diff --git a/llama-index-core/llama_index/core/postprocessor/optimizer.py b/llama-index-core/llama_index/core/postprocessor/optimizer.py
index 779e63c09a51e3038ee847513b555bb0614f9598..39850c43d9746b73e7c05605cddfcb4278e2abda 100644
--- a/llama-index-core/llama_index/core/postprocessor/optimizer.py
+++ b/llama-index-core/llama_index/core/postprocessor/optimizer.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ from llama_index.core.bridge.pydantic import Field, PrivateAttr
 from llama_index.core.indices.query.embedding_utils import get_top_k_embeddings
 from llama_index.core.postprocessor.types import BaseNodePostprocessor
 from llama_index.core.schema import MetadataMode, NodeWithScore, QueryBundle
+from llama_index.core.settings import Settings
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -63,9 +64,8 @@ class SentenceEmbeddingOptimizer(BaseNodePostprocessor):
         )
         response = query_engine.query("<query_str>")
         """
-        if embed_model is not None:
-            self._embed_model = embed_model
-        else:
+        self._embed_model = embed_model or Settings.embed_model
+        if self._embed_model is None:
             try:
                 from llama_index.embeddings.openai import (
                     OpenAIEmbedding,