diff --git a/addons/itsulu_blog_publisher/data/mail_template_data.xml b/addons/itsulu_blog_publisher/data/mail_template_data.xml
index ddb6148..23ab502 100644
--- a/addons/itsulu_blog_publisher/data/mail_template_data.xml
+++ b/addons/itsulu_blog_publisher/data/mail_template_data.xml
@@ -5,42 +5,42 @@
         <record id="email_template_blog_published" model="mail.template">
             <field name="name">Blog Publisher — Post Published Notification</field>
             <field name="model_id" ref="model_itsulu_blog_generation_log"/>
-            <field name="subject">[ITSulu Insights] Blog Post Published: ${object.blog_post_id.name}</field>
-            <field name="email_from">${user.email_formatted}</field>
+            <field name="subject">[ITSulu Insights] Blog Post Published: {{ object.blog_post_id.name }}</field>
+            <field name="email_from">{{ user.email_formatted }}</field>
             <field name="auto_delete">True</field>
-            <field name="body_html"><![CDATA[
+            <field name="body_html" type="qweb"><![CDATA[
 <div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6; max-width: 700px;">
 <h2>Blog Post Published</h2>
-<p><strong>Title:</strong> ${object.blog_post_id.name}</p>
-<p><strong>Blog:</strong> ${object.blog_post_id.blog_id.name}</p>
-<p><strong>URL:</strong> <a href="https://itsulu.com${object.blog_post_id.website_url}">https://itsulu.com${object.blog_post_id.website_url}</a></p>
+<p><strong>Title:</strong> <t t-out="object.blog_post_id.name"/></p>
+<p><strong>Blog:</strong> <t t-out="object.blog_post_id.blog_id.name"/></p>
+<p><strong>URL:</strong> <a t-attf-href="https://itsulu.com{{ object.blog_post_id.website_url }}">https://itsulu.com<t t-out="object.blog_post_id.website_url"/></a></p>
 <h3>Social Media Posts — Ready to Post</h3>
-% for social in object.blog_post_id.itsulu_social_id:
-% if social.twitter_post_a:
+<t t-foreach="object.blog_post_id.itsulu_social_id" t-as="social">
+<t t-if="social.twitter_post_a">
 <h4>Twitter</h4>
-<p>${social.twitter_post_a}</p>
-% endif
-% if social.twitter_post_b:
+<p><t t-out="social.twitter_post_a"/></p>
+</t>
+<t t-if="social.twitter_post_b">
 <h4>Twitter</h4>
-<p>${social.twitter_post_b}</p>
-% endif
-% if social.bluesky_post_a:
+<p><t t-out="social.twitter_post_b"/></p>
+</t>
+<t t-if="social.bluesky_post_a">
 <h4>BlueSky</h4>
-<p>${social.bluesky_post_a}</p>
-% endif
-% if social.bluesky_post_b:
+<p><t t-out="social.bluesky_post_a"/></p>
+</t>
+<t t-if="social.bluesky_post_b">
 <h4>BlueSky</h4>
-<p>${social.bluesky_post_b}</p>
-% endif
-% if social.mastodon_post:
+<p><t t-out="social.bluesky_post_b"/></p>
+</t>
+<t t-if="social.mastodon_post">
 <h4>Mastodon</h4>
-<p>${social.mastodon_post}</p>
-% endif
-% if social.linkedin_post:
+<p><t t-out="social.mastodon_post"/></p>
+</t>
+<t t-if="social.linkedin_post">
 <h4>LinkedIn</h4>
-<p>${social.linkedin_post}</p>
-% endif
-% endfor
+<p><t t-out="social.linkedin_post"/></p>
+</t>
+</t>
 </div>
             ]]></field>
         </record>
diff --git a/addons/itsulu_blog_publisher/tests/test_bdd_steps.py b/addons/itsulu_blog_publisher/tests/test_bdd_steps.py
index c82b24c..d3356e1 100644
--- a/addons/itsulu_blog_publisher/tests/test_bdd_steps.py
+++ b/addons/itsulu_blog_publisher/tests/test_bdd_steps.py
@@ -226,10 +226,31 @@ def given_ollama_base_url(odoo_env, url):
     )
 
 
+def _valid_llm_json():
+    """Return a JSON string with all fields LLMRouter._parse_response requires."""
+    import json
+    return json.dumps({
+        'title': 'Generated Blog Post',
+        'body_html': '<p>' + ('Generated content. ' * 30) + '</p>',
+        'meta_title': 'Generated SEO Title',
+        'meta_description': 'Generated meta description for the post.',
+        'meta_keywords': 'ai, testing, blog',
+        'tags': ['AI', 'Testing'],
+        'social': {
+            'twitter_a': 'Tweet A', 'twitter_b': 'Tweet B',
+            'bluesky_a': 'BlueSky A', 'bluesky_b': 'BlueSky B',
+            'mastodon': 'Mastodon post', 'linkedin': 'LinkedIn post',
+        },
+        'sources': [],
+    })
+
+
 @when('the LLM router is called with a prompt')
 def when_llm_router_called(odoo_env, ctx):
     from odoo.addons.itsulu_blog_publisher.services.llm_router import LLMRouter
-    mock_resp = MagicMock(text='<p>Generated</p>', tokens_used=500)
+    # The router parses provider_response.text as JSON, so the mock must
+    # return a valid JSON blob with all required fields — not raw HTML.
+    mock_resp = MagicMock(text=_valid_llm_json(), tokens_used=500)
 
     provider_map = {
         'anthropic': 'odoo.addons.itsulu_blog_publisher.services.anthropic_provider.AnthropicProvider.generate',
@@ -243,10 +264,11 @@ def when_llm_router_called(odoo_env, ctx):
     try:
         if patch_target:
             with patch(patch_target, return_value=mock_resp) as mock_gen:
-                router = LLMRouter(odoo_env, provider=provider, model=ctx.get('model', ''))
-                result = router.generate(topic='Write a blog post')
-                ctx['result'] = result
+                # Record the mock before generate() so assertions can see it
+                # even if generate() raises.
                 ctx['mock_generate'] = mock_gen
+                router = LLMRouter(odoo_env, provider=provider, model=ctx.get('model', ''))
+                ctx['result'] = router.generate(topic='Write a blog post')
         else:
             router = LLMRouter(odoo_env, provider=provider, model=ctx.get('model', ''))
             ctx['result'] = router.generate(topic='Write a blog post')