoke: Sting
@@ -133,7 +136,7 @@ def improve_originals(originals: list[Original]) -> list[Improvement]:
 
 
 def rewrite_title_with_groq(original_content: str) -> str:
-    client = Groq(api_key=os.getenv("GROQ_API_KEY", "NO_API_KEY_FOUND"))
+    client = Groq(api_key=config_ai.API_KEY)
 
     suggestions = client.chat.completions.create(
         messages=[
@@ -173,7 +176,7 @@ def rewrite_title_with_groq(original_content: str) -> str:
 
 
 def rewrite_summary_with_groq(orig: Original, improved_title: str) -> str:
-    client = Groq(api_key=os.getenv("GROQ_API_KEY", "NO_API_KEY_FOUND"))
+    client = Groq(api_key=config_ai.API_KEY)
 
     summary = client.chat.completions.create(
         messages=[
diff --git a/prophet/config.py b/prophet/config.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..55a8702
--- /dev/null
+++ b/prophet/config.py
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+import os
+
+# Load environment variables from .env
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
+
+_ = load_dotenv()
+
+
+@dataclass
+class AiConfig:
+    API_KEY: str
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_env(cls) -> "AiConfig":
+        API_KEY = os.getenv("GROQ_API_KEY", "")
+
+        if not API_KEY:
+            raise ValueError(f"{API_KEY} cannot be empty")
+
+        return cls(**{"API_KEY": API_KEY})