diff --git a/aider/tests/test_help.py b/aider/tests/test_help.py
index e7e534253..93e12c20d 100644
--- a/aider/tests/test_help.py
+++ b/aider/tests/test_help.py
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ class TestHelp(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_init(self):
         self.assertIsNotNone(self.help.retriever)
 
-    def test_ask(self):
+    def test_ask_with_mock(self):
         mock_node = MagicMock()
         mock_node.text = "Test content"
         mock_node.metadata = {"url": "https://example.com"}
@@ -25,6 +25,20 @@ class TestHelp(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertIn("Test content", result)
         self.assertIn("</doc>", result)
 
+    def test_ask_without_mock(self):
+        help_instance = Help()
+        question = "What is aider?"
+        result = help_instance.ask(question)
+
+        self.assertIn(f"# Question: {question}", result)
+        self.assertIn("<doc", result)
+        self.assertIn("</doc>", result)
+        self.assertGreater(len(result), 100)  # Ensure we got a substantial response
+
+        # Check for some expected content (adjust based on your actual help content)
+        self.assertIn("aider", result.lower())
+        self.assertIn("ai", result.lower())
+        self.assertIn("chat", result.lower())
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
     unittest.main()