diff --git a/doc/source/admin/interfaces/deploy.rst b/doc/source/admin/interfaces/deploy.rst
index 6b804c5491..5565d8f51e 100644
--- a/doc/source/admin/interfaces/deploy.rst
+++ b/doc/source/admin/interfaces/deploy.rst
@@ -163,10 +163,10 @@ their priority order. The default configuration is:
 .. code-block:: ini
 
    [DEFAULT]
-   autodetect_deploy_interfaces = direct
+   autodetect_deploy_interfaces = bootc,direct
 
-This default will always switch to :ref:`Direct deploy <direct-deploy>`
-for deployment.
+This default configuration checks :ref:`Bootc deploy <bootc-deploy>` first,
+then falls back to :ref:`Direct deploy <direct-deploy>`.
 
 .. note::
    The order of interfaces in the configuration list matters. Interfaces are
diff --git a/ironic/conf/default.py b/ironic/conf/default.py
index 18886be77c..677bc212aa 100644
--- a/ironic/conf/default.py
+++ b/ironic/conf/default.py
@@ -135,12 +135,12 @@ driver_opts = [
     cfg.StrOpt('default_console_interface',
                help=_DEFAULT_IFACE_HELP.format('console')),
     cfg.ListOpt('enabled_deploy_interfaces',
-                default=['autodetect', 'direct', 'ramdisk'],
+                default=['autodetect', 'direct', 'ramdisk', 'bootc'],
                 help=_ENABLED_IFACE_HELP.format('deploy')),
     cfg.StrOpt('default_deploy_interface',
                help=_DEFAULT_IFACE_HELP.format('deploy')),
     cfg.ListOpt('autodetect_deploy_interfaces',
-                default=['direct'],
+                default=['bootc', 'direct'],
                 help=_('List of deploy interfaces that the '
                        'autodetect deploy interface is allowed to '
                        'switch to. The order of interfaces in the list '
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/bootc-autodetect-2f45712013dfbfd7.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/bootc-autodetect-2f45712013dfbfd7.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..12c2411040
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/bootc-autodetect-2f45712013dfbfd7.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+---
+features:
+  - |
+    The ``bootc`` deploy interface is now enabled by default in
+    ``enabled_deploy_interfaces`` and has also been added to the default list
+    of ``autodetect_deploy_interfaces`` for the ``autodetect`` deploy
+    interface. This allows nodes configured with the ``autodetect`` deploy
+    interface to automatically select the ``bootc`` deploy interface for
+    container images which are identified as bootc images through registry
+    introspection. The ``autodetect`` deploy interface will fall back to the
+    ``direct`` deploy interface for standard disk images and OCI artifacts.