diff --git a/app/javascript/lib/autocomplete/base_autocomplete_handler.js b/app/javascript/lib/autocomplete/base_autocomplete_handler.js
index 28b7fd0..9f1f352 100644
--- a/app/javascript/lib/autocomplete/base_autocomplete_handler.js
+++ b/app/javascript/lib/autocomplete/base_autocomplete_handler.js
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ export default class BaseAutocompleteHandler {
 
   #fetchAutocompletables(url) {
     if (url) {
-      return fetch(url, { as: "json" }).then(response => response.json())
+      return fetch(url, { headers: { Accept: "application/json" } }).then(response => response.json())
     } else {
       return Promise.resolve()
     }
diff --git a/test/system/starting_pings_test.rb b/test/system/starting_pings_test.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ddb5b4f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/system/starting_pings_test.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+require "application_system_test_case"
+
+class StartingPingsTest < ApplicationSystemTestCase
+  setup do
+    sign_in "kevin@37signals.com"
+  end
+
+  test "suggesting people to ping" do
+    visit new_rooms_direct_url
+
+    find("[data-autocomplete-target='input']").send_keys("Jas")
+
+    assert_selector "suggestion-option[role='option']", text: "Jason"
+  end
+end