diff --git a/includes/Utils/AISearchUtil.php b/includes/Utils/AISearchUtil.php
index c7575bc..9ed8bd4 100644
--- a/includes/Utils/AISearchUtil.php
+++ b/includes/Utils/AISearchUtil.php
@@ -34,6 +34,13 @@ private static function _check_capabilities( ) {
 	public static function get_search_results(
 		string $hiive_token, string $user_prompt, string $identifier, array $extra = null
 	) {
+
+		if ( !self::_check_capabilities() ) {
+			return array(
+				'error' => __( 'We are unable to process the request at this moment' ),
+			);
+		}
+
 		$response = wp_remote_post(
 			NFD_AI_SERVICE_BASE,
 			array(
@@ -58,12 +65,6 @@ public static function get_search_results(
 			);
 		}
 
-		if ( !self::_check_capabilities() ) {
-			return array(
-				'error' => __( 'We are unable to process the request at this moment' ),
-			);
-		}
-
 		$parsed_response = json_decode( wp_remote_retrieve_body( $response ), true );
 
 		try {