diff --git a/dsp/modules/azure_openai.py b/dsp/modules/azure_openai.py
index 35e8977740..c80f820883 100644
--- a/dsp/modules/azure_openai.py
+++ b/dsp/modules/azure_openai.py
@@ -56,11 +56,14 @@ def __init__(
         model: str = "gpt-3.5-turbo-instruct",
         api_key: Optional[str] = None,
         model_type: Literal["chat", "text"] = "chat",
+        system_prompt: Optional[str] = None,
         **kwargs,
     ):
         super().__init__(model)
         self.provider = "openai"
 
+        self.system_prompt = system_prompt
+
         # Define Client
         if OPENAI_LEGACY:
             # Assert that all variables are available
@@ -132,7 +135,11 @@ def basic_request(self, prompt: str, **kwargs):
         kwargs = {**self.kwargs, **kwargs}
         if self.model_type == "chat":
             # caching mechanism requires hashable kwargs
-            kwargs["messages"] = [{"role": "user", "content": prompt}]
+            messages = [{"role": "user", "content": prompt}]
+            if self.system_prompt:
+                messages.insert(0, {"role": "system", "content": self.system_prompt})
+
+            kwargs["messages"] = messages
             kwargs = {"stringify_request": json.dumps(kwargs)}
             response = chat_request(self.client, **kwargs)