diff --git a/app/core/config.py b/app/core/config.py
index 6bd3384..4df2b13 100644
--- a/app/core/config.py
+++ b/app/core/config.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ load_dotenv()
 class Settings:
     PROJECT_NAME: str = "Storyline AI Gateway"
     API_KEY: str = os.getenv("API_KEY", "storyline-secret-key-123")
-    RATE_LIMIT: str = "20/minute"
+    RATE_LIMIT: str = "10/minute"
     GOOGLE_API_KEY: str = os.getenv("GOOGLE_API_KEY")
     OPENAI_API_KEY: str = os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY")
     DATABASE_URL: str = os.getenv("DATABASE_URL")
diff --git a/app/main.py b/app/main.py
index 34e8729..895de96 100644
--- a/app/main.py
+++ b/app/main.py
@@ -42,7 +42,18 @@ def create_application() -> FastAPI:
     
     # Set up Rate Limiter
     application.state.limiter = limiter
-    application.add_exception_handler(RateLimitExceeded, _rate_limit_exceeded_handler)
+    
+    @application.exception_handler(RateLimitExceeded)
+    async def custom_rate_limit_exceeded_handler(request, exc):
+        from fastapi.responses import JSONResponse
+        return JSONResponse(
+            status_code=429,
+            content={
+                "error": "Too Many Requests",
+                "message": "Chill out! You've reached the rate limit. Please wait a moment before trying again.",
+                "limit": str(exc.detail)
+            }
+        )
     
     # Include routes
     application.include_router(api_router, prefix="/api/v1")