diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 4280c97b1..39dff1fb5 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -9,3 +9,6 @@ update-deps:
     	"$$SCRIPT" ; \
 	done
 
+.PHONY: test-integration
+test-integration: ## Run unit and integration tests
+	go test -v -tags=integration ./...
diff --git a/internal/deployers/eksapi/ami_resolver.go b/internal/deployers/eksapi/ami_resolver.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..61d6e2ff4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/deployers/eksapi/ami_resolver.go
@@ -0,0 +1,128 @@
+package eksapi
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+
+	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/aws"
+	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/ec2"
+	ec2types "github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/ec2/types"
+	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/ssm"
+	"k8s.io/klog/v2"
+)
+
+func NewAMIResolver(awsClients *awsClients) *amiResolver {
+	return &amiResolver{
+		clients: awsClients,
+	}
+}
+
+type amiResolver struct {
+	clients *awsClients
+}
+
+func (r *amiResolver) Resolve(ctx context.Context, opts *deployerOptions) (string, error) {
+	switch opts.UserDataFormat {
+	case UserDataBootstrapSh:
+		// TODO: AL2 is not a high priority, skipping for now.
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("%s is not handled", opts.UserDataFormat)
+	case UserDataNodeadm:
+		return r.ResolveAL2023(ctx, opts)
+	case UserDataBottlerocket:
+		return r.ResolveBottlerocket(ctx, opts)
+	default:
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("unhandled userdata format: %s", opts.UserDataFormat)
+	}
+}
+
+func (r *amiResolver) ResolveAL2023(ctx context.Context, opts *deployerOptions) (string, error) {
+	describeInstanceTypesResponse, err := r.clients.EC2().DescribeInstanceTypes(ctx, &ec2.DescribeInstanceTypesInput{
+		InstanceTypes: []ec2types.InstanceType{ec2types.InstanceType(r.getInstance(opts))},
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	instanceTypeInfo := describeInstanceTypesResponse.InstanceTypes[0]
+
+	arch, err := r.resolveArch(instanceTypeInfo)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+
+	variant := "standard"
+	if instanceTypeInfo.NeuronInfo != nil {
+		if len(instanceTypeInfo.NeuronInfo.NeuronDevices) > 0 {
+			variant = "neuron"
+		}
+	} else if instanceTypeInfo.GpuInfo != nil {
+		for _, gpu := range instanceTypeInfo.GpuInfo.Gpus {
+			if aws.ToString(gpu.Manufacturer) == "NVIDIA" {
+				variant = "nvidia"
+				break
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	getParameterReponse, err := r.clients.SSM().GetParameter(ctx, &ssm.GetParameterInput{
+		Name: aws.String(fmt.Sprintf("/aws/service/eks/optimized-ami/%s/amazon-linux-2023/%s/%s/recommended/image_id", opts.KubernetesVersion, arch, variant)),
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+
+	return aws.ToString(getParameterReponse.Parameter.Value), nil
+}
+
+func (r *amiResolver) ResolveBottlerocket(ctx context.Context, opts *deployerOptions) (string, error) {
+	describeInstanceTypesResponse, err := r.clients.EC2().DescribeInstanceTypes(ctx, &ec2.DescribeInstanceTypesInput{
+		InstanceTypes: []ec2types.InstanceType{ec2types.InstanceType(r.getInstance(opts))},
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	instanceTypeInfo := describeInstanceTypesResponse.InstanceTypes[0]
+
+	arch, err := r.resolveArch(instanceTypeInfo)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+
+	// TODO: enable fips
+	flavorSuffix := ""
+	if instanceTypeInfo.GpuInfo != nil {
+		for _, gpu := range instanceTypeInfo.GpuInfo.Gpus {
+			if aws.ToString(gpu.Manufacturer) == "NVIDIA" {
+				flavorSuffix = "-nvidia"
+				break
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	getParameterResponse, err := r.clients.SSM().GetParameter(ctx, &ssm.GetParameterInput{
+		Name: aws.String(fmt.Sprintf("/aws/service/bottlerocket/aws-k8s-%s%s/%s/latest/image_id", opts.KubernetesVersion, flavorSuffix, arch)),
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+
+	return aws.ToString(getParameterResponse.Parameter.Value), nil
+}
+
+func (r *amiResolver) getInstance(opts *deployerOptions) string {
+	instanceType := opts.InstanceTypes[0]
+	if len(opts.InstanceTypes) > 1 {
+		klog.Warningf("only resolving AMI based on first instance type: %s", instanceType)
+	}
+	return instanceType
+}
+
+func (r *amiResolver) resolveArch(instanceTypeInfo ec2types.InstanceTypeInfo) (string, error) {
+	// TODO: the ordering might be weird because old instances might support
+	// both i386 and x8664.
+	switch arch := instanceTypeInfo.ProcessorInfo.SupportedArchitectures[0]; arch {
+	case ec2types.ArchitectureTypeArm64, ec2types.ArchitectureTypeX8664:
+		return string(arch), nil
+	default:
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("unhandled arch: %s", arch)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/deployers/eksapi/ami_resolver_test.go b/internal/deployers/eksapi/ami_resolver_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5a61b6379
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/deployers/eksapi/ami_resolver_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+//go:build integration
+
+package eksapi
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/config"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+)
+
+func TestAMIResolver(t *testing.T) {
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	awsCfg, err := config.LoadDefaultConfig(ctx)
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+
+	amiResolver := NewAMIResolver(newAWSClients(awsCfg, ""))
+
+	t.Run("AL2023-nvidia", func(t *testing.T) {
+		opts := deployerOptions{
+			UserDataFormat:    UserDataNodeadm,
+			KubernetesVersion: "1.33",
+		}
+		t.Run("nvidia", func(t *testing.T) {
+			opts := opts
+			opts.InstanceTypes = []string{"g5.xlarge"}
+
+			ami, err := amiResolver.Resolve(ctx, &opts)
+			assert.NoError(t, err)
+			assert.Regexp(t, "ami-.*", ami)
+		})
+		t.Run("standard", func(t *testing.T) {
+			opts := opts
+			opts.InstanceTypes = []string{"m5.xlarge"}
+
+			ami, err := amiResolver.Resolve(ctx, &opts)
+			assert.NoError(t, err)
+			assert.Regexp(t, "ami-.*", ami)
+		})
+	})
+
+	t.Run("Bottlerocket", func(t *testing.T) {
+		opts := deployerOptions{
+			UserDataFormat:    UserDataBottlerocket,
+			KubernetesVersion: "1.33",
+		}
+		t.Run("nvidia", func(t *testing.T) {
+			opts := opts
+			opts.InstanceTypes = []string{"g5.xlarge"}
+
+			ami, err := amiResolver.Resolve(ctx, &opts)
+			assert.NoError(t, err)
+			assert.Regexp(t, "ami-.*", ami)
+		})
+		t.Run("standard", func(t *testing.T) {
+			opts := opts
+			opts.InstanceTypes = []string{"m5.xlarge"}
+
+			ami, err := amiResolver.Resolve(ctx, &opts)
+			assert.NoError(t, err)
+			assert.Regexp(t, "ami-.*", ami)
+		})
+	})
+}
diff --git a/internal/deployers/eksapi/deployer.go b/internal/deployers/eksapi/deployer.go
index 35685d419..a7e9dd6a7 100644
--- a/internal/deployers/eksapi/deployer.go
+++ b/internal/deployers/eksapi/deployer.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package eksapi
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
 	"path/filepath"
@@ -15,8 +16,8 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/cloudwatch"
 	ekstypes "github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/eks/types"
-	"github.com/urfave/sflags/gen/gpflag"
 	"github.com/spf13/pflag"
+	"github.com/urfave/sflags/gen/gpflag"
 	"golang.org/x/exp/slices"
 	"k8s.io/klog"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/kubetest2/pkg/types"
@@ -299,9 +300,6 @@ func (d *deployer) verifyUpFlags() error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("--instance-types and --instance-type-archs are mutually exclusive")
 	}
 	if d.UnmanagedNodes {
-		if d.AMI == "" {
-			return fmt.Errorf("--ami must be specified for --unmanaged-nodes")
-		}
 		if d.AMIType != "" {
 			return fmt.Errorf("--ami-type should not be provided with --unmanaged-nodes")
 		}
@@ -314,9 +312,19 @@ func (d *deployer) verifyUpFlags() error {
 			}
 		}
 		if d.UserDataFormat == "" {
-			d.UserDataFormat = "bootstrap.sh"
+			d.UserDataFormat = UserDataBootstrapSh
 			klog.Infof("Using default user data format: %s", d.UserDataFormat)
 		}
+		// AMI ID check must come after user-data format resolution because we
+		// can try to infer the AMI type for unmanaged nodes.
+		if d.AMI == "" {
+			ami, err := NewAMIResolver(d.awsClients).Resolve(context.TODO(), &d.deployerOptions)
+			if err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("failed to automatically resolve ami for unmanaged nodegroup (provide --ami to short circuit this): %w", err)
+			}
+			d.AMI = ami
+		}
+
 		if d.EFA && len(d.InstanceTypes) != 1 {
 			return fmt.Errorf("--efa requires a single instance type")
 		}
diff --git a/internal/deployers/eksapi/userdata.go b/internal/deployers/eksapi/userdata.go
index 43b5d8b87..78f57cb44 100644
--- a/internal/deployers/eksapi/userdata.go
+++ b/internal/deployers/eksapi/userdata.go
@@ -10,16 +10,22 @@ import (
 	"github.com/aws/aws-k8s-tester/internal/deployers/eksapi/templates"
 )
 
+const (
+	UserDataBootstrapSh  = "bootstrap.sh"
+	UserDataNodeadm      = "nodeadm"
+	UserDataBottlerocket = "bottlerocket"
+)
+
 func generateUserData(cluster *Cluster, opts *deployerOptions) (string, bool, error) {
 	userDataIsMimePart := true
 	var t *template.Template
 	switch opts.UserDataFormat {
-	case "bootstrap.sh":
+	case UserDataBootstrapSh:
 		t = templates.UserDataBootstrapSh
-	case "nodeadm":
+	case UserDataNodeadm:
 		// TODO: replace the YAML template with proper usage of the nodeadm API go types
 		t = templates.UserDataNodeadm
-	case "bottlerocket":
+	case UserDataBottlerocket:
 		t = templates.UserDataBottlerocket
 		userDataIsMimePart = false
 	default: