diff --git a/spec/02-integration/22-ai_plugins/01-reports_spec.lua b/spec/02-integration/22-ai_plugins/01-reports_spec.lua
index c2e592fdd3b..c07ac5a5ceb 100644
--- a/spec/02-integration/22-ai_plugins/01-reports_spec.lua
+++ b/spec/02-integration/22-ai_plugins/01-reports_spec.lua
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ for _, strategy in helpers.each_strategy() do
   describe("anonymous reports for ai plugins #" .. strategy, function()
     local reports_send_ping = function(port)
       ngx.sleep(0.2) -- hand over the CPU so other threads can do work (processing the sent data)
-      local admin_client = helpers.admin_client()
+      admin_client = helpers.admin_client()
       local res = admin_client:post("/reports/send-ping" .. (port and "?port=" .. port or ""))
       assert.response(res).has_status(200)
       admin_client:close()