diff --git a/release-please-config.json b/release-please-config.json
index 2165dc175..a5d9f907b 100644
--- a/release-please-config.json
+++ b/release-please-config.json
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
     "include-component-in-tag": true,
     "bump-minor-pre-major": true,
     "bump-patch-for-minor-pre-major": true,
+    "draft-pull-request": true,
     "initial-version": "0.0.0",
     "packages": {
         "hugr-py": {