diff --git a/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/ask.py b/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/ask.py
index dbc2bd679..2f3f1388a 100644
--- a/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/ask.py
+++ b/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/ask.py
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ def create_llm_chain(
             verbose=False,
         )
 
-    async def _process_message(self, message: HumanChatMessage):
+    async def process_message(self, message: HumanChatMessage):
         args = self.parse_args(message)
         if args is None:
             return
diff --git a/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/base.py b/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/base.py
index 6ad4e4ec8..7894dcfa5 100644
--- a/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/base.py
+++ b/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/base.py
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@
 from jupyter_ai.config_manager import ConfigManager, Logger
 from jupyter_ai.models import AgentChatMessage, HumanChatMessage
 from jupyter_ai_magics.providers import BaseProvider
-from langchain.chat_models.base import BaseChatModel
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from jupyter_ai.handlers import RootChatHandler
@@ -33,20 +32,54 @@ def __init__(
         self.llm_params = None
         self.llm_chain = None
 
-    async def process_message(self, message: HumanChatMessage):
-        """Processes the message passed by the root chat handler."""
+    async def on_message(self, message: HumanChatMessage):
+        """
+        Method which receives a human message and processes it via
+        `self.process_message()`, calling `self.handle_exc()` when an exception
+        is raised. This method is called by RootChatHandler when it routes a
+        human message to this chat handler.
+        """
         try:
-            await self._process_message(message)
+            await self.process_message(message)
         except Exception as e:
-            formatted_e = traceback.format_exc()
-            response = f"Sorry, something went wrong and I wasn't able to index that path.\n\n```\n{formatted_e}\n```"
-            self.reply(response, message)
+            try:
+                # we try/except `handle_exc()` in case it was overriden and
+                # raises an exception by accident.
+                await self.handle_exc(e, message)
+            except Exception as e:
+                await self._default_handle_exc(e, message)
 
-    async def _process_message(self, message: HumanChatMessage):
-        """Processes the message passed by the `Router`"""
+    async def process_message(self, message: HumanChatMessage):
+        """
+        Processes a human message routed to this chat handler. Chat handlers
+        (subclasses) must implement this method. Don't forget to call
+        `self.reply(<response>, message)` at the end!
+
+        The method definition does not need to be wrapped in a try/except block;
+        any exceptions raised here are caught by `self.handle_exc()`.
+        """
         raise NotImplementedError("Should be implemented by subclasses.")
 
-    def reply(self, response, human_msg: Optional[HumanChatMessage] = None):
+    async def handle_exc(self, e: Exception, message: HumanChatMessage):
+        """
+        Handles an exception raised by `self.process_message()`. A default
+        implementation is provided, however chat handlers (subclasses) should
+        implement this method to provide a more helpful error response.
+        """
+        self._default_handle_exc(e, message)
+
+    async def _default_handle_exc(self, e: Exception, message: HumanChatMessage):
+        """
+        The default definition of `handle_exc()`. This is the default used when
+        the `handle_exc()` excepts.
+        """
+        formatted_e = traceback.format_exc()
+        response = (
+            f"Sorry, an error occurred. Details below:\n\n```\n{formatted_e}\n```"
+        )
+        self.reply(response, message)
+
+    def reply(self, response: str, human_msg: Optional[HumanChatMessage] = None):
         agent_msg = AgentChatMessage(
             id=uuid4().hex,
             time=time.time(),
diff --git a/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/clear.py b/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/clear.py
index 78adb65fc..a2a39bb00 100644
--- a/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/clear.py
+++ b/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/clear.py
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ def __init__(self, chat_history: List[ChatMessage], *args, **kwargs):
         super().__init__(*args, **kwargs)
         self._chat_history = chat_history
 
-    async def _process_message(self, _):
+    async def process_message(self, _):
         self._chat_history.clear()
         for handler in self._root_chat_handlers.values():
             if not handler:
diff --git a/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/default.py b/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/default.py
index c674a383b..3638b6cfb 100644
--- a/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/default.py
+++ b/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/default.py
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ def clear_memory(self):
         if self.chat_history:
             self.chat_history.clear()
 
-    async def _process_message(self, message: HumanChatMessage):
+    async def process_message(self, message: HumanChatMessage):
         self.get_llm_chain()
         response = await self.llm_chain.apredict(input=message.body, stop=["\nHuman:"])
         self.reply(response, message)
diff --git a/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/generate.py b/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/generate.py
index b3a7c4335..e3f84a924 100644
--- a/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/generate.py
+++ b/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/generate.py
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 import asyncio
 import os
+import time
+import traceback
+from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Dict, List, Optional, Type
 
 import nbformat
@@ -248,18 +251,23 @@ async def _generate_notebook(self, prompt: str):
         nbformat.write(notebook, final_path)
         return final_path
 
-    async def _process_message(self, message: HumanChatMessage):
+    async def process_message(self, message: HumanChatMessage):
         self.get_llm_chain()
 
         # first send a verification message to user
         response = "👍 Great, I will get started on your notebook. It may take a few minutes, but I will reply here when the notebook is ready. In the meantime, you can continue to ask me other questions."
         self.reply(response, message)
 
-        try:
-            final_path = await self._generate_notebook(prompt=message.body)
-            response = f"""🎉 I have created your notebook and saved it to the location {final_path}. I am still learning how to create notebooks, so please review all code before running it."""
-        except Exception as e:
-            self.log.exception(e)
-            response = "An error occurred while generating the notebook. Try running the /generate task again."
-        finally:
-            self.reply(response, message)
+        final_path = await self._generate_notebook(prompt=message.body)
+        response = f"""🎉 I have created your notebook and saved it to the location {final_path}. I am still learning how to create notebooks, so please review all code before running it."""
+        self.reply(response, message)
+
+    async def handle_exc(self, e: Exception, message: HumanChatMessage):
+        timestamp = time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d-%H:%M:%S")
+        log_path = Path(f"jupyter-ai-logs/generate-{timestamp}.log")
+        log_path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        with log_path.open("w") as log:
+            traceback.print_exc(file=log)
+
+        response = f"An error occurred while generating the notebook. The error details have been saved to `./{log_path}`.\n\nTry running `/generate` again, as some language models require multiple attempts before a notebook is generated."
+        self.reply(response, message)
diff --git a/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/help.py b/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/help.py
index 5643dafbc..be89d1165 100644
--- a/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/help.py
+++ b/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/help.py
@@ -32,5 +32,5 @@ class HelpChatHandler(BaseChatHandler):
     def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
         super().__init__(*args, **kwargs)
 
-    async def _process_message(self, message: HumanChatMessage):
+    async def process_message(self, message: HumanChatMessage):
         self.reply(HELP_MESSAGE, message)
diff --git a/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/learn.py b/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/learn.py
index 2d011e522..a5635f235 100644
--- a/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/learn.py
+++ b/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/chat_handlers/learn.py
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ def _load(self):
             except Exception as e:
                 self.log.error("Could not load vector index from disk.")
 
-    async def _process_message(self, message: HumanChatMessage):
+    async def process_message(self, message: HumanChatMessage):
         # If no embedding provider has been selected
         em_provider_cls, em_provider_args = self.get_embedding_provider()
         if not em_provider_cls:
diff --git a/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/handlers.py b/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/handlers.py
index 8f3a97fc5..eb4afd20f 100644
--- a/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/handlers.py
+++ b/packages/jupyter-ai/jupyter_ai/handlers.py
@@ -219,9 +219,9 @@ async def _route(self, message):
 
         start = time.time()
         if is_command:
-            await self.chat_handlers[command].process_message(message)
+            await self.chat_handlers[command].on_message(message)
         else:
-            await default.process_message(message)
+            await default.on_message(message)
 
         latency_ms = round((time.time() - start) * 1000)
         command_readable = "Default" if command == "default" else command