diff --git a/src/Elastic.Documentation.Site/Assets/web-components/SearchOrAskAi/SearchOrAskAiButton.tsx b/src/Elastic.Documentation.Site/Assets/web-components/SearchOrAskAi/SearchOrAskAiButton.tsx
index 23ab5b61c..3ca8cdc1c 100644
--- a/src/Elastic.Documentation.Site/Assets/web-components/SearchOrAskAi/SearchOrAskAiButton.tsx
+++ b/src/Elastic.Documentation.Site/Assets/web-components/SearchOrAskAi/SearchOrAskAiButton.tsx
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import {
     EuiLoadingSpinner,
 } from '@elastic/eui'
 import { css } from '@emotion/react'
+import { useQuery } from '@tanstack/react-query'
 import * as React from 'react'
 import { useEffect, Suspense, lazy } from 'react'
 
@@ -29,6 +30,16 @@ export const SearchOrAskAiButton = () => {
     const isModalOpen = useModalIsOpen()
     const { openModal, closeModal, toggleModal } = useModalActions()
 
+    const { data: isApiAvailable } = useQuery({
+        queryKey: ['api-health'],
+        queryFn: async () => {
+            const response = await fetch('/docs/_api/v1/', { method: 'HEAD' })
+            return response.ok
+        },
+        staleTime: 5 * 60 * 1000, // 5 minutes
+        retry: false,
+    })
+
     const positionCss = css`
         position: absolute;
         left: 50%;
@@ -62,6 +73,10 @@ export const SearchOrAskAiButton = () => {
         }
     }, [])
 
+    if (!isApiAvailable) {
+        return null
+    }
+
     return (
         <>
             <EuiButton
diff --git a/src/api/Elastic.Documentation.Api.Infrastructure/MappingsExstension.cs b/src/api/Elastic.Documentation.Api.Infrastructure/MappingsExstension.cs
index 1dcede6d9..dbbdff5b1 100644
--- a/src/api/Elastic.Documentation.Api.Infrastructure/MappingsExstension.cs
+++ b/src/api/Elastic.Documentation.Api.Infrastructure/MappingsExstension.cs
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ public static class MappingsExtension
 {
 	public static void MapElasticDocsApiEndpoints(this IEndpointRouteBuilder group)
 	{
+		_ = group.MapMethods("/", [HttpMethods.Head], () => Results.Empty);
 		MapAskAiEndpoint(group);
 		MapSearchEndpoint(group);
 	}