diff --git a/packages/jupyter-ai/src/selection-watcher.ts b/packages/jupyter-ai/src/selection-watcher.ts
index 031fe8863..1ff5d4adc 100644
--- a/packages/jupyter-ai/src/selection-watcher.ts
+++ b/packages/jupyter-ai/src/selection-watcher.ts
@@ -58,6 +58,11 @@ function getTextSelection(widget: Widget | null): Selection | null {
     .getSource()
     .substring(startOffset, endOffset);
 
+  // Do not return a Selection object if no text is selected
+  if (!text) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
   // ensure start <= end
   // required for editor.model.sharedModel.updateSource()
   if (startOffset > endOffset) {