diff --git a/.github/dependabot.yml b/.github/dependabot.yml
index fe105d09..12f3204a 100644
--- a/.github/dependabot.yml
+++ b/.github/dependabot.yml
@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 # Dependabot configuration
 #
+# Notes:
+# - Updates are grouped into a single weekly PR per ecosystem to reduce
+#   review noise and avoid changelog merge conflicts between bot PRs.
+# - Bot PRs get an automated changelog entry commit and are auto-merged
+#   once approved (see .github/workflows/bot-prs.yml).
+#
 # References:
 # - https://docs.github.com/en/code-security/dependabot/dependabot-version-updates/configuration-options-for-the-dependabot.yml-file
 #
@@ -8,10 +14,16 @@ updates:
   - package-ecosystem: "github-actions"
     directory: "/"
     schedule:
-      interval: "daily"
+      interval: "weekly"
     labels: [ "github_actions" ]
+    groups:
+      github-actions:
+        patterns: [ "*" ]
   - package-ecosystem: "pip"
     directory: "/"
     schedule:
-      interval: "daily"
+      interval: "weekly"
     labels: [ "dependencies" ]
+    groups:
+      pip:
+        patterns: [ "*" ]
diff --git a/.github/workflows/bot-prs.yml b/.github/workflows/bot-prs.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1e9f756a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/bot-prs.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,241 @@
+# Automation for PRs opened by trusted bots (dependabot and pre-commit.ci).
+#
+# For every bot PR, this workflow:
+#   1. Commits a changelog entry for the PR (generated from the PR's title)
+#      directly to the PR branch, so that the "Check for entry in Changelog"
+#      requirement is satisfied and the entry can be reviewed as part of the
+#      PR itself. This step is idempotent and self-healing: if a bot
+#      force-pushes its branch (wiping our commit), the resulting
+#      `synchronize` event simply re-adds the entry.
+#   2. Enables GitHub's native auto-merge (squash). The PR will then merge
+#      automatically as soon as the branch protection requirements are met
+#      (i.e., an approving review plus all required status checks passing).
+#
+# Additionally, on every push to main, the `heal` job checks whether any
+# open bot PRs became conflicted (e.g., two bot PRs adding changelog
+# entries at the same location: the first one to merge conflicts the
+# other) and resolves them by merging main into the PR branch and
+# regenerating the changelog entry.
+#
+# The only human action left is the review itself.
+#
+# Setup requirements:
+#   - An AUTO_MERGE_PAT repository secret: a fine-grained personal access
+#     token scoped to this repository only, with read/write permissions
+#     for "Contents" and "Pull requests". The default GITHUB_TOKEN is
+#     deliberately *not* used as a fallback: events caused by pushes and
+#     merges performed with GITHUB_TOKEN do not trigger other workflows
+#     (GitHub's recursive-workflow protection), which would deadlock this
+#     automation - CI would never run on the changelog commits pushed to
+#     bot PRs, so the required status checks would stay pending forever
+#     and auto-merge would never fire. Merges to main performed with
+#     GITHUB_TOKEN would similarly skip the post-merge workflows on main
+#     (CI run, TestPyPI publish). Every job therefore fails fast with a
+#     clear error if the secret is not configured.
+#   - "Allow auto-merge" enabled in the repository settings
+#     (Settings > General > Pull Requests).
+#   - Branch protection on main requiring an approving review and the
+#     relevant status checks (auto-merge only waits for *required* checks).
+#
+# Security: this workflow runs on pull_request_target with write
+# permissions, but only ever acts on same-repository PRs opened by
+# trusted bots, and never executes code from the PR branches: both jobs
+# run the changelog helper script from a checkout of the main branch
+# (which is also where this workflow definition itself is taken from),
+# only ever treating the PR branches' content as data.
+#
+name: Bot PRs
+
+on:
+  pull_request_target:
+    types: [ opened, reopened, synchronize ]
+  push:
+    branches: [ main ]
+
+permissions: {}
+
+concurrency:
+  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.event.pull_request.number || github.ref }}
+  cancel-in-progress: false
+
+jobs:
+  changelog:
+    name: Add changelog entry
+    if: >-
+      github.event_name == 'pull_request_target' &&
+      github.event.pull_request.head.repo.full_name == github.repository &&
+      (github.event.pull_request.user.login == 'dependabot[bot]' ||
+       github.event.pull_request.user.login == 'pre-commit-ci[bot]')
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 3
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+    steps:
+      - name: Ensure AUTO_MERGE_PAT is configured
+        env:
+          AUTO_MERGE_PAT: ${{ secrets.AUTO_MERGE_PAT }}
+        run: |
+          if [ -z "$AUTO_MERGE_PAT" ]; then
+            echo "::error::The AUTO_MERGE_PAT secret is not configured." \
+              "Falling back to GITHUB_TOKEN would deadlock this automation" \
+              "(its pushes/merges do not trigger other workflows, so" \
+              "required status checks would never run). See the setup" \
+              "requirements at the top of .github/workflows/bot-prs.yml."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+      # Note: this checks out the *base* branch (main), not the PR branch,
+      # so that the changelog helper script executed below always comes
+      # from trusted code and never from the PR branch.
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v7
+        with:
+          token: ${{ secrets.AUTO_MERGE_PAT }}
+
+      - name: Add changelog entry and push
+        env:
+          PR_NUMBER: ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
+          PR_TITLE: ${{ github.event.pull_request.title }}
+          HEAD_REF: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.ref }}
+        run: |
+          python3 -m pip install --quiet markdown-it-py
+
+          # Apply the (trusted, from main) helper script to the PR
+          # branch's version of the changelog
+          git fetch origin "$HEAD_REF"
+          git show FETCH_HEAD:docs/reference/changelog.md > "$RUNNER_TEMP/changelog.md"
+          cp "$RUNNER_TEMP/changelog.md" "$RUNNER_TEMP/changelog.orig.md"
+          python3 cicd_utils/cicd/scripts/add_changelog_entry.py "$PR_NUMBER" "$PR_TITLE" \
+            --changelog "$RUNNER_TEMP/changelog.md"
+          if cmp -s "$RUNNER_TEMP/changelog.md" "$RUNNER_TEMP/changelog.orig.md"; then
+            echo "Changelog entry already present; nothing to do."
+            exit 0
+          fi
+
+          # Commit the updated changelog on top of the PR branch. This
+          # materializes the bot's tree in the working directory, but no
+          # code from it is ever executed (do not add steps below that
+          # run anything from the working tree!).
+          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
+          git config user.email "41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
+          git checkout -B "$HEAD_REF" FETCH_HEAD
+          cp "$RUNNER_TEMP/changelog.md" docs/reference/changelog.md
+          git add docs/reference/changelog.md
+          git commit -m "Add changelog entry for #${PR_NUMBER}"
+          git push origin "HEAD:$HEAD_REF"
+
+  automerge:
+    name: Enable auto-merge
+    if: >-
+      github.event_name == 'pull_request_target' &&
+      github.event.action != 'synchronize' &&
+      github.event.pull_request.head.repo.full_name == github.repository &&
+      (github.event.pull_request.user.login == 'dependabot[bot]' ||
+       github.event.pull_request.user.login == 'pre-commit-ci[bot]')
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 2
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+      pull-requests: write
+    steps:
+      - name: Ensure AUTO_MERGE_PAT is configured
+        env:
+          AUTO_MERGE_PAT: ${{ secrets.AUTO_MERGE_PAT }}
+        run: |
+          if [ -z "$AUTO_MERGE_PAT" ]; then
+            echo "::error::The AUTO_MERGE_PAT secret is not configured." \
+              "Falling back to GITHUB_TOKEN would deadlock this automation" \
+              "(its pushes/merges do not trigger other workflows, so" \
+              "required status checks would never run). See the setup" \
+              "requirements at the top of .github/workflows/bot-prs.yml."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+      - name: Enable auto-merge (squash)
+        run: gh pr merge --auto --squash "$PR_URL"
+        env:
+          PR_URL: ${{ github.event.pull_request.html_url }}
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.AUTO_MERGE_PAT }}
+
+  heal:
+    name: Heal conflicted bot PRs
+    if: github.event_name == 'push'
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 10
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+      pull-requests: read
+    steps:
+      - name: Ensure AUTO_MERGE_PAT is configured
+        env:
+          AUTO_MERGE_PAT: ${{ secrets.AUTO_MERGE_PAT }}
+        run: |
+          if [ -z "$AUTO_MERGE_PAT" ]; then
+            echo "::error::The AUTO_MERGE_PAT secret is not configured." \
+              "Falling back to GITHUB_TOKEN would deadlock this automation" \
+              "(its pushes/merges do not trigger other workflows, so" \
+              "required status checks would never run). See the setup" \
+              "requirements at the top of .github/workflows/bot-prs.yml."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v7
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+          token: ${{ secrets.AUTO_MERGE_PAT }}
+
+      - name: Merge main into conflicted bot PRs
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.AUTO_MERGE_PAT }}
+        run: |
+          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
+          git config user.email "41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
+          python3 -m pip install --quiet markdown-it-py
+
+          # Stash a trusted copy of the helper script (we're on main here)
+          # so that we never execute code from the PR branches that get
+          # checked out in the loop below
+          cp cicd_utils/cicd/scripts/add_changelog_entry.py "$RUNNER_TEMP/add_changelog_entry.py"
+
+          prs=$(
+            gh pr list --author 'app/dependabot' --json number,headRefName,title --jq '.[] | [.number, .headRefName, .title] | @tsv'
+            gh pr list --author 'app/pre-commit-ci' --json number,headRefName,title --jq '.[] | [.number, .headRefName, .title] | @tsv'
+          )
+          [ -n "$prs" ] || { echo "No open bot PRs."; exit 0; }
+
+          while IFS=$'\t' read -r number head_ref title; do
+            [ -n "$number" ] || continue
+
+            # Wait for GitHub to finish computing the mergeable state
+            mergeable=UNKNOWN
+            for _ in 1 2 3 4 5; do
+              mergeable=$(gh pr view "$number" --json mergeable --jq .mergeable)
+              [ "$mergeable" = "UNKNOWN" ] || break
+              sleep 10
+            done
+            echo "PR #${number} (${head_ref}) is ${mergeable}"
+            [ "$mergeable" = "CONFLICTING" ] || continue
+
+            git fetch origin "$head_ref" < /dev/null
+            git checkout -B "$head_ref" "origin/$head_ref" < /dev/null
+
+            if git merge --no-edit origin/main < /dev/null; then
+              git push origin "HEAD:$head_ref" < /dev/null
+              continue
+            fi
+
+            conflicts=$(git diff --name-only --diff-filter=U)
+            if [ "$conflicts" != "docs/reference/changelog.md" ]; then
+              git merge --abort < /dev/null
+              echo "::warning::PR #${number} has conflicts beyond the changelog; skipping."
+              continue
+            fi
+
+            # Resolve the changelog conflict by taking main's version
+            # and re-generating this PR's changelog entry on top of it
+            git checkout --theirs docs/reference/changelog.md < /dev/null
+            python3 "$RUNNER_TEMP/add_changelog_entry.py" "$number" "$title" \
+              --changelog docs/reference/changelog.md
+            git add docs/reference/changelog.md
+            git commit --no-edit < /dev/null
+            git push origin "HEAD:$head_ref" < /dev/null
+          done <<< "$prs"
diff --git a/cicd_utils/cicd/scripts/add_changelog_entry.py b/cicd_utils/cicd/scripts/add_changelog_entry.py
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..ed257171
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cicd_utils/cicd/scripts/add_changelog_entry.py
@@ -0,0 +1,250 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python
+"""Add a changelog entry for a given pull request.
+
+Inserts a ``- <title> ({gh-pr}`<number>`)`` entry into the ``### Dependencies``
+subsection of the ``Unreleased changes`` section of the changelog, creating
+the subsection (or the whole section) if it doesn't exist yet. The
+subsection's entries are kept sorted alphabetically: the whole list is
+re-sorted on every insertion, which also repairs any pre-existing ordering
+violations (e.g., from manual edits).
+
+The changelog's structure is discovered with ``markdown-it-py`` (using the
+tokens' source line maps), while the actual edit is a surgical line splice.
+This keeps the rest of the file byte-for-byte untouched (as opposed to,
+e.g., re-rendering the whole document with ``mdformat``, which would
+restyle it).
+
+This script is idempotent: if the changelog already references the given
+PR number, the file is left unchanged.
+
+Used by the ``.github/workflows/bot-prs.yml`` workflow to automatically add
+changelog entries to pull requests opened by trusted bots (e.g., dependabot
+and pre-commit.ci).
+
+Usage:
+    python cicd_utils/cicd/scripts/add_changelog_entry.py <pr-number> <pr-title>
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
+
+from markdown_it import MarkdownIt
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from markdown_it.token import Token
+
+PATH_ROOT_DIR = Path(__file__).parents[3]
+PATH_TO_CHANGELOG = PATH_ROOT_DIR.joinpath("docs/reference/changelog.md")
+
+UNRELEASED_HEADING = "Unreleased changes"
+DEPS_HEADING = "Dependencies"
+
+# Known bot prefixes that should be stripped from PR titles to
+# match the changelog's entry conventions (e.g., the convention
+# for pre-commit.ci PRs is simply "pre-commit autoupdate").
+STRIP_TITLE_PREFIXES = ("[pre-commit.ci] ",)
+
+
+def format_entry(pr_number: int, pr_title: str) -> str:
+    """Format a changelog entry for the given PR number and title."""
+    title = pr_title.strip()
+    for prefix in STRIP_TITLE_PREFIXES:
+        title = title.removeprefix(prefix)
+    return f"- {title} ({{gh-pr}}`{pr_number}`)"
+
+
+def _token_lines(token: Token) -> tuple[int, int]:
+    """Return a block token's source line range as an ``(start, end)`` tuple."""
+    if token.map is None:
+        raise AssertionError("Block-level tokens always carry a source line map")
+    return token.map[0], token.map[1]
+
+
+def _is_heading(tokens: list[Token], i: int, tag: str, text: str | None = None) -> bool:
+    """Whether ``tokens[i]`` opens a heading with the given tag (and text)."""
+    token = tokens[i]
+    if token.type != "heading_open" or token.tag != tag:
+        return False
+    return text is None or tokens[i + 1].content == text
+
+
+def _find_unreleased_section(tokens: list[Token]) -> tuple[int, int] | None:
+    """Find the (start, end) token index range of the 'Unreleased changes' section.
+
+    ``start`` points at the first token after the section's heading and
+    ``end`` at the next section's ``heading_open`` token (or one past the
+    last token). Returns :data:`None` if the section doesn't exist.
+    """
+    start = None
+    for i in range(len(tokens)):
+        if not _is_heading(tokens, i, tag="h2"):
+            continue
+        if start is not None:
+            return start, i
+        if _is_heading(tokens, i, tag="h2", text=UNRELEASED_HEADING):
+            start = i + 3  # skip the heading_open, inline, and heading_close tokens
+    if start is None:
+        return None
+    return start, len(tokens)
+
+
+def _new_unreleased_section(entry: str) -> list[str]:
+    return [
+        UNRELEASED_HEADING,
+        "-" * len(UNRELEASED_HEADING),
+        "",
+        f"### {DEPS_HEADING}",
+        "",
+        entry,
+        "",
+        "---",
+        "",
+    ]
+
+
+def _insert_unreleased_section(lines: list[str], tokens: list[Token], entry: str) -> list[str]:
+    """Insert a whole new 'Unreleased changes' section before the first section."""
+    for i in range(len(tokens)):
+        if _is_heading(tokens, i, tag="h2"):
+            at = _token_lines(tokens[i])[0]
+            return [*lines[:at], *_new_unreleased_section(entry), *lines[at:]]
+    # No sections yet (e.g., an empty changelog): append at the end, making
+    # sure that the new section's heading is preceded by a blank line
+    # (otherwise the preceding paragraph would absorb the setext heading)
+    if lines and lines[-1].strip():
+        lines = [*lines, ""]
+    return [*lines, *_new_unreleased_section(entry)]
+
+
+def _find_deps_subsection(tokens: list[Token], start: int, end: int) -> tuple[int, int] | None:
+    """Find the (start, end) token index range of the '### Dependencies' subsection.
+
+    ``start`` points at the subsection's ``heading_open`` token and ``end``
+    at the next subsection's ``heading_open`` token, the section's trailing
+    thematic break, or the end of the section. Returns :data:`None` if the
+    subsection doesn't exist.
+    """
+    sub_start = None
+    for i in range(start, end):
+        token = tokens[i]
+        if token.type == "heading_open":
+            if sub_start is not None:
+                return sub_start, i
+            if _is_heading(tokens, i, tag="h3", text=DEPS_HEADING):
+                sub_start = i
+        elif sub_start is not None and token.type == "hr":
+            return sub_start, i
+    if sub_start is None:
+        return None
+    return sub_start, end
+
+
+def _insert_entry_into_subsection(
+    lines: list[str], tokens: list[Token], sub_start: int, sub_end: int, entry: str
+) -> list[str]:
+    """Insert the entry into the subsection's bullet list, keeping it sorted.
+
+    All of the subsection's list items are re-sorted alphabetically as a
+    whole, which also repairs any pre-existing ordering violations. Each
+    item's source lines are moved as one block, so that multi-line entries
+    (continuation lines, nested lists, etc.) are preserved intact.
+    """
+    blocks: list[list[str]] = []
+    span_start = span_end = None
+    for i in range(sub_start, sub_end):
+        token = tokens[i]
+        if token.type != "list_item_open" or token.level != 1:
+            continue  # only consider items of top-level bullet lists
+        item_start, item_end = _token_lines(token)
+        block = lines[item_start:item_end]
+        # An item's line map may extend over trailing blank lines
+        # (e.g., in loose lists); strip them so that the re-assembled
+        # list is a tight, contiguous block of entries
+        while block and not block[-1].strip():
+            block.pop()
+        blocks.append(block)
+        if span_start is None:
+            span_start = item_start
+        span_end = item_end
+    if span_start is None or span_end is None:
+        # No bullet list yet: insert right after the subsection's heading,
+        # keeping a blank line between the heading and the first entry
+        insert_at = _token_lines(tokens[sub_start])[1]
+        return [*lines[:insert_at], "", entry, *lines[insert_at:]]
+    # Walk back over any trailing blank lines covered by the last item's map
+    while span_end > span_start and not lines[span_end - 1].strip():
+        span_end -= 1
+    blocks.append([entry])
+    blocks.sort(key=lambda block: block[0].casefold())
+    sorted_lines = [line for block in blocks for line in block]
+    return [*lines[:span_start], *sorted_lines, *lines[span_end:]]
+
+
+def _find_subsection_insertion(tokens: list[Token], start: int, end: int, n_lines: int) -> int:
+    """Find the source line at which to insert a new subsection at the end of the section."""
+    # Insert before the section's trailing thematic break (if any)
+    for i in range(start, end):
+        if tokens[i].type == "hr":
+            return _token_lines(tokens[i])[0]
+    if end < len(tokens):
+        return _token_lines(tokens[end])[0]
+    return n_lines
+
+
+def add_changelog_entry(changelog: Path, pr_number: int, pr_title: str) -> bool:
+    """Add a changelog entry for the given PR. Returns whether the file was changed."""
+    text = changelog.read_text()
+    if f"{{gh-pr}}`{pr_number}`" in text:
+        print(f"Changelog already references PR #{pr_number}; nothing to do.")
+        return False
+
+    entry = format_entry(pr_number, pr_title)
+    lines = text.splitlines()
+    tokens = MarkdownIt().parse(text)
+
+    section = _find_unreleased_section(tokens)
+    if section is None:
+        lines = _insert_unreleased_section(lines, tokens, entry)
+    else:
+        start, end = section
+        subsection = _find_deps_subsection(tokens, start, end)
+        if subsection is None:
+            insert_at = _find_subsection_insertion(tokens, start, end, len(lines))
+            # Walk back over any blank lines
+            while insert_at > 0 and not lines[insert_at - 1].strip():
+                insert_at -= 1
+            lines[insert_at:insert_at] = ["", f"### {DEPS_HEADING}", "", entry]
+        else:
+            sub_start, sub_end = subsection
+            lines = _insert_entry_into_subsection(lines, tokens, sub_start, sub_end, entry)
+
+    while lines and not lines[-1].strip():
+        lines.pop()
+    changelog.write_text("\n".join(lines) + "\n")
+    print(f"Added changelog entry: {entry}")
+    return True
+
+
+def main() -> None:
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description=__doc__)
+    parser.add_argument("pr_number", type=int, help="The pull request number.")
+    parser.add_argument("pr_title", type=str, help="The pull request title.")
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--changelog",
+        type=Path,
+        default=PATH_TO_CHANGELOG,
+        help="Path to the changelog file.",
+    )
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+    add_changelog_entry(
+        changelog=args.changelog,
+        pr_number=args.pr_number,
+        pr_title=args.pr_title,
+    )
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()
diff --git a/cicd_utils/find-unmentioned-prs.sh b/cicd_utils/find-unmentioned-prs.sh
index 4f54ab3d..1c4df0ee 100755
--- a/cicd_utils/find-unmentioned-prs.sh
+++ b/cicd_utils/find-unmentioned-prs.sh
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ else
     echo "📋 PRs not mentioned in changelog (${#unmentioned_prs[@]} total):"
     echo
 
+    suggested_entries=()
     for pr in "${unmentioned_prs[@]}"; do
         # Get PR title and URL for better readability
         pr_info=$(gh pr view "$pr" --json title,url --jq '{title: .title, url: .url}')
@@ -77,5 +78,13 @@ else
         echo "  #$pr: $pr_title"
         echo "       $pr_url"
         echo
+
+        suggested_entries+=("- ${pr_title} ({gh-pr}\`${pr}\`)")
+    done
+
+    echo "📝 Suggested changelog entries (review and paste under 'Unreleased changes'):"
+    echo
+    for entry in "${suggested_entries[@]}"; do
+        echo "$entry"
     done
 fi
diff --git a/docs/development/release_process.md b/docs/development/release_process.md
index 2d2f4927..d7b81bb9 100644
--- a/docs/development/release_process.md
+++ b/docs/development/release_process.md
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 You need to have push-access to the project's repository to make releases. Therefore, the following release steps are intended to be used as a reference for maintainers or [collaborators](https://docs.github.com/en/account-and-profile/setting-up-and-managing-your-personal-account-on-github/managing-user-account-settings/permission-levels-for-a-personal-account-repository#collaborator-access-for-a-repository-owned-by-a-personal-account) with push-access to the repository.
 :::
 
-1. Review the **`## Unreleased changes`** section at the top of the {repo-file}`docs/reference/changelog.md` file and, if necessary, group and/or split entries into relevant subsections (e.g., _Features_, _Docs_, _Bugfixes_, _Security_, etc.). Take a look at previous release notes for guidance and try to keep the format consistent. You can also use the `./cicd_utils/find-unmentioned-prs.sh` helper script to find merged PRs that were not mentioned in the changelog yet.
+1. Review the **`## Unreleased changes`** section at the top of the {repo-file}`docs/reference/changelog.md` file and, if necessary, group and/or split entries into relevant subsections (e.g., _Features_, _Docs_, _Bugfixes_, _Security_, etc.). Take a look at previous release notes for guidance and try to keep the format consistent. You can also use the `./cicd_utils/find-unmentioned-prs.sh` helper script to find merged PRs that were not mentioned in the changelog yet (if any are found, it prints ready-to-paste changelog entries for them). Note that PRs opened by trusted bots (e.g., dependabot and pre-commit.ci) get an automated changelog entry commit and are auto-merged once approved (see {repo-file}`.github/workflows/bot-prs.yml`), so they should already be covered in the changelog.
 2. [Review](https://github.com/tpvasconcelos/ridgeplot/compare) new usages of `.. versionadded::`, `.. versionchanged::`, and `.. deprecated::` directives that were added to the documentation since the last release. If necessary, update the version numbers in these directives to reflect the new release version.
    * You can determine the latest release version by running `git describe --tags --abbrev=0` on the `main` branch. Based on this, you can determine the next release version by incrementing the relevant _MAJOR_, _MINOR_, or _PATCH_ numbers.
 3. **IMPORTANT:** Remember to switch to the `main` branch and pull the latest changes before proceeding.
diff --git a/docs/reference/changelog.md b/docs/reference/changelog.md
index c08ef295..ac64e32b 100644
--- a/docs/reference/changelog.md
+++ b/docs/reference/changelog.md
@@ -22,21 +22,25 @@ Unreleased changes
 - Review the coverage configuration in light of `covdefaults`, adopting its `assert_never` exclusion and `skip_covered` report setting, and raising all package coverage gates to 100% ({gh-pr}`390`)
 - Adopt pytest's strict mode, following the recommendations from pytest's "Good Integration Practices" guide ({gh-pr}`387`)
 - Make the e2e path sanity check independent of the checkout directory's name, so tests can run from git worktrees ({gh-pr}`391`)
+- Fix the test suite's compatibility with the latest pytest release ({gh-pr}`384`)
+- Automate bot PR maintenance: weekly grouped dependabot updates, automated changelog entries, and auto-merge once approved ({gh-pr}`385`)
+- Use the official `astral-sh/setup-uv` action to install and cache `uv` in CI ({gh-pr}`386`)
+- Let `uv` manage the Python interpreter and virtual environment in CI ({gh-pr}`393`)
+- Remove the stale `requirements/*.txt` glob from the CI cache key, left over from the migration to PEP 735 dependency groups ({gh-pr}`394`)
+
+### Dependencies
+
+- Bump actions/checkout from 6 to 7 ({gh-pr}`383`)
 - Bump actions/download-artifact from 7 to 8 ({gh-pr}`368`)
+- Bump actions/github-script from 8 to 9 ({gh-pr}`373`)
 - Bump actions/upload-artifact from 6 to 7 ({gh-pr}`369`)
-- Bump sigstore/gh-action-sigstore-python from 3.2.0 to 3.3.0 ({gh-pr}`370`)
 - Bump codecov/codecov-action from 5 to 6 ({gh-pr}`371`)
-- Bump actions/github-script from 8 to 9 ({gh-pr}`373`)
-- pre-commit autoupdate ({gh-pr}`374`)
-- Bump softprops/action-gh-release from 2 to 3 ({gh-pr}`380`)
 - Bump codecov/codecov-action from 6 to 7 ({gh-pr}`381`)
+- Bump sigstore/gh-action-sigstore-python from 3.2.0 to 3.3.0 ({gh-pr}`370`)
 - Bump sigstore/gh-action-sigstore-python from 3.3.0 to 3.4.0 ({gh-pr}`382`)
-- Bump actions/checkout from 6 to 7 ({gh-pr}`383`)
+- Bump softprops/action-gh-release from 2 to 3 ({gh-pr}`380`)
+- pre-commit autoupdate ({gh-pr}`374`)
 - pre-commit autoupdate ({gh-pr}`379`)
-- Fix the test suite's compatibility with the latest pytest release ({gh-pr}`384`)
-- Use the official `astral-sh/setup-uv` action to install and cache `uv` in CI ({gh-pr}`386`)
-- Let `uv` manage the Python interpreter and virtual environment in CI ({gh-pr}`393`)
-- Remove the stale `requirements/*.txt` glob from the CI cache key, left over from the migration to PEP 735 dependency groups ({gh-pr}`394`)
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 8030b2ee..1e9bcc2a 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@ cicd_utils = [
     #       (multi-platform) resolution with `uv sync`/`uv lock`
     "kaleido<0.4,!=0.2.1.post1",
     # ./cicd_utils/cicd/scripts/extract_latest_release_notes.py
+    # ./cicd_utils/cicd/scripts/add_changelog_entry.py (markdown-it-py only)
     "markdown-it-py",
     "mdit-py-plugins",
     "mdformat",
diff --git a/tests/cicd_utils/test_scripts/test_add_changelog_entry.py b/tests/cicd_utils/test_scripts/test_add_changelog_entry.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a64344ed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/cicd_utils/test_scripts/test_add_changelog_entry.py
@@ -0,0 +1,519 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
+
+import pytest
+
+from cicd.scripts.add_changelog_entry import (
+    PATH_TO_CHANGELOG,
+    add_changelog_entry,
+    format_entry,
+    main,
+)
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from pathlib import Path
+
+
+def test_path_to_changelog_exists() -> None:
+    assert PATH_TO_CHANGELOG.exists()
+    assert PATH_TO_CHANGELOG.is_file()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    ("pr_number", "pr_title", "expected"),
+    [
+        (
+            383,
+            "Bump actions/checkout from 6 to 7",
+            "- Bump actions/checkout from 6 to 7 ({gh-pr}`383`)",
+        ),
+        (379, "[pre-commit.ci] pre-commit autoupdate", "- pre-commit autoupdate ({gh-pr}`379`)"),
+        (42, "  Padded title  ", "- Padded title ({gh-pr}`42`)"),
+    ],
+)
+def test_format_entry(pr_number: int, pr_title: str, expected: str) -> None:
+    assert format_entry(pr_number, pr_title) == expected
+
+
+CHANGELOG_WITH_DEPS_SUBSECTION = """\
+# Release Notes
+
+Intro paragraph...
+
+Unreleased changes
+------------------
+
+### Dependencies
+
+- Old entry ({gh-pr}`100`)
+
+---
+
+0.1.0
+-----
+
+- Old release change ({gh-pr}`99`)
+"""
+
+EXPECTED_WITH_DEPS_SUBSECTION = """\
+# Release Notes
+
+Intro paragraph...
+
+Unreleased changes
+------------------
+
+### Dependencies
+
+- Bump foo from 1 to 2 ({gh-pr}`123`)
+- Old entry ({gh-pr}`100`)
+
+---
+
+0.1.0
+-----
+
+- Old release change ({gh-pr}`99`)
+"""
+
+CHANGELOG_WITHOUT_DEPS_SUBSECTION = """\
+# Release Notes
+
+Unreleased changes
+------------------
+
+### Bug fixes
+
+- Fix something ({gh-pr}`101`)
+
+---
+
+0.1.0
+-----
+
+- Old release change ({gh-pr}`99`)
+"""
+
+EXPECTED_WITHOUT_DEPS_SUBSECTION = """\
+# Release Notes
+
+Unreleased changes
+------------------
+
+### Bug fixes
+
+- Fix something ({gh-pr}`101`)
+
+### Dependencies
+
+- Bump foo from 1 to 2 ({gh-pr}`123`)
+
+---
+
+0.1.0
+-----
+
+- Old release change ({gh-pr}`99`)
+"""
+
+CHANGELOG_WITHOUT_UNRELEASED_SECTION = """\
+# Release Notes
+
+Intro paragraph...
+
+0.1.0
+-----
+
+- Old release change ({gh-pr}`99`)
+"""
+
+EXPECTED_WITHOUT_UNRELEASED_SECTION = """\
+# Release Notes
+
+Intro paragraph...
+
+Unreleased changes
+------------------
+
+### Dependencies
+
+- Bump foo from 1 to 2 ({gh-pr}`123`)
+
+---
+
+0.1.0
+-----
+
+- Old release change ({gh-pr}`99`)
+"""
+
+CHANGELOG_WITHOUT_ANY_SECTIONS = """\
+# Release Notes
+
+Intro paragraph...
+"""
+
+EXPECTED_WITHOUT_ANY_SECTIONS = """\
+# Release Notes
+
+Intro paragraph...
+
+Unreleased changes
+------------------
+
+### Dependencies
+
+- Bump foo from 1 to 2 ({gh-pr}`123`)
+
+---
+"""
+
+CHANGELOG_WITH_TRAILING_SUBSECTION = """\
+# Release Notes
+
+Unreleased changes
+------------------
+
+### Dependencies
+
+- Old entry ({gh-pr}`100`)
+
+### Documentation
+
+- Documentation change ({gh-pr}`101`)
+"""
+
+EXPECTED_WITH_TRAILING_SUBSECTION = """\
+# Release Notes
+
+Unreleased changes
+------------------
+
+### Dependencies
+
+- Bump foo from 1 to 2 ({gh-pr}`123`)
+- Old entry ({gh-pr}`100`)
+
+### Documentation
+
+- Documentation change ({gh-pr}`101`)
+"""
+
+CHANGELOG_WITH_LOOSE_ENTRIES = """\
+# Release Notes
+
+Unreleased changes
+------------------
+
+- Loose entry ({gh-pr}`100`)
+"""
+
+EXPECTED_WITH_LOOSE_ENTRIES = """\
+# Release Notes
+
+Unreleased changes
+------------------
+
+- Loose entry ({gh-pr}`100`)
+
+### Dependencies
+
+- Bump foo from 1 to 2 ({gh-pr}`123`)
+"""
+
+CHANGELOG_WITH_ATX_HEADINGS = """\
+# Release Notes
+
+## Unreleased changes
+
+### Dependencies
+
+- Old entry ({gh-pr}`100`)
+
+---
+
+## 0.1.0
+
+- Old release change ({gh-pr}`99`)
+"""
+
+EXPECTED_WITH_ATX_HEADINGS = """\
+# Release Notes
+
+## Unreleased changes
+
+### Dependencies
+
+- Bump foo from 1 to 2 ({gh-pr}`123`)
+- Old entry ({gh-pr}`100`)
+
+---
+
+## 0.1.0
+
+- Old release change ({gh-pr}`99`)
+"""
+
+CHANGELOG_WITH_EMPTY_DEPS_SUBSECTION = """\
+# Release Notes
+
+Unreleased changes
+------------------
+
+### Dependencies
+
+---
+
+0.1.0
+-----
+
+- Old release change ({gh-pr}`99`)
+"""
+
+EXPECTED_WITH_EMPTY_DEPS_SUBSECTION = """\
+# Release Notes
+
+Unreleased changes
+------------------
+
+### Dependencies
+
+- Bump foo from 1 to 2 ({gh-pr}`123`)
+
+---
+
+0.1.0
+-----
+
+- Old release change ({gh-pr}`99`)
+"""
+
+CHANGELOG_WITHOUT_THEMATIC_BREAK = """\
+# Release Notes
+
+Unreleased changes
+------------------
+
+### Bug fixes
+
+- Fix something ({gh-pr}`101`)
+
+0.1.0
+-----
+
+- Old release change ({gh-pr}`99`)
+"""
+
+EXPECTED_WITHOUT_THEMATIC_BREAK = """\
+# Release Notes
+
+Unreleased changes
+------------------
+
+### Bug fixes
+
+- Fix something ({gh-pr}`101`)
+
+### Dependencies
+
+- Bump foo from 1 to 2 ({gh-pr}`123`)
+
+0.1.0
+-----
+
+- Old release change ({gh-pr}`99`)
+"""
+
+CHANGELOG_WITH_UNSORTED_ENTRIES = """\
+# Release Notes
+
+Unreleased changes
+------------------
+
+### Dependencies
+
+- pre-commit autoupdate ({gh-pr}`102`)
+- Bump zebra from 3 to 4 ({gh-pr}`101`)
+- Bump apple from 1 to 2 ({gh-pr}`100`)
+
+---
+"""
+
+EXPECTED_WITH_UNSORTED_ENTRIES = """\
+# Release Notes
+
+Unreleased changes
+------------------
+
+### Dependencies
+
+- Bump apple from 1 to 2 ({gh-pr}`100`)
+- Bump foo from 1 to 2 ({gh-pr}`123`)
+- Bump zebra from 3 to 4 ({gh-pr}`101`)
+- pre-commit autoupdate ({gh-pr}`102`)
+
+---
+"""
+
+CHANGELOG_WITH_MULTILINE_ITEM = """\
+# Release Notes
+
+Unreleased changes
+------------------
+
+### Dependencies
+
+- Bump zebra from 3 to 4 ({gh-pr}`101`)
+  (this bump includes breaking changes)
+- Bump apple from 1 to 2 ({gh-pr}`100`)
+
+---
+"""
+
+EXPECTED_WITH_MULTILINE_ITEM = """\
+# Release Notes
+
+Unreleased changes
+------------------
+
+### Dependencies
+
+- Bump apple from 1 to 2 ({gh-pr}`100`)
+- Bump foo from 1 to 2 ({gh-pr}`123`)
+- Bump zebra from 3 to 4 ({gh-pr}`101`)
+  (this bump includes breaking changes)
+
+---
+"""
+
+CHANGELOG_WITH_LOOSE_LIST = """\
+# Release Notes
+
+Unreleased changes
+------------------
+
+### Dependencies
+
+- Bump zebra from 3 to 4 ({gh-pr}`101`)
+
+- Bump apple from 1 to 2 ({gh-pr}`100`)
+
+---
+"""
+
+EXPECTED_WITH_LOOSE_LIST = """\
+# Release Notes
+
+Unreleased changes
+------------------
+
+### Dependencies
+
+- Bump apple from 1 to 2 ({gh-pr}`100`)
+- Bump foo from 1 to 2 ({gh-pr}`123`)
+- Bump zebra from 3 to 4 ({gh-pr}`101`)
+
+---
+"""
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    ("changelog_content", "expected_content"),
+    [
+        (CHANGELOG_WITH_DEPS_SUBSECTION, EXPECTED_WITH_DEPS_SUBSECTION),
+        (CHANGELOG_WITHOUT_DEPS_SUBSECTION, EXPECTED_WITHOUT_DEPS_SUBSECTION),
+        (CHANGELOG_WITHOUT_UNRELEASED_SECTION, EXPECTED_WITHOUT_UNRELEASED_SECTION),
+        (CHANGELOG_WITHOUT_ANY_SECTIONS, EXPECTED_WITHOUT_ANY_SECTIONS),
+        (CHANGELOG_WITH_TRAILING_SUBSECTION, EXPECTED_WITH_TRAILING_SUBSECTION),
+        (CHANGELOG_WITH_LOOSE_ENTRIES, EXPECTED_WITH_LOOSE_ENTRIES),
+        (CHANGELOG_WITH_ATX_HEADINGS, EXPECTED_WITH_ATX_HEADINGS),
+        (CHANGELOG_WITH_EMPTY_DEPS_SUBSECTION, EXPECTED_WITH_EMPTY_DEPS_SUBSECTION),
+        (CHANGELOG_WITHOUT_THEMATIC_BREAK, EXPECTED_WITHOUT_THEMATIC_BREAK),
+        (CHANGELOG_WITH_UNSORTED_ENTRIES, EXPECTED_WITH_UNSORTED_ENTRIES),
+        (CHANGELOG_WITH_MULTILINE_ITEM, EXPECTED_WITH_MULTILINE_ITEM),
+        (CHANGELOG_WITH_LOOSE_LIST, EXPECTED_WITH_LOOSE_LIST),
+    ],
+    ids=[
+        "existing-deps-subsection",
+        "missing-deps-subsection",
+        "missing-unreleased-section",
+        "missing-any-sections",
+        "trailing-subsection",
+        "loose-entries",
+        "atx-headings",
+        "empty-deps-subsection",
+        "missing-thematic-break",
+        "unsorted-existing-entries",
+        "multi-line-item",
+        "loose-list-items",
+    ],
+)
+def test_add_changelog_entry(changelog_content: str, expected_content: str, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    changelog_path = tmp_path / "changelog.md"
+    changelog_path.write_text(changelog_content)
+    changed = add_changelog_entry(
+        changelog=changelog_path, pr_number=123, pr_title="Bump foo from 1 to 2"
+    )
+    assert changed is True
+    assert changelog_path.read_text() == expected_content
+
+
+def test_add_changelog_entry_sorts_case_insensitively(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    # With a case-sensitive sort, "Update ..." (uppercase "U") would
+    # wrongly sort before "pre-commit ..." (lowercase "p")
+    changelog_path = tmp_path / "changelog.md"
+    changelog_path.write_text(
+        CHANGELOG_WITH_DEPS_SUBSECTION.replace("Old entry", "pre-commit autoupdate")
+    )
+    changed = add_changelog_entry(
+        changelog=changelog_path, pr_number=123, pr_title="Update foo to v2"
+    )
+    assert changed is True
+    text = changelog_path.read_text()
+    pre_commit_entry = "- pre-commit autoupdate ({gh-pr}`100`)"
+    update_entry = "- Update foo to v2 ({gh-pr}`123`)"
+    assert text.index(pre_commit_entry) < text.index(update_entry)
+
+
+def test_add_changelog_entry_to_real_changelog(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    changelog_path = tmp_path / "changelog.md"
+    changelog_path.write_text(PATH_TO_CHANGELOG.read_text())
+    changed = add_changelog_entry(
+        changelog=changelog_path, pr_number=999999, pr_title="Bump foo from 1 to 2"
+    )
+    assert changed is True
+    text = changelog_path.read_text()
+    entry = "- Bump foo from 1 to 2 ({gh-pr}`999999`)"
+    assert entry in text
+    # The new entry should land in the unreleased section (i.e., before
+    # the first released version's section)
+    first_release_at = text.index("\n0.")
+    assert text.index(entry) < first_release_at
+
+
+def test_add_changelog_entry_is_idempotent(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    changelog_path = tmp_path / "changelog.md"
+    changelog_path.write_text(CHANGELOG_WITH_DEPS_SUBSECTION)
+    changed = add_changelog_entry(
+        changelog=changelog_path, pr_number=100, pr_title="Some already mentioned PR"
+    )
+    assert changed is False
+    assert changelog_path.read_text() == CHANGELOG_WITH_DEPS_SUBSECTION
+
+
+def test_main(tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
+    changelog_path = tmp_path / "changelog.md"
+    changelog_path.write_text(CHANGELOG_WITH_DEPS_SUBSECTION)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        "sys.argv",
+        [
+            "add_changelog_entry.py",
+            "123",
+            "Bump foo from 1 to 2",
+            "--changelog",
+            str(changelog_path),
+        ],
+    )
+    main()
+    assert changelog_path.read_text() == EXPECTED_WITH_DEPS_SUBSECTION