diff --git a/config.yaml.example b/config.yaml.example
index 13e1c82..9c740d5 100644
--- a/config.yaml.example
+++ b/config.yaml.example
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ ai:
   model: "anthropic/claude-2"  # Other options: "openai/gpt-4", "google/palm-2"
   temperature: 0.7  # 0.0 to 1.0, lower for more focused responses
   max_tokens: 2000  # Adjust based on your needs and model limits
+  default_language: "English"  # Fallback language when auto-detection fails (leave empty to disable)
 
 context:
   urls:
diff --git a/config/config.go b/config/config.go
index 6aed619..53da5ed 100644
--- a/config/config.go
+++ b/config/config.go
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ type AIConfig struct {
 	Model            string  `yaml:"model"`
 	Temperature      float32 `yaml:"temperature"`
 	MaxTokens        int     `yaml:"max_tokens"`
+	DefaultLanguage  string  `yaml:"default_language"`
 }
 
 type ContextConfig struct {
diff --git a/internal/ai/ai.go b/internal/ai/ai.go
index 61a8dc9..3ab77d4 100644
--- a/internal/ai/ai.go
+++ b/internal/ai/ai.go
@@ -99,7 +99,15 @@ func (a *AI) GenerateReply(emailContent string, contextContent map[string]string
 	// First, detect the language
 	lang, err := a.detectLanguage(emailContent)
 	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
+		if a.config.DefaultLanguage != "" {
+			logger.WithFields(logrus.Fields{
+				"error":           err,
+				"defaultLanguage": a.config.DefaultLanguage,
+			}).Warn("Language detection failed, falling back to default language")
+			lang = a.config.DefaultLanguage
+		} else {
+			return "", err
+		}
 	}
 
 	// Build prompts using exposed methods