diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 991604d..0653646 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 REACT_APP_API_URL=
 OPENAI_API_KEY=
+GEMINI_API_KEY=
 DB_HOST=
 DB_USER=
 DB_PASS=
diff --git a/backend/package-lock.json b/backend/package-lock.json
index 50159e2..c05b552 100644
--- a/backend/package-lock.json
+++ b/backend/package-lock.json
@@ -9,9 +9,10 @@
       "version": "0.1.0",
       "license": "MIT",
       "dependencies": {
+        "@google/generative-ai": "^0.2.1",
         "bcrypt": "^5.1.1",
         "cors": "^2.8.5",
-        "express": "^5.0.0-alpha.8",
+        "express": ">5.0.0-alpha",
         "faker": "^6.6.6",
         "jsonwebtoken": "^9.0.2",
         "mongodb": "^5.9.2",
@@ -23,6 +24,14 @@
         "node": "16.x"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/@google/generative-ai": {
+      "version": "0.2.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@google/generative-ai/-/generative-ai-0.2.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-gNmMFadfwi7qf/6M9gImgyGJXY1jKQ/de8vGOqgJ0PPYgQ7WwzZDavbKrIuXS2zdqZZaYtxW3EFN6aG9x5wtFw==",
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=18.0.0"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/@mongodb-js/saslprep": {
       "version": "1.1.4",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@mongodb-js/saslprep/-/saslprep-1.1.4.tgz",
diff --git a/backend/package.json b/backend/package.json
index 6b3c476..619462a 100644
--- a/backend/package.json
+++ b/backend/package.json
@@ -8,10 +8,10 @@
     "start": "node server.js"
   },
   "dependencies": {
+    "@google/generative-ai": "^0.2.1",
     "bcrypt": "^5.1.1",
     "cors": "^2.8.5",
     "express": ">5.0.0-alpha",
-    "faker": "^6.6.6",
     "jsonwebtoken": "^9.0.2",
     "mongodb": "^5.9.2",
     "mongoose": "^8.1.1",
diff --git a/backend/server.js b/backend/server.js
index c654db6..62ad0af 100644
--- a/backend/server.js
+++ b/backend/server.js
@@ -1,24 +1,28 @@
 const express = require("express");
 const cors = require("cors");
-const { set } = require("mongoose");
-// const mongoose = require("mongoose");
+const mongoose = require("mongoose");
 // const bcrypt = require("bcrypt");
 // const validator = require("validator");
 // const jwt = require("jsonwebtoken");
+const {
+  GoogleGenerativeAI,
+  HarmCategory,
+  HarmBlockThreshold,
+} = require("@google/generative-ai");
 
 const app = express();
 
 // connect to DB
-// const mongoDB =
-//   "mongodb+srv://" +
-//   process.env.USERNAME +
-//   ":" +
-//   process.env.PASSWORD +
-//   "@" +
-//   process.env.HOST +
-//   "/" +
-//   process.env.DATABASE;
-// mongoose.connect(mongoDB);
+const mongoDB =
+  "mongodb+srv://" +
+  process.env.DB_USER +
+  ":" +
+  process.env.DB_PASS +
+  "@" +
+  process.env.DB_HOST +
+  "/" +
+  process.env.DB_NAME;
+mongoose.connect(mongoDB);
 
 app.use(cors());
 app.use(express.json());
@@ -31,12 +35,53 @@ app.post("/api/chat", async (req, res) => {
   if (!req.body.message) {
     return res.status(400).json({ message: "No message provided" });
   }
-  // add a delay for testing
-  await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 10000));
 
-  res.status(200).json({
-    message: `[backend] under construction. You sent: ${req.body.message}`,
-  });
+  // node --version # Should be >= 18
+  // npm install @google/generative-ai
+  const MODEL_NAME = "gemini-1.0-pro";
+  const AI_API_KEY = process.env.GEMINI_API_KEY;
+
+  async function runChat() {
+    const genAI = new GoogleGenerativeAI(AI_API_KEY);
+    const model = genAI.getGenerativeModel({ model: MODEL_NAME });
+
+    const generationConfig = {
+      temperature: 0.9,
+      topK: 1,
+      topP: 1,
+      maxOutputTokens: 2048,
+    };
+
+    const safetySettings = [
+      {
+        category: HarmCategory.HARM_CATEGORY_HARASSMENT,
+        threshold: HarmBlockThreshold.BLOCK_ONLY_HIGH,
+      },
+      {
+        category: HarmCategory.HARM_CATEGORY_HATE_SPEECH,
+        threshold: HarmBlockThreshold.BLOCK_ONLY_HIGH,
+      },
+      {
+        category: HarmCategory.HARM_CATEGORY_SEXUALLY_EXPLICIT,
+        threshold: HarmBlockThreshold.BLOCK_ONLY_HIGH,
+      },
+      {
+        category: HarmCategory.HARM_CATEGORY_DANGEROUS_CONTENT,
+        threshold: HarmBlockThreshold.BLOCK_ONLY_HIGH,
+      },
+    ];
+
+    const chat = model.startChat({
+      generationConfig,
+      safetySettings,
+      history: req.body.history || [],
+    });
+
+    const result = await chat.sendMessage(req.body.message);
+    const response = result.response;
+    res.status(400).json({ message: response });
+  }
+
   // todo api request via node @link https://platform.openai.com/docs/quickstart?context=node
 });