diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index ee09317..4caaace 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ DEV_AUTH_PASSWORD=change-me-to-secure-password
 
 # AI Provider — Google Gemini for all AI operations
 GOOGLE_API_KEY=your_google_api_key_here
-GOOGLE_MODEL=gemini-2.0-flash-exp
+GOOGLE_MODEL=models/gemini-2.0-flash
 IMAGE_PROVIDER=gemini_flash
 
 # Get your Google AI API key at: https://aistudio.google.com/app/apikey
diff --git a/backend/utils/available_models.py b/backend/utils/available_models.py
index 539533a..525d880 100644
--- a/backend/utils/available_models.py
+++ b/backend/utils/available_models.py
@@ -18,4 +18,5 @@ async def list_available_anthropic_models(api_key: str) -> list[str]:
 
 async def list_available_google_models(api_key: str) -> list[str]:
     client = genai.Client(api_key=api_key)
-    return list(map(lambda x: x.name, client.models.list(config={"page_size": 50})))
+    # Strip "models/" prefix from model names for consistency with env var format
+    return list(map(lambda x: x.name.replace("models/", ""), client.models.list(config={"page_size": 50})))