diff --git a/changelog/unreleased/kong/fix-ai-proxy-model-name-slash.yml b/changelog/unreleased/kong/fix-ai-proxy-model-name-slash.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..545373f740f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/unreleased/kong/fix-ai-proxy-model-name-slash.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+message: "**ai-proxy**: Fixed a panic triggered by a non-JSON response."
+type: "bugfix"
+scope: "Plugin"
diff --git a/kong/llm/plugin/shared-filters/serialize-analytics.lua b/kong/llm/plugin/shared-filters/serialize-analytics.lua
index 390d528450f..8a71aa9d732 100644
--- a/kong/llm/plugin/shared-filters/serialize-analytics.lua
+++ b/kong/llm/plugin/shared-filters/serialize-analytics.lua
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-local cjson = require("cjson")
+local cjson = require("cjson.safe")
 local ai_plugin_ctx = require("kong.llm.plugin.ctx")
 local ai_plugin_o11y = require("kong.llm.plugin.observability")
 
@@ -39,7 +39,10 @@ function _M:run(conf)
 
       else
         -- openai formats
-        local response_body_table = cjson.decode(response_body)
+        local response_body_table, err = cjson.decode(response_body)
+        if err then
+          kong.log.info("failed to decode response body: ", err)
+        end
         response_model = response_body_table and response_body_table.model
       end
     end