diff --git a/sentry_sdk/consts.py b/sentry_sdk/consts.py
index 93fca6ba3e..4b61a317fb 100644
--- a/sentry_sdk/consts.py
+++ b/sentry_sdk/consts.py
@@ -542,6 +542,12 @@ class SPANDATA:
     Example: 2048
     """
 
+    GEN_AI_SYSTEM_INSTRUCTIONS = "gen_ai.system_instructions"
+    """
+    The system instructions passed to the model.
+    Example: [{"type": "text", "text": "You are a helpful assistant."},{"type": "text", "text": "Be concise and clear."}]
+    """
+
     GEN_AI_REQUEST_MESSAGES = "gen_ai.request.messages"
     """
     The messages passed to the model. The "content" can be a string or an array of objects.
diff --git a/sentry_sdk/integrations/google_genai/utils.py b/sentry_sdk/integrations/google_genai/utils.py
index 3b18712d3e..aed0aeb18d 100644
--- a/sentry_sdk/integrations/google_genai/utils.py
+++ b/sentry_sdk/integrations/google_genai/utils.py
@@ -743,25 +743,13 @@ def set_span_data_for_request(
         # Add system instruction if present
         if config and hasattr(config, "system_instruction"):
             system_instruction = config.system_instruction
-            if system_instruction:
-                system_messages = extract_contents_messages(system_instruction)
-                # System instruction should be a single system message
-                # Extract text from all messages and combine into one system message
-                system_texts = []
-                for msg in system_messages:
-                    content = msg.get("content")
-                    if isinstance(content, list):
-                        # Extract text from content parts
-                        for part in content:
-                            if isinstance(part, dict) and part.get("type") == "text":
-                                system_texts.append(part.get("text", ""))
-                    elif isinstance(content, str):
-                        system_texts.append(content)
-
-                if system_texts:
-                    messages.append(
-                        {"role": "system", "content": " ".join(system_texts)}
-                    )
+
+            set_data_normalized(
+                span,
+                SPANDATA.GEN_AI_SYSTEM_INSTRUCTIONS,
+                system_instruction,
+                unpack=False,
+            )
 
         # Extract messages from contents
         contents_messages = extract_contents_messages(contents)
diff --git a/tests/integrations/google_genai/test_google_genai.py b/tests/integrations/google_genai/test_google_genai.py
index ad89b878ea..6433b3ab21 100644
--- a/tests/integrations/google_genai/test_google_genai.py
+++ b/tests/integrations/google_genai/test_google_genai.py
@@ -229,14 +229,11 @@ def test_generate_content_with_system_instruction(
     (event,) = events
     invoke_span = event["spans"][0]
 
-    # Check that system instruction is included in messages
     # (PII is enabled and include_prompts is True in this test)
-    messages_str = invoke_span["data"][SPANDATA.GEN_AI_REQUEST_MESSAGES]
-    # Parse the JSON string to verify content
-    messages = json.loads(messages_str)
-    assert len(messages) == 2
-    assert messages[0] == {"role": "system", "content": "You are a helpful assistant"}
-    assert messages[1] == {"role": "user", "content": "What is 2+2?"}
+    system_instructions = json.loads(
+        invoke_span["data"][SPANDATA.GEN_AI_SYSTEM_INSTRUCTIONS]
+    )
+    assert system_instructions["parts"][0]["text"] == "You are a helpful assistant"
 
 
 def test_generate_content_with_tools(sentry_init, capture_events, mock_genai_client):
@@ -933,10 +930,8 @@ def test_google_genai_message_truncation(
         with start_transaction(name="google_genai"):
             mock_genai_client.models.generate_content(
                 model="gemini-1.5-flash",
-                contents=small_content,
-                config=create_test_config(
-                    system_instruction=large_content,
-                ),
+                contents=[large_content, small_content],
+                config=create_test_config(),
             )
 
     (event,) = events