diff --git a/search-processors/src/main/java/org/opensearch/searchpipelines/questionanswering/generative/prompt/PromptUtil.java b/search-processors/src/main/java/org/opensearch/searchpipelines/questionanswering/generative/prompt/PromptUtil.java
index c494e17b89..3a8a21614e 100644
--- a/search-processors/src/main/java/org/opensearch/searchpipelines/questionanswering/generative/prompt/PromptUtil.java
+++ b/search-processors/src/main/java/org/opensearch/searchpipelines/questionanswering/generative/prompt/PromptUtil.java
@@ -104,8 +104,11 @@ public static String buildSingleStringPrompt(
         }
 
         StringBuilder bldr = new StringBuilder();
-        bldr.append(systemPrompt);
-        bldr.append(NEWLINE);
+
+        if (!Strings.isNullOrEmpty(systemPrompt)) {
+            bldr.append(systemPrompt);
+            bldr.append(NEWLINE);
+        }
         if (!Strings.isNullOrEmpty(userInstructions)) {
             bldr.append(userInstructions);
             bldr.append(NEWLINE);