diff --git a/apps/api/src/env.ts b/apps/api/src/env.ts
index bd4ed2238b..81cf085ffb 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/env.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/env.ts
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ export const env = createEnv({
     SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET: z.string().optional(),
     LOOPS_API_KEY: z.string().optional(),
     LOOPS_SLACK_CHANNEL_ID: z.string().optional(),
+    AI_SERVICE_URL: z.url().optional(),
   },
   runtimeEnv: Bun.env,
   emptyStringAsUndefined: true,
diff --git a/apps/api/src/index.ts b/apps/api/src/index.ts
index 9fd4f727cb..d0f438063a 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/index.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/index.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,9 @@ import { logger } from "hono/logger";
 import { env } from "./env";
 import type { AppBindings } from "./hono-bindings";
 import {
+  forwardLlmToAi,
+  forwardSttListenToAi,
+  forwardSttTranscribeToAi,
   loadTestOverride,
   observabilityMiddleware,
   sentryMiddleware,
@@ -50,13 +53,28 @@ app.use("*", (c, next) => {
   return corsMiddleware(c, next);
 });
 
-app.use("/chat/completions", loadTestOverride, supabaseAuthMiddleware);
+app.use(
+  "/chat/completions",
+  loadTestOverride,
+  supabaseAuthMiddleware,
+  forwardLlmToAi,
+);
 app.use("/webhook/stripe", verifyStripeWebhook);
 app.use("/webhook/slack/events", verifySlackWebhook);
 
 if (env.NODE_ENV !== "development") {
-  app.use("/listen", loadTestOverride, supabaseAuthMiddleware);
-  app.use("/transcribe", loadTestOverride, supabaseAuthMiddleware);
+  app.use(
+    "/listen",
+    loadTestOverride,
+    supabaseAuthMiddleware,
+    forwardSttListenToAi,
+  );
+  app.use(
+    "/transcribe",
+    loadTestOverride,
+    supabaseAuthMiddleware,
+    forwardSttTranscribeToAi,
+  );
 }
 
 app.route("/", routes);
diff --git a/apps/api/src/listen.ts b/apps/api/src/listen.ts
index cf6b3899db..c521adcaca 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/listen.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/listen.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import * as Sentry from "@sentry/bun";
 import type { Handler } from "hono";
 import { upgradeWebSocket } from "hono/bun";
 
+import { env } from "./env";
 import type { AppBindings } from "./hono-bindings";
 import {
   createProxyFromRequest,
@@ -9,6 +10,19 @@ import {
   WsProxyConnection,
 } from "./stt";
 
+function createAiServiceProxy(
+  clientUrl: URL,
+  reqHeaders: Headers,
+): WsProxyConnection {
+  const aiServiceUrl = new URL("/stt/listen", env.AI_SERVICE_URL!);
+  aiServiceUrl.search = clientUrl.search;
+
+  const authHeader = reqHeaders.get("authorization");
+  const headers = authHeader ? { Authorization: authHeader } : undefined;
+
+  return new WsProxyConnection(aiServiceUrl.toString(), { headers });
+}
+
 export const listenSocketHandler: Handler<AppBindings> = async (c, next) => {
   const emit = c.get("emit");
   const userId = c.get("supabaseUserId");
@@ -18,7 +32,11 @@ export const listenSocketHandler: Handler<AppBindings> = async (c, next) => {
 
   let connection: WsProxyConnection;
   try {
-    connection = createProxyFromRequest(clientUrl, c.req.raw.headers);
+    if (env.AI_SERVICE_URL) {
+      connection = createAiServiceProxy(clientUrl, c.req.raw.headers);
+    } else {
+      connection = createProxyFromRequest(clientUrl, c.req.raw.headers);
+    }
     await connection.preconnectUpstream();
     emit({ type: "stt.websocket.connected", userId, provider });
   } catch (error) {
diff --git a/apps/api/src/middleware/ai-forward.ts b/apps/api/src/middleware/ai-forward.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..24a3ec1848
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/api/src/middleware/ai-forward.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+import type { Context, Next } from "hono";
+
+import { env } from "../env";
+import type { AppBindings } from "../hono-bindings";
+
+const REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS = 120_000;
+
+export async function forwardToAiService(
+  c: Context<AppBindings>,
+  next: Next,
+  targetPath: string,
+): Promise<Response | void> {
+  if (!env.AI_SERVICE_URL) {
+    return next();
+  }
+
+  const targetUrl = new URL(targetPath, env.AI_SERVICE_URL);
+  const clientUrl = new URL(c.req.url);
+  targetUrl.search = clientUrl.search;
+
+  const authHeader = c.req.header("authorization");
+
+  const timeoutController = new AbortController();
+  const timeoutId = setTimeout(
+    () => timeoutController.abort(),
+    REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS,
+  );
+  const signal = AbortSignal.any([c.req.raw.signal, timeoutController.signal]);
+
+  try {
+    const response = await fetch(targetUrl.toString(), {
+      method: c.req.method,
+      headers: {
+        "Content-Type": c.req.header("content-type") ?? "application/json",
+        ...(authHeader ? { Authorization: authHeader } : {}),
+      },
+      body: c.req.raw.body,
+      // @ts-expect-error - duplex is required for streaming request bodies
+      duplex: "half",
+      signal,
+    });
+
+    const contentType = response.headers.get("content-type") ?? "";
+    if (contentType.includes("text/event-stream")) {
+      return new Response(response.body, {
+        status: response.status,
+        headers: {
+          "Content-Type": "text/event-stream",
+          "Cache-Control": "no-cache",
+        },
+      });
+    }
+
+    return new Response(response.body, {
+      status: response.status,
+      headers: { "Content-Type": contentType || "application/json" },
+    });
+  } catch (error) {
+    if (signal.aborted) {
+      const isTimeout = timeoutController.signal.aborted;
+      return new Response(
+        isTimeout ? "Request timeout" : "Client disconnected",
+        { status: isTimeout ? 504 : 499 },
+      );
+    }
+    throw error;
+  } finally {
+    clearTimeout(timeoutId);
+  }
+}
+
+export const forwardLlmToAi = async (
+  c: Context<AppBindings>,
+  next: Next,
+): Promise<Response | void> => {
+  return forwardToAiService(c, next, "/llm/chat/completions");
+};
+
+export const forwardSttListenToAi = async (
+  c: Context<AppBindings>,
+  next: Next,
+): Promise<Response | void> => {
+  return forwardToAiService(c, next, "/stt/listen");
+};
+
+export const forwardSttTranscribeToAi = async (
+  c: Context<AppBindings>,
+  next: Next,
+): Promise<Response | void> => {
+  return forwardToAiService(c, next, "/stt/");
+};
diff --git a/apps/api/src/middleware/index.ts b/apps/api/src/middleware/index.ts
index 39d6877f88..ee0ab42d87 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/middleware/index.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/middleware/index.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+export * from "./ai-forward";
 export * from "./load-test-auth";
 export * from "./observability";
 export * from "./sentry";