diff --git a/libs/core/kiln_ai/adapters/prompt_adapters.py b/libs/core/kiln_ai/adapters/prompt_adapters.py
index 5068d8bc..3a7a0f21 100644
--- a/libs/core/kiln_ai/adapters/prompt_adapters.py
+++ b/libs/core/kiln_ai/adapters/prompt_adapters.py
@@ -58,7 +58,11 @@ async def run(self, input: str) -> str:
         prompt += f"\n\n{input}"
         response = self.model.invoke(prompt)
         if self.__is_structured:
-            if not isinstance(response, dict) or "parsed" not in response:
+            if (
+                not isinstance(response, dict)
+                or "parsed" not in response
+                or not isinstance(response["parsed"], dict)
+            ):
                 raise RuntimeError(f"structured response not returned: {response}")
             structured_response = response["parsed"]
             # TODO: not JSON, use a dict here