diff --git a/surfsense_backend/app/agents/new_chat/middleware/knowledge_search.py b/surfsense_backend/app/agents/new_chat/middleware/knowledge_search.py
index dc06f8763..98bbf3bd7 100644
--- a/surfsense_backend/app/agents/new_chat/middleware/knowledge_search.py
+++ b/surfsense_backend/app/agents/new_chat/middleware/knowledge_search.py
@@ -457,7 +457,7 @@ async def search_knowledge_base(
     if not query:
         return []
 
-    [embedding] = embed_texts([query])
+    [embedding] = await asyncio.to_thread(embed_texts, [query])
     doc_types = _resolve_search_types(available_connectors, available_document_types)
     retriever_top_k = min(top_k * 3, 30)